Last updated 2026-08-31
Blue Petra Open Learning ("the School") treats student information carefully and collects only what running a school actually requires. This notice explains what we hold, why, how long we keep it, and how it is removed.
| Item | Why |
|---|---|
| Name | Printed on your certificate; how the School addresses you |
| Email address | Confirming the account, signing in, notices about marking and completion |
| Password | Stored hashed — the School cannot read the original |
| Item | Why |
|---|---|
| Year of birth, gender | Understanding which age groups need which courses |
| Phone | A fallback when email does not reach you |
| Country and city | Knowing where students are, for time zones and language support |
| Church, denomination, role | Checking whether the Lay Ministry track is reaching lay members |
| Years in ministry, education | Improving course levels and prerequisite guidance |
| Why you are studying | Improving the curriculum |
| How you heard of us | Knowing where to make the School known |
The School never collects national identity numbers, bank or card details, or passport numbers. Every course is free, so no payment information is needed. Any message asking you for such details in the School's name did not come from us.
We use it for nothing else. In particular, we do not use it for advertising or marketing.
| Data | Retention |
|---|---|
| Account and study records | Until you ask us to delete them |
| Dormant accounts | Deleted after three years of no sign-in, where no certificate was issued, following notice |
| Certificate records | Kept permanently — see section 4 |
| Sign-up IP address | One year |
Every certificate carries a number, and whoever receives the printed copy — a church, an employer — must be able to verify it on the School's website. Deleting your account does not remove the certificate number, name, course and issue date. If it did, a certificate already in someone's hands would report itself as never issued, which harms the student holding it.
If you are not content with that, please ask us to delete your account before a certificate is issued. What remains is only the name, course, date and number; your email address and everything else stays private.
The School does not sell student information and does not pass it to third parties, other than the services needed to run the site:
| Who | Purpose | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Web hosting provider | Running the server | All stored data, passwords included (hashed) |
| Email delivery service | Sending confirmation and notices | Name, email address |
| Google reCAPTCHA | Blocking spam sign-ups | IP address and browser details, on the sign-up page only |
Information may also be provided where a lawful order requires it.
If you join a small group by typing its invite code, the other members see your name, and the number of lectures you have read is added anonymously to the group's total. Individual progress, marks, notes and highlights are shown to nobody - including the group's leader - and "how many of us read this week" is a count, so who did not read is never knowable. Leaving removes you from the total immediately, and needs nobody's permission.
The School uses cookies only to keep you signed in and remember your interface language. There is no advertising or tracking cookie.
The School does not accept registrations from anyone under 14. Such accounts are deleted when found.
Questions about your information, and deletion requests, go through the message form. We will act on it and write back. The form needs you to be signed in, and what you write stays on your account together with our reply.
If you have no account, or cannot reach the one you have, write to privacy@bluepetraseminary.org.