Nearest Mass

Find a Holy Mass Near You

Privacy Policy

Effective Date: February 7, 2026

This Privacy Policy describes how NearestMass.com ("Nearest Mass", "we", "us", or "our") collects, uses, and protects your information when you use our website and services.

Who We Are

NearestMass.com is a free service that helps Catholics find nearby mass times based on their location. Our mission is to make it easier for the faithful to attend Holy Mass.

Information We Collect

We collect minimal information necessary to provide our service:

Location Data

When you use our mass finder, we request your device's geolocation (latitude and longitude) through your browser's location API. If you decline or location is unavailable, we may use IP-based geolocation as a fallback. This location data is used only to find nearby churches and is never stored on our servers. Each search uses your location temporarily for that request only.

IP Address

Your IP address is automatically collected when you access our website (this is standard for all websites). We use it solely for rate limiting to prevent abuse of our service. IP addresses are held in memory for less than 1 minute and are never stored in a database.

Cookies

We use the following cookies:

  • NEXT_LOCALE: Stores your chosen language (English or Spanish). Expires after 1 year.
  • user-language-preference: Syncs your language preference with our system. This is a session cookie that expires when you close your browser.
  • Advertising cookies: Set by Google AdSense to serve relevant ads. These cookies are only set with your explicit consent if you are in the EEA, UK, or Switzerland. You can manage or withdraw your consent at any time using the "Privacy settings" link on our cookie banner or privacy page.

Language cookies are strictly necessary for the website to function. Advertising cookies require your consent and are managed through Google's consent dialog, which appears automatically for users in the EEA, UK, and Switzerland.

Browser Local Storage

We store your theme preference (light mode or dark mode) in your browser's local storage. This data never leaves your device and is not transmitted to our servers.

How We Use Your Information

We use the collected information for the following purposes:

  • Finding churches and mass times near your location
  • Remembering your language preference so the site loads in your preferred language
  • Preventing abuse of our service through rate limiting
  • Analyzing website traffic and performance to improve our service (via Vercel Analytics)

Third-Party Services

We use the following third-party services:

Vercel Analytics

We use Vercel Analytics to understand how visitors use our website (page views, traffic sources, etc.). Vercel Analytics is privacy-friendly and does not use cookies or collect personal information. Learn more at https://vercel.com/docs/analytics/privacy-policy

Vercel Speed Insights

We use Vercel Speed Insights to monitor website performance. Like Vercel Analytics, it does not use cookies or collect personal information.

OpenStreetMap

Church location data is sourced from OpenStreetMap contributors. We do not share your location or any personal data with OpenStreetMap. Learn more at https://www.openstreetmap.org/copyright

Google AdSense

We use Google AdSense to display advertisements. For users in the EEA, UK, and Switzerland, a consent dialog will appear on your first visit, allowing you to choose whether to allow advertising cookies. If you consent, Google may use cookies to serve ads based on your interests. If you decline, you will still see ads, but they will not be personalized. You can change your consent at any time using the "Privacy settings" link. Learn more at https://policies.google.com/technologies/ads

Data Retention

We retain your information only as long as necessary:

  • Location data: Not stored at all. Used only during your search request.
  • IP addresses: Held in memory for less than 1 minute for rate limiting, then discarded.
  • Cookies: NEXT_LOCALE expires after 1 year; user-language-preference expires when you close your browser.
  • Local storage (theme): Remains on your device until you clear your browser data.

Your Privacy Rights

Depending on your location, you may have certain rights regarding your data:

GDPR Rights (European Economic Area)

If you are located in the EEA, you have the following rights:

  • Right to access: Request a copy of your personal data
  • Right to rectification: Request correction of inaccurate data
  • Right to erasure: Request deletion of your data
  • Right to restrict processing: Request that we limit how we use your data
  • Right to data portability: Receive your data in a portable format
  • Right to object: Object to our processing of your data

Note: Since we do not store location data or IP addresses beyond temporary in-memory use, there is typically no personal data to access, correct, or delete. You can clear cookies and local storage through your browser settings at any time.

CCPA Rights (California Residents)

If you are a California resident, you have the following rights:

  • Right to know: Request information about the personal information we collect and how we use it
  • Right to delete: Request deletion of your personal information
  • Right to opt-out of sale: We do not sell your personal information, so this does not apply

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at the email address below.

Children's Privacy

Our service is not directed at children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you are a parent or guardian and believe your child has provided us with personal information, please contact us, and we will delete such information.

Data Security

We implement reasonable security measures to protect your information. All data transmitted between your browser and our servers is encrypted using HTTPS. However, no method of transmission over the internet is 100% secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we make changes, we will update the "Effective Date" at the top of this page. We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically. Your continued use of our service after changes are made constitutes your acceptance of the updated policy.

Manage Your Privacy Settings

If you are in the EEA, UK, or Switzerland, you can change your advertising consent preferences at any time by clicking the button below. This will reopen the consent dialog where you can update your choices.

Contact Us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or wish to exercise your privacy rights, please contact us at:

privacy@nearestmass.com