Deacon Life

Privacy Policy

Domus Formation, Inc. Last Updated: February 6, 2026

The short version: We don't track you across the internet. We don't sell your data. We don't use cookies to follow you around. Our analytics tool can't identify you as an individual. When our pages include a YouTube video, YouTube can't track you unless you press play. We're active on social media, but we don't bring any of those platforms' tracking into our sites. The only data we store is what you give us directly - your email, your name, your preferences - so we can deliver the content you signed up for. That's it.

Domus Formation, Inc. ("we," "us," or "our") is committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you use any of our websites and services (collectively, the "Services"):

By using any of our Services, you agree to the practices described in this policy.

Who We Are

Domus Formation is a Catholic formation ministry. This privacy policy applies to all Domus properties:

Hearth & Altar, Hogar y Altar, Eventide & Altar, Ocaso y Altar, Young Disciples Society, Ostium Catholic, Emmaus Disciples, Deacon Life, Parish Prayers, and WeAreDomus.com.

When we say "we," "us," or "our" in this policy, we mean Domus Formation Inc. and all Domus Formation properties. When we say "you," we mean you - the person reading this, visiting our sites, or subscribing to our content.

What We Collect

Information You Give Us Directly

When you subscribe, create an account, or make a purchase, you may provide us with:

Your email address - so we can deliver the content you signed up for. This is the only required piece of information for a free subscription.

Your first name - optionally, so we can personalize your emails and your experience on the site. You can leave this blank.

Your last name / family name - optionally. We use this in features like family invitations (for example, "The Halbrook family has invited you to join Hearth & Altar") and to personalize your experience. You can leave this blank if you prefer.

Payment information - if you purchase a subscription or product. Your card number, expiration date, and security code go directly to Stripe, our payment processor. We never see, store, or have access to your full card details. Stripe handles all payment security. You can review Stripe's privacy practices at stripe.com/privacy.

Your timezone - we detect your device's timezone setting (for example, "Eastern Time" or "Central European Time") so we can deliver your daily email at a convenient local time rather than a single fixed time for everyone. This is not location tracking. We don't know your city, your address, or your GPS coordinates. Millions of people share the same timezone setting, and it tells us nothing about you personally. This detection happens through a standard browser feature and does not use cookies, geolocation services, or any special permissions.

Your diocese and parish - optionally. If you choose to share your diocese and/or parish, we use this information in two ways. First, it helps us connect you with content and community relevant to your local Church. Second, it allows us to provide aggregate reports to dioceses and parishes about how their communities are engaging with our formation offerings. Please read the "Diocese and Parish Reporting" section below to understand exactly what this means and what it does not mean.

Personal reflections and notes - if you use the Emmaus Disciples journey, you may write personal reflections or notes in response to daily content. Please read the "Your Personal Reflections" section below to understand how we protect this content.

Information We Collect Automatically

Anonymous website analytics. We use Fathom Analytics to understand how our sites are used in aggregate. Fathom is fundamentally different from tools like Google Analytics:

Fathom does not use cookies. Fathom does not collect personal data. Fathom does not track you across websites. Fathom cannot identify you as an individual. Fathom does not build a profile of your behavior.

What we see is aggregate data: how many people visited a page, which pages are most popular, what countries our visitors come from (at the country level only), and where traffic originates (for example, "from Google" or "from Instagram"). We cannot see who you are, where exactly you are, or what you did before or after visiting our site.

We chose Fathom specifically because it lets us understand our audience without compromising anyone's privacy. You can learn more about how Fathom processes data at usefathom.com/data.

Session cookies. When you log in to your account, we set a session cookie to keep you signed in as you move between pages. This is a strictly necessary cookie - it exists only to make the site function. It is not a tracking cookie, it is not shared with anyone, and it expires when your session ends or after a set period. Without it, you would need to log in again on every page.

What We Do NOT Collect

We believe it's important to be explicit about this:

We do not use Google Analytics or any analytics tool that builds a profile of your browsing behavior.

We do not use advertising cookies, retargeting pixels, or tracking scripts. There is no Facebook Pixel, no Google Ads tag, no LinkedIn Insight tag, and no similar technology on any of our sites.

We do not sell, rent, trade, or share your personal data with advertisers, data brokers, or any third party for their marketing purposes.

We do not build behavioral profiles of our visitors or subscribers.

We do not use fingerprinting, local storage tracking, or any other technique designed to identify or follow you.

Social Media

We are active on social media platforms including Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and others. We use these platforms to share updates about our content, connect with our community, and invite people to visit our sites.

