Privacy Policy

The National African Traditional Religion Congress ("NATRC," "we," "us," or "our") is committed to protecting the privacy and security of your personal information. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you visit our website, apply for membership, or use our credentialing services. By using our services, you agree to the collection and use of information in accordance with this policy. If you do not agree with our policies and practices, please do not use our services.

**Personal Information:** When you apply for membership or use our services, we may collect: - Full name, date of birth, and contact information (email, phone, mailing address) - Photographs and identification documents - Spiritual lineage information, initiation history, and credential details - Educational background and professional certifications - Payment information (processed securely through Stripe) - Correspondence and communications with NATRC **Automatically Collected Information:** When you visit our website, we may automatically collect: - IP address, browser type, and device information - Pages visited, time spent on pages, and navigation patterns - Cookies and similar tracking technologies **Sensitive Information:** We collect information about your religious practices, spiritual lineage, and initiation history solely for the purpose of credential verification. This information is treated with the highest level of confidentiality.

We use the information we collect to: - Process membership applications and verify credentials - Generate identification cards and certificates - Maintain our public practitioner directory - Process payments and manage renewals - Send important notifications about your membership status - Respond to inquiries and provide customer support - Improve our website and services - Comply with legal obligations and protect our rights We will never sell your personal information to third parties.

**Public Directory:** If you are an approved member, your name, credential tier, tradition, location (city/state), and contact preferences will be displayed in our public practitioner directory. You may request to be excluded from the directory by contacting us. **Credential Verification:** When someone uses our verification system to confirm your credentials, we will display your name, credential ID, tier, tradition, and validity status. **Service Providers:** We share information with trusted third-party service providers who assist us in operating our website and services: - Stripe (payment processing) - Amazon S3 (secure file storage) - Resend (email delivery) - Manus (website hosting) These providers are contractually obligated to protect your information and use it only for the purposes we specify. **Legal Requirements:** We may disclose your information if required by law, court order, or government request, or to protect the rights, property, or safety of NATRC, our members, or others. **Lineage Verification:** During the application review process, we may contact the priests, priestesses, or elders you list as references to verify your initiation history and credentials.

We implement appropriate technical and organizational security measures to protect your personal information against unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. These measures include: - Encryption of data in transit and at rest - Secure cloud storage with access controls - Regular security audits and updates - Limited access to personal information on a need-to-know basis However, no method of transmission over the Internet or electronic storage is 100% secure. While we strive to protect your information, we cannot guarantee absolute security.

We retain your personal information for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this Privacy Policy, unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law. - Active member records: Retained for the duration of your membership plus 7 years - Application records: Retained for 7 years after submission - Payment records: Retained for 7 years for tax and accounting purposes - Correspondence: Retained for 3 years You may request deletion of your personal information at any time, subject to our legal obligations to retain certain records.

Depending on your location, you may have the following rights regarding your personal information: **Access:** Request a copy of the personal information we hold about you **Correction:** Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete information **Deletion:** Request deletion of your personal information (subject to legal retention requirements) **Portability:** Request a copy of your information in a structured, machine-readable format **Opt-Out:** Opt out of marketing communications (you will still receive essential service notifications) **Restriction:** Request restriction of processing in certain circumstances To exercise these rights, please contact us at [email protected]. We will respond to your request within 30 days.

We use cookies and similar tracking technologies to enhance your experience on our website. Cookies are small data files stored on your device that help us: - Remember your language preference - Maintain your login session - Analyze website traffic and usage patterns - Improve website functionality You can control cookies through your browser settings. However, disabling cookies may limit your ability to use certain features of our website.

Our website may contain links to third-party websites. We are not responsible for the privacy practices or content of these external sites. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of any third-party sites you visit.

Our services are not intended for individuals under the age of 18. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If we become aware that we have collected information from a child without parental consent, we will take steps to delete that information.

Your information may be transferred to and processed in the United States or other countries where our service providers operate. By using our services, you consent to the transfer of your information to countries that may have different data protection laws than your country of residence.

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or legal requirements. We will notify you of any material changes by posting the new Privacy Policy on this page and updating the "Last Updated" date. Your continued use of our services after any changes indicates your acceptance of the updated Privacy Policy.

If you have questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us at: **National African Traditional Religion Congress** Email: [email protected] Phone: (888) 739-4379 We are committed to resolving any privacy concerns in a timely and transparent manner.