WTS Online Mobile App - Privacy Policy

Effective date: July 10, 2026


Westminster Theological Seminary ("WTS," "we," "our," or "us") provides WTS

Online to help enrolled students access course lecture audio on their mobile

devices. This policy explains how WTS Online handles information in the iOS app

and related services.


This policy supplements the broader Westminster Theological Seminary privacy

policy. If there is a conflict between that policy and this app-specific policy,

this app-specific policy describes how WTS Online handles app data.


Information We Collect

WTS Online collects and uses only the information needed to authenticate

students, show enrolled courses, and provide offline lecture audio.


Account and sign-in information

When you sign in, WTS Online uses institution-owned WTS Sign-In through

Westminster's student information system, Populi. We receive information needed

to verify your access, such as:

  • your WTS student email address;
  • your Populi identifier and Westminster Account username;
  • your first and last name as provided through WTS Sign-In;
  • authentication tokens used to keep you signed in and authorize requests to WTS services.

Course and lecture access information

WTS Online uses your authenticated account to determine which courses and

lectures you are allowed to access. This may include enrollment data, course

names, lecture names, lecture identifiers, and audio file references.


App and device information

The app and supporting services may process limited technical information needed

for app functionality, security, and troubleshooting, such as:

  • app version and build number;
  • request timestamps and server logs;
  • authentication and authorization results;
  • download request metadata;
  • general device or app state needed to manage offline downloads, storage, and

playback.


WTS Online does not use this information for advertising or cross-app tracking.


Analytics and crash reporting

WTS Online uses PostHog, a third-party product-analytics service (US region), to

understand how the app is used in aggregate and to detect errors and crashes.

This collection is anonymous and is designed so that it cannot identify you:

  • Events are not linked to your name, email, WTS student email, Populi identifier, Westminster Account username, or any student identifier. The app does not create an analytics profile for you.
  • Events do not include course names, lecture names, lecture identifiers, audio file references, authentication tokens, or URLs.
  • Events carry only coarse, non-identifying properties, such as app version and build number, platform, release environment, a coarse action outcome (for example success or failure), and a coarse listening-length range.
  • Along with each event, the analytics SDK automatically includes basic technical context about your device and app — such as device model, operating system and version, app version, language/region, and time zone. This context is not tied to your identity.
  • Error and crash reports are scrubbed before they are sent: they include the error type and a source-code stack trace (file and line locations), but the error message itself is removed on your device before sending, because a message could contain a link or identifier.
  • IP-based location is disabled for these events, so no approximate location is derived from them.
  • Events are queued on your device while offline and sent when a connection is available.

This analytics and crash reporting is on by default and can be turned off at any time in:

Settings → Privacy → "Anonymous usage analytics & crash reports."

  • When turned off, WTS Online stops collecting and sending these events.

Apple and Google may also provide platform-level crash, diagnostic, or store

analytics to WTS when you have enabled those operating-system or store-level

sharing settings.


Local offline data

To support offline listening, WTS Online stores downloaded lecture audio, course

data, lecture data, playback state, and preferences on your device. Downloaded

lecture audio is stored inside app-private device storage and remains gated by

WTS Sign-In, local session expiry, enrollment access, and identity-switch

cleanup. Removing the app from your device removes app-local downloaded content

and app-local settings.


Information We Do Not Collect


WTS Online does not intentionally collect:

  • payment information;
  • precise location;
  • contacts;
  • photos or videos from your photo library;
  • microphone recordings;
  • advertising identifiers for tracking;
  • user-generated posts, messages, or public profile content.

The iOS app may include permission descriptions for microphone or photo library

access because third-party iOS frameworks can reference those APIs. WTS Online

does not use the microphone to record audio and does not access your photo

library as part of the app experience.

How We Use Information

We use information from WTS Online to:

  • authenticate WTS students and approved testers;
  • confirm that a student is allowed to access a course;
  • display enrolled courses and lectures;
  • generate authorized download links for lecture audio;
  • support offline playback;
  • protect course audio from unauthorized access;
  • troubleshoot app and service problems;
  • maintain security, prevent abuse, and enforce access restrictions.

Service Providers

WTS Online relies on service providers to operate the app and related

infrastructure. These may include:


  • Populi and WTS Sign-In services for student sign-in and identity verification;
  • Cloudflare services for WTS API hosting, request handling, storage, and security-related infrastructure;
  • Apple services for App Store distribution, TestFlight, and iOS platform functionality.
  • Google services for Google Play distribution and Android platform functionality.

These providers process information only as needed to provide their services to

WTS and operate the app.


Sharing Information

We do not sell personal information from WTS Online. We do not share app data

for third-party advertising or cross-app tracking.


We may share information:

  • with service providers that operate or support WTS Online;
  • when needed to protect WTS, students, course content, or the security of the service;
  • when required by law, legal process, or institutional policy;
  • with your consent or at your request.

Retention

WTS retains app-related information only as long as needed for student access,

course delivery, security, troubleshooting, legal compliance, and institutional

record keeping. App-local downloaded lecture audio and local preferences remain

on your device until you remove downloads, sign out where applicable, or

uninstall the app.


Your Choices

You can turn off anonymous usage analytics and crash reporting at any time in

Settings → Privacy. You may stop using WTS Online at any time. You can remove

downloaded lecture audio in the app where supported, sign out of the app, or

uninstall the app from your device.


If you need help with account access, app support, or questions about your data,

contact WTS support using the information below.


Children

WTS Online is intended for Westminster Theological Seminary students and

approved testers. It is not directed to children under 13.


Changes to This Policy

We may update this policy as WTS Online changes. When we make material changes,

we will update the effective date and publish the revised policy.


Contact

For WTS Online support or privacy questions, contact:

Support: support@wts.edu

Information Center: https://info.wts.edu/