Here is what this means for your privacy:

On our sites: We do not embed social media tracking pixels, share buttons that load third-party scripts, or any code that allows social media platforms to track your visit to our sites. When you visit Hearth & Altar, Facebook does not know you are there. When you read a Deacon Life article, Instagram cannot see that.

On social media platforms: When you interact with our posts, follow our accounts, or click a link we share on a social media platform, that platform's own privacy policy governs what data they collect about you. We have no control over how those platforms track or use your data. We encourage you to review the privacy settings of any social media platform you use.

Links from social media to our sites: When you click a link on social media that brings you to one of our sites, our analytics (Fathom) can see that the visit originated from that platform (for example, "referral from Instagram") but cannot identify who you are. This referral information is aggregate and anonymous.

In short: we go to social media to meet people where they are. We don't bring social media's tracking back to our home.

YouTube Embeds

Some of our pages include embedded videos from YouTube - for example, podcast episodes on Deacon Life or formation content on other properties.

We use YouTube's privacy-enhanced mode. This is a specific technical choice that changes how YouTube embeds behave on our site:

Standard YouTube embeds (used by most websites) allow YouTube to set tracking cookies on your device the moment a page loads, even if you never watch the video. Just visiting the page is enough for YouTube to begin collecting data about you.

Privacy-enhanced YouTube embeds (what we use) prevent YouTube from setting any cookies or collecting any data about you until you actively choose to play a video. If you never press play, YouTube never knows you were on our page.

If you do choose to play a video, your interaction with that video is governed by YouTube's (Google's) privacy policy. We encourage you to review it at policies.google.com/privacy.

Podcast Player

Our podcast episodes include an embedded audio player from Transistor.fm, our podcast hosting provider. Transistor's player is designed to be lightweight and privacy-conscious. You can review Transistor's privacy policy at transistor.fm/privacy.

Payment Processing

When you purchase a subscription or product, your payment is processed by Stripe. Here's how that works:

Your card details are entered into a Stripe-hosted payment form and transmitted directly to Stripe's secure servers. We never see your full card number. We receive only a confirmation of payment, your billing name, and the last four digits of your card for your reference.

Stripe sets cookies that are strictly necessary for fraud prevention and secure payment processing. These cookies are classified as "strictly necessary" under privacy regulations such as GDPR and do not require your consent. They exist to protect you and to protect the transaction.

You can review Stripe's privacy and security practices at stripe.com/privacy.

Email Communications

We send emails using SendLayer, a transactional email delivery service. Here is how we handle email:

We send you only what you signed up for. If you subscribed to Hearth & Altar daily reflections, that's what you'll receive. If you subscribed to Deacon Life podcast notifications, that's what you'll receive. We don't add you to lists you didn't ask for.

Every email includes a one-click unsubscribe link. You can stop receiving emails at any time, instantly, without needing to log in, call anyone, or send a request.

We do not sell or share your email address with anyone for any purpose beyond delivering the content you subscribed to.

We use your timezone to send daily emails at a convenient local time - for example, 5:00 AM in your timezone rather than at a single fixed time for all subscribers regardless of where they live.

Diocese and Parish Reporting

If you choose to share your diocese and/or parish when you create an account, we may include your usage in aggregate reports that we share with authorized representatives of that diocese or parish. We want to be completely transparent about what this means.

What diocesan and parish leaders can see:

Aggregate numbers only. For example: "42 people from St. Elizabeth Parish in the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois are active Hearth & Altar subscribers." Or: "12 families from your diocese completed the Emmaus Disciples journey this quarter." Or: "Your parish has 8 active Deacon Life community members."

These reports help diocesan and parish leaders understand how their communities are engaging with Catholic formation. They can see which offerings resonate, where interest is growing, and how to better support the formation of their people.

What diocesan and parish leaders cannot see:

Your individual activity. They cannot see your name, your email address, what specific content you read, when you open an email, or any other personal detail. They see counts and trends - never individuals. A parish leader will know that "15 families from our parish use Hearth & Altar" but will never know that your family specifically is one of them.

Why we do this:

Catholic formation doesn't happen in isolation. It happens in parishes, in dioceses, in the living Body of Christ. When a diocese can see that 200 families across their parishes are using Domus for daily formation, that helps them understand the spiritual life of their people and invest in what's working. We believe this kind of aggregate insight serves the mission of the Church without compromising anyone's privacy.

Your control:

Sharing your diocese and parish is entirely optional. If you don't provide this information, you still have full access to all content and features. Your experience is not diminished in any way. If you provide it and later want it removed, you can contact us and we will remove it from your profile.

