The Academy for Learning Islam (ALI)
Last updated: 7 November 2026
This policy describes the personal information handled by:
- the Academy website at https://academyofislam.com
- the Academy for Learning Islam app for iPhone and Android (bundle and package
com.academyofislam.app).
It matches how the website and the app work on the date above. The app and the website are not the same. The app does not create an account and does not upload a profile. The website does collect personal information when you contact us, register, subscribe, donate, or buy something.
Linked services that we do not operate inside the app — including the Hadith library at hadith.academyofislam.com, PayPal, Stripe, and CanadaHelps — have their own policies. Those apply once you leave the Academy app or open that service.
1. Who we are
The Academy for Learning Islam is a Canadian registered charity. We publish Qur’anic reflections, duʿās, courses, updates, and resources, and we run a small shop and donation pages.
Privacy contact: [email protected]
Website: https://new.academyofislam.com
Contact page: https://new.academyofislam.com/contact/
Mail: A.L.I., c/o 158 Vanguard Road, Vaughan, ON L4K 5G8, Canada
2. In short
The app
- Shows public Academy content (reflections, duʿās, courses, updates, resources, and links to the shop) from
new.academyofislam.com. - Does not ask you to create an account, and does not ask for your name, email, or phone number.
- Stores a weekly reminder preference, which reflections you have marked read, and a cache of reflection titles and short metadata on the device only.
- Asks for notification permission only if you turn the weekly reminder on. It does not send a push token to us.
- Does not include an analytics SDK, advertising, or tracking across apps and websites.
The website
- Can be read without an account.
- Collects what you type into a form, a shop checkout, a donation, or an email signup, and uses it for that purpose.
- Uses cookies for the shop, downloads, pop-ups, and Google Analytics.
- Does not sell personal information.
3. The mobile app
What the app does
The app is a reader for public Academy content. It loads reflections, duʿās, courses, updates, resources, and shop listings from the public WordPress API at:
That API is read-only. It returns published content. It does not return accounts, orders, donors, or newsletter subscribers. Full article text is requested when you open an item. A lighter copy of reflection titles and metadata is saved on the device so search and browsing can work when the network is slow.
From the More screen you can open Courses, the shop, the Hadith library, Donate, the website, or Contact. Those links open outside the app. The site you land on has its own policy.
No account and no login
You do not create an account in the app. The app does not collect your name, email address, or phone number, and it does not ask you to sign in.
Information that stays on the device
The app stores the following in on-device storage (AsyncStorage). It is not uploaded to Academy servers in this version.
| What | What is stored | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Weekly reflection reminder | Whether the reminder is on, and the weekday and local time (the control defaults to off, Friday at 9:00) | So the phone can schedule the reminder you chose |
| Scheduled reminder id | The id of that local notification, so it can be replaced or cancelled | So turning the reminder off removes the old one |
| Reading progress | Up to 500 reflections you marked read: the item id, title, number, and the time you marked it | So the app can show what you have read on this device |
| Reflection catalog | A slim cache: id, link, title, short excerpt, date, language, number, sūra, āyah, and verse reference. Not the full article HTML | So the list and search can open from the device and refresh from the public API |
Recent API responses are also held in memory for a few minutes so the same screen does not reload immediately. That copy disappears when the app closes. It is not a profile and it is not sent anywhere except as the original request to our public content API.
A field exists in the reading-progress file for a future sync time. It is unused. Nothing is synced to a server today.
Notifications
The weekly reminder is optional and off until you turn it on.
- Permission is requested only when you enable the reminder. If you refuse, the reminder stays off.
- The reminder is scheduled on the device. iOS or Android shows it at the local time you set. We do not run a remote push service for this version, and no push token is sent to the Academy or to a push provider.
- The reminder text is a general notice that a reflection is ready. It does not contain your name or your reading history.
- The in-browser preview of the app does not schedule reminders. Reminders are for the iOS and Android app.
Apple (iOS) or Google (Android) deliver the local notification through the operating system. They do that on the device. We do not receive a token back.
Network use
When the app needs content, it sends a normal HTTPS GET request to the Academy website for public JSON. The app does not attach an account, an advertising id, or an analytics payload.
Our website host may record that request in ordinary server logs (IP address, date and time, URL, and browser or app identifier), the same way it logs a visit in a web browser. Those logs are used to operate and protect the site. They are not used to build an app profile.
Opening a shop, Hadith, donation, or other external link leaves the app. From that point the other site’s policy applies. Checkout, payments, and email signup happen on the website or on the payment service, not inside the app.
What the app does not collect
In this version the app does not include:
- an analytics SDK
- advertising or an advertising identifier
- tracking across apps or websites
- location, camera, contacts, microphone, or photos
You do not need to answer “yes” to App Store tracking for this version. The app does not track you across other companies’ apps or sites.
Deleting what the app stored
Uninstall the app, or clear the app’s data in the system settings, and the reminder preference, reading progress, and cached titles are removed from the device. There is no app user profile on our servers to delete.
4. The website
The website is WordPress. Public pages, the content API the app uses, forms, the shop, and email signup all run there.
Reading pages
You can read reflections, course descriptions, resources, and other public pages without an account and without giving us your name or email.
When you do, the site still receives technical information that a web server always receives: IP address, date and time, the page or file requested, referring page, and browser type. Our host and cache (nginx and W3 Total Cache) keep this in logs so the site can be served, secured, and repaired.
Google Analytics
The website uses Google Analytics 4, added with Site Kit by Google. Google sets cookies (such as _ga) and receives usage information, including pages viewed, roughly where a visit comes from, device and browser type, and an identifier in the cookie. We use this to see which public pages are used. We do not use it to identify app users, and the app does not load this tag.
Google’s own policy describes what it does with that information: https://policies.google.com/privacy.
The website loads typefaces from Google Fonts. When your browser requests a font, Google receives your IP address. The mobile app bundles its fonts and does not call Google Fonts.
Forms you choose to send
Forms are provided by Gravity Forms and are stored on our website so staff can reply and run the program. Submit a form only if you want us to have those answers.
Contact. The contact form asks for name, phone, email, topic, subject, and message. We use it to reply.
Course registration. Registration asks for the student’s first and last name, age, date of birth, city, email, and phone; your relation to the student; any allergy or other medical note you choose to provide; the course; and whether you consent to share the email address with classmates for group work. It also collects the billing address, the fee, any coupon, and an optional donation. Card payment on that form is processed by Stripe. We keep the registration and the payment result (amount, status, and a reference). We do not store the full card number on the Academy website.
Allergy and medical notes are used only to run the class safely. Email is shared with classmates only if you select that option on the form.
Other forms. A page may offer a volunteer form, a program application, or a similar form. We collect the fields shown on that form and use them to respond and to administer that request.
Email newsletters
The footer offers the Friday reflection by email, sent with MailPoet on our website. If you subscribe, we store the email address you enter and use it to send that list. Each message identifies the Academy and includes a way to unsubscribe. You can also email [email protected] and ask to be removed.
If a page invites you to leave an email for a later notice (for example, when self-paced courses are ready), we use that address only to send that notice, and you can unsubscribe.
We do not sell mailing lists.
Shop
The shop is WooCommerce on our website. If you buy a book or other product, we collect the name, email, billing and shipping details, and order contents you submit at checkout, and the payment result. Card details are handled by the payment provider shown at checkout. We keep the order so we can fulfil it, receipt it, and handle a question or refund.
The shop also records how the checkout was reached (for example a referring page or campaign parameter) so we can understand orders. That uses cookies in your browser. The app does not run checkout; it only links to the shop.
If checkout offers an account, WooCommerce stores the account details you submit with your orders. You do not need an account to read the site.
Downloads
Some resources are files served by a download plugin on our website. Requesting a file can set a technical cookie so the download can complete, and the site may log that the file was requested.
Donations
Donations are optional and separate from the app.
- E-transfer. Canadian donors can send an e-transfer to [email protected]. Please include your name, address, and email so we can issue a tax receipt. An e-transfer form on the site collects name, email, mailing address, and amount for the same purpose.
- Cheque. Cheques can be mailed to A.L.I., c/o 158 Vanguard Road, Vaughan, ON L4K 5G8.
- PayPal, Stripe, and CanadaHelps. Those organizations collect the payment on their own pages and provide us with the details we need for a receipt (typically name, email, and amount). Their privacy policies apply to the card data they process.
We keep donation records so we can issue receipts and meet Canadian charity record-keeping rules. We do not publish donor lists.
Embedded media
Some pages play audio or video, or embed another site. If you press play, that host may receive your IP address under its own policy.
5. Cookies and similar storage
The app does not use browser cookies and does not use tracking cookies. It uses on-device storage described in section 3.
The website uses cookies and similar storage for these purposes:
| Purpose | Examples |
|---|---|
| Remember a shop session and cart | WooCommerce session and cart cookies |
| Record how an order was reached | Order-attribution cookies set by the shop |
| Serve a file download | Download client cookie |
| Keep a closed notice closed | Popup cookie |
| Measure site use | Google Analytics cookies (_ga and related) |
| Remember a logged-in shop customer or staff member | WordPress login cookies, only after a login |
| Remember a newsletter subscription | A MailPoet cookie may be set after you subscribe |
You can block or delete cookies in the browser. The public pages will still load. The cart, a download, or analytics may not work as intended. The website does not currently show a cookie banner before Google Analytics is set.
6. Children and families
Academy programs are for children, youth, and adults. The app is a general reader of public Academy content. It is not directed at children under 13 as a children’s app, and it does not knowingly collect personal information from children. It does not ask a child, or anyone else, for a name, email, phone number, or account.
On the website, a parent or guardian who registers a child for a course provides the student details on that form, including age, date of birth, and any allergy or medical note they choose to give. Please do not send a child’s personal information except as a parent or guardian on a form that asks for it. We do not knowingly collect personal information directly from a child.
7. Third parties
We do not sell personal information. These organizations process information because the site or the device needs them:
| Who | Role |
|---|---|
| Our website host | Serves the WordPress site and the public content API, and keeps technical logs |
| Google Analytics and Google Fonts on the website. The app does not use these | |
| Stripe | Card payments for course registration and for donations made through Stripe |
| PayPal | Donations made through PayPal |
| CanadaHelps | Donations made through CanadaHelps |
| Apple and Google (the platform) | Deliver a local notification on the device if you enable the weekly reminder, and distribute the app through their stores. This version does not send them a push token of ours |
| MailPoet (on our site) | Stores newsletter addresses and sends the Friday reflection |
Staff and instructors see only the information they need for a course, an order, a donation receipt, or a reply.
8. Why we use personal information
We use personal information for these purposes:
- to send the public content you request, in the browser or in the app
- to reply to a message
- to register a student, run the class, and receipt the fee
- to share an email with classmates only where the registration form records that consent
- to send a newsletter you joined, until you unsubscribe
- to fulfil a shop order
- to issue donation receipts and keep charity records
- to measure use of the website and to keep the site secure
- to remember the reminder and reading progress you asked the app to keep on the device
We rely on the fact that you gave us the information for that purpose (a form, a subscription, a checkout, or a donation), and on our need to run the Academy, keep proper records, and protect the site.
9. How long we keep it
On the device. Reminder settings, reading progress, and cached titles stay until you delete the app or clear its data.
On our servers. There is no app user profile. Website information is kept only as long as the purpose requires:
- Contact messages: long enough to reply and to keep a record of the conversation, then deleted or reduced.
- Course registration: for the term of the course and a reasonable period afterward for attendance, receipts, and follow-up questions. Allergy and medical notes are kept only for that class-safety purpose.
- Newsletter addresses: until you unsubscribe. We may keep the address on a suppression list so we do not email you again.
- Shop orders: for as long as we need them for fulfilment, returns, and financial records.
- Donations and other financial records: for the period Canadian charity and tax rules require, which is generally six years after the end of the relevant year.
- Server logs and analytics: for a limited time, under our host’s and Google’s retention, for security and to understand site use.
10. Your choices and requests
You can:
- leave the weekly reminder off, or turn it off later in the app (the scheduled local notification is cancelled)
- uninstall the app to erase on-device data
- unsubscribe from email with the link in the message
- refuse classmate email sharing on the registration form
- block cookies in the browser
- ask us what personal information we hold about you, ask for a correction, or ask us to delete it where the law allows
Email [email protected] with the request. We may need to confirm that the request is yours. We aim to reply within 30 days. We may keep information we are required to keep, such as donation receipts and financial records, even after a deletion request.
You may also contact the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada about a privacy concern: https://www.priv.gc.ca.
11. Security
The website is served over HTTPS. Form entries, orders, and subscriber lists are stored on the website and are available to people who need them to operate the Academy. Payment card numbers are processed by Stripe, PayPal, or CanadaHelps rather than stored as full card numbers on our site.
No method of transmission or storage is perfectly secure. Please avoid sending sensitive information in an ordinary email unless you need to.
12. If you are outside Canada
The Academy is in Canada. Our host, Google, and the payment services may process information in Canada, the United States, or another country where they operate. Those countries may not provide the same privacy protections as your own. We use this information to run the website, the app’s content requests, and the services you asked for.
13. Changes
We will update this policy when our practices change, and we will change the date at the top.
If we later add accounts, remote push notifications, or analytics to the app, we will update this policy first and, where consent is required, we will ask for it in the app before that feature collects anything new. The same applies to a material new tool on the website.
14. How to ask a privacy question
Email: [email protected]
Contact form: https://new.academyofislam.com/contact/
Mail: The Academy for Learning Islam, c/o 158 Vanguard Road, Vaughan, ON L4K 5G8, Canada
Please write “Privacy” in the subject so it reaches the right person.