Your story can contain deeply personal information. Approved recordings and transcripts can become public. Consider what you want others to know about you and anyone you mention.
Submitted copies may be retained and used indefinitely under the continuing contribution license, including after removal or account closure, subject to applicable law. You can make a privacy request without an account.
1. Who this policy covers
This policy explains how Mark5, also called Mark Five or Mark 5 (“we”, “us”), handles personal information through our website, preview program, accounts, story submissions, organization workspaces and correspondence. It covers visitors, contributors, members and people who contact our team.
The Terms and Conditions explain the rules for using Mark 5. Other websites linked from our site have their own privacy practices.
2. Information we collect
- Accounts and access: your name, email, account details, verification and recovery records, permissions, preview requests and invitations. Passwords are stored as hashes. Passkeys provide public credentials and authentication information, not your device’s fingerprint or face scan.
- Stories and drafts: supplied names and contact details, video, voice, images, titles, descriptions, topics, transcripts, file details and consent records. Saved drafts, processing results, editorial changes and review records also form part of this workflow.
- Organizations and writing: memberships, roles, invitations, organization submissions, article drafts and correspondence with editors.
- Messages: your contact-form name, email, optional phone number, subject and message, together with replies.
- Site activity: pages and content visited, searches, playback events, reactions, poll responses, saved videos and playlists. These records can include timestamps, session or visitor identifiers, account identifiers when signed in, IP addresses, and browser or device information. Account-free browsing is not completely anonymous.
- Approximate location: where enabled, IP-based estimates of a network’s country, region or city for understanding our audience and supporting location-relevant features. These estimates are not device GPS location and can be inaccurate.
Faith stories and activity around them may reveal beliefs, health, relationships or other sensitive information. Share only information you are comfortable providing and have permission to disclose. Avoid including someone else’s private contact details or sensitive experiences without permission.
3. How we use information
We use information to run accounts and access controls; save, process and review submissions; publish and use licensed contributions; deliver search, library and history features; answer messages; send verification, recovery and service notices; understand site activity; investigate errors or misuse; and meet legal obligations.
Story processing can include playback versions, audio extraction, thumbnails, speech transcription and presentation edits. When enabled, automated tools can assist transcript review. Review results support editors and do not by themselves publish a story.
When you request AI suggestions in Story Builder, the script or notes you send are processed to produce suggestions. Choosing this feature is separate from submitting a story for publication. Review generated text and transcripts for mistakes before relying on them.
4. Stories and public information
Submitting sends material for review; it does not immediately publish it. Authorized Mark 5 staff can access submissions and saved material for processing, service and review purposes. If you submit to an organization, its authorized reviewers can access the recording, transcript, your name, email and submission details as explained on the form.
Published material can include your displayed name, recording, description, transcript and topics. A recording may identify people even when only a first name is displayed. Public content may be viewed worldwide, indexed, linked or copied by others. Preview access restrictions do not promise that accepted content will remain private after launch.
We do not publish your account email merely because you submit a story. Personal information within your recording or text may become visible. Licensed contributions can also appear in Mark 5’s social channels, presentations, educational or ministry materials and promotions as described in the Terms and Conditions.
5. Sharing and service providers
Mark 5 staff and authorized organization reviewers handle information within their roles. Providers supporting hosting, storage, email, security, search and media processing also process information needed for those services. Our integrations include Microsoft Azure for services such as storage, speech transcription and email, and OpenAI for optional script assistance and automated transcript review when enabled.
Depending on the feature, providers receive media, transcripts, script text, search requests, contact details or technical connection information. Their processing is subject to applicable service arrangements and data controls; use of AI does not imply zero provider retention. Information may be processed in countries other than yours, with different privacy laws and lawful government-access rules.
Externally hosted libraries or media may disclose connection and browser details to their hosts. External links, sharing and casting features can involve independent services with their own privacy practices. Distribution partners may receive licensed contributions for the uses explained in the Terms.
We may disclose information when legally required, in response to valid legal requests, or where reasonably necessary to address fraud, security threats or threats to safety. If operation of Mark 5 changes hands, relevant records may transfer subject to applicable privacy obligations.
7. Retention and security
We may retain all copies of contributions submitted under the continuing license indefinitely for the licensed storytelling, educational, ministry, archival and promotional purposes, whether accepted or declined. Removing a submission from public display, deleting it from your account, requesting removal or closing your account does not by itself end that license or require deletion of retained copies.
This is not permission to keep every kind of personal information forever. Account records, messages, technical logs and other personal information are retained according to their purpose and applicable legal requirements. We consider privacy, consent-withdrawal and erasure requests under applicable law, which can require limits on retention or use despite a copyright license.
Permission records, backups and information necessary for legal or security purposes may remain after a request where lawful. Different records have different retention needs; we do not promise one automatic deletion period. Removing a visible reaction does not necessarily erase the underlying record, and we cannot erase copies made by other people or search engines.
We use access controls and authentication measures to protect information. No system can guarantee complete security. Keep credentials private and tell us promptly if you suspect unauthorized access.
8. Your choices and privacy requests
You choose what to submit, whether to request AI suggestions, whether to enable viewing history and whether to permit camera or microphone access for recording. Device permission is separate from publication consent. Account and library screens let you manage the information those controls make editable.
For access, correction, deletion, account closure, consent withdrawal or a story-removal request, use Contact Us with “Privacy request” in the subject. Identify the account or story and explain your request. Do not include passwords, verification codes or identity documents in the initial message.
We may need reasonable identity verification before disclosing or changing information. We will assess your request under applicable law, explain any lawful limits, and respond within applicable time limits. Withdrawing information needed for a feature may prevent us providing it. Removing public access does not automatically revoke the contribution license, but that license does not override mandatory privacy rights. You may also have a right to complain to your local privacy regulator.
9. Young people
Our account and contribution features are intended for people able to provide valid consent. If you cannot consent on your own, involve a parent or legal guardian and contact us before submitting personal information or recordings. Tell us if a child’s information has been provided without appropriate permission so we can investigate and address it.
10. Changes and contact
We update the date when this policy changes. For material changes affecting how information is used, we will provide appropriate notice and seek additional consent where required. A revised policy does not silently authorize unrelated uses of earlier submissions.
For privacy questions, contact the Mark 5 team with “Privacy” in the subject so your message can reach the person handling privacy requests.