Your Personal Reflections

The Emmaus Disciples journey invites you to write personal reflections and notes in response to daily content. These reflections may include your prayers, your struggles, your encounters with God - the kind of writing that is deeply personal and deserves serious protection.

Here is how we handle it:

Your reflections are encrypted. Personal notes and reflections are stored encrypted on our servers. This means that even if someone were to gain unauthorized access to our database, your reflections would be unreadable.

Your reflections are private to you and your small group. If you are part of an Emmaus Disciples small group, reflections you choose to share with your group are visible only to the members of that group. Reflections you keep private are visible only to you. You control what is shared and what is not.

We cannot read your reflections. Domus administrators do not have access to the decrypted content of your personal reflections. We do not read them, analyze them, use them for any purpose, or share them with anyone - including diocesan or parish leaders, even in aggregate. Your spiritual journal is yours.

You can delete your reflections at any time. If you want to remove any or all of your reflections, you can do so from within your account. Deletion is permanent.

Small group leaders cannot see private reflections. An Emmaus Disciples small group leader can see reflections that members have chosen to share with the group. They cannot see any reflection a member has kept private. The distinction between "shared with my group" and "private to me" is always in your control.

We treat your personal reflections with the understanding that what happens in your heart between you and God is sacred, and that the trust you place in a prayer and formation tool must be honored absolutely.

How We Use Your Data

We use the information we collect for the following purposes and no others:

To deliver the content you subscribed to. To process your payments. To understand how our sites are used in aggregate, with no personal identification, so we can improve our content and the experience of using our sites. To communicate with you about your account or subscription when necessary (for example, a payment confirmation or a subscription renewal notice). To provide aggregate reports to dioceses and parishes about how their communities are engaging with our formation offerings, as described in the "Diocese and Parish Reporting" section above.

We do not use your data for advertising, profiling, behavioral targeting, or any purpose beyond serving you the content and community you came here for.

Data Storage and Security

Your account data is stored on secure servers. All connections to our sites are encrypted using HTTPS/TLS, which means data transmitted between your device and our servers cannot be read by anyone in between.

We use magic link authentication, which means there are no passwords stored on our servers - and no passwords for anyone to steal. When you log in, we send a secure, time-limited link to your email address. Click it and you're in.

Access to personal data is limited to authorized administrators of Domus Formation Inc. We do not share database access with third parties.

Cookies Summary

Here is a complete accounting of the cookies used on our sites:

Session cookies - Strictly necessary. These keep you logged in after you authenticate. They are not tracking cookies and are not shared with anyone. No consent required.

Stripe cookies - Strictly necessary. These support fraud prevention during payment processing. They protect you and the transaction. No consent required.

Analytics cookies - None. Fathom Analytics is completely cookieless.

YouTube cookies - None, unless you choose to play a video. We use YouTube's privacy-enhanced embed mode.

Advertising or tracking cookies - None. We don't use them. There are none on our sites.

For visitors in the European Union and United Kingdom, a consent banner may appear as an additional precaution. Given the above, the list of non-essential cookies requiring consent is very short - and in most cases, empty.

Your Rights

Regardless of where you live, you have the following rights with respect to your data:

Access. You can ask us what personal data we hold about you, and we'll tell you.

Correction. If any data we hold about you is inaccurate, you can ask us to fix it.

Deletion. You can ask us to delete your personal data, and we will - subject only to any legal obligations we may have to retain certain records (such as payment transaction records).

Unsubscribe. You can stop receiving emails at any time using the unsubscribe link in any email.

Ask questions. You can contact us at any time with any privacy question or concern.

If you are a resident of the European Union or United Kingdom, you have additional rights under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), including the right to data portability and the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority. If you are a resident of California, you have additional rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). We honor all such requests.

Children's Privacy

Our sites are not directed at children under the age of 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal data from children under 13. The Young Disciples Society serves teenagers in a parish youth group context with parental and parish leader involvement. If you believe a child under 13 has provided us with personal data, please contact us and we will delete it promptly.

Changes to This Policy

If we make material changes to this privacy policy, we will update this page and note the new date at the top. For significant changes that affect how we handle your data, we will notify subscribers by email.

We encourage you to review this policy periodically, but we also want to be honest: our approach to privacy is not likely to change. We built this platform to form people in faith, not to monetize attention. That commitment is baked into every technical decision we've made, and we intend to keep it that way.

Contact Us

If you have any questions about this privacy policy, about the data we hold about you, or about anything else related to your privacy, please contact us:

Domus Formation, Inc., PO Box 43, Granite City, IL 62040

Email: contact@WeAreDomus.com

We're real people and we'll respond personally.

Domus Formation, Inc.

Consecrated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus