Terms of Service

1. About My Virtual Pastor

My Virtual Pastor is an AI-powered mobile application that provides faith-based spiritual guidance, scripture references, devotional content, and pastoral support to users of the Christian faith. The app is operated by My Virtual Pastor ("we", "us", or "our").

The service is available on iOS devices through the Apple App Store.

2. Not a Substitute for Professional Care

If you are experiencing a mental health crisis, suicidal thoughts, abuse, or any medical emergency, please contact emergency services or a qualified professional immediately:

• National Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: Call or text 988 (US)
• Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741 (US)
• Emergency services: 911 (US) or your local emergency number

AI-generated responses should not replace the guidance of your local church, pastor, or licensed mental health professional.

3. Eligibility

You must be at least 13 years old to use My Virtual Pastor. By using the app, you confirm that you meet this age requirement. If you are under 18, you should use the app with the awareness and consent of a parent or guardian.

We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If we become aware that a child under 13 has provided us with personal information, we will take steps to delete it.

4. Your Account

You may use My Virtual Pastor as a guest (without creating an account) or by registering with an email address or Apple ID. If you create an account:

• You are responsible for keeping your login credentials secure.
• You must provide accurate information when registering.
• You are responsible for all activity that occurs under your account.
• You may delete your account at any time from within the app (Profile → Delete Account). Account deletion is permanent and cannot be undone.

We reserve the right to suspend or terminate accounts that violate these Terms.

5. Acceptable Use

When using My Virtual Pastor, you agree not to:

• Use the app for any unlawful purpose or in violation of any applicable laws.
• Attempt to reverse-engineer, hack, or disrupt the app or its underlying systems.
• Submit content designed to elicit harmful, abusive, or deceptive AI responses.
• Impersonate any person or entity, or misrepresent your affiliation with any person or entity.
• Use the app in any way that could damage, overload, or impair our systems.
• Attempt to extract, scrape, or commercially exploit the AI-generated content without our written permission.

We reserve the right to limit, suspend, or terminate access for users who violate these terms.

6. AI-Generated Content

Responses in My Virtual Pastor are generated by artificial intelligence powered by Anthropic's Claude. While we have designed the AI to be grounded in Scripture and pastoral care, please be aware that:

• AI-generated content may not always be accurate, complete, or applicable to your specific situation.
• The AI reflects a broad Christian perspective and may not perfectly represent any single denomination or tradition.
• AI responses are not inspired Scripture and should not be treated as infallible spiritual authority.
• We do not guarantee any particular outcome from using the app.

7. Privacy

Your privacy matters to us. Your use of My Virtual Pastor is also governed by our Privacy Policy, which is incorporated into these Terms by reference.

In summary: your conversations are sent to Anthropic's API to generate responses and are not stored by us. We do not sell your personal data. Please review the full Privacy Policy for details.

8. Intellectual Property

All content in My Virtual Pastor — including the app design, branding, logo, devotional content, and system prompts — is owned by My Virtual Pastor or licensed to us. You may not copy, reproduce, distribute, or create derivative works from our content without our express written permission.

Scripture quotations are from various translations (NIV, ESV, NKJV, etc.) used under fair use or free-use licensing from their respective publishers.

9. Disclaimers and Limitation of Liability

My Virtual Pastor is provided "as is" and "as available" without warranties of any kind, either express or implied. We do not warrant that:

• The app will be uninterrupted, error-free, or free of viruses.
• The AI-generated content will be accurate, complete, or suitable for your needs.
• The app will meet your spiritual or emotional expectations.

To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, My Virtual Pastor shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages arising from your use of the app, including but not limited to reliance on AI-generated spiritual guidance.

10. Third-Party Services

My Virtual Pastor uses the following third-party services:

• Anthropic Claude — AI language model powering pastoral chat responses. Subject to Anthropic's privacy policy.
• Supabase — User authentication and account management. Subject to Supabase's privacy policy.
• Apple Sign In — Optional authentication method. Subject to Apple's privacy policy.

We are not responsible for the practices of these third-party providers.

11. Changes to These Terms

We may update these Terms of Service from time to time. When we do, we will update the effective date at the top of this page. For material changes, we will make reasonable efforts to notify you — for example, through an in-app notice.

Your continued use of My Virtual Pastor after changes are posted constitutes your acceptance of the updated Terms.

12. Governing Law

These Terms shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the jurisdiction in which My Virtual Pastor operates, without regard to conflict of law principles. Any disputes arising under these Terms shall be resolved in the appropriate courts of that jurisdiction.

13. Contact Us

If you have any questions about these Terms of Service, please contact us at: