Privacy Policy

Who we are

Rafiq is an Islamic question-and-answer service run by Al Muslim (the-muslim.org). Al Muslim decides how the information described on this page is used and is responsible for it: in the language of data-protection law, Al Muslim is the controller.

For anything about your privacy, write to hello@the-muslim.org. For general help, write to support@the-muslim.org.

This policy was last updated on 13 October 2026.

What this policy covers

• The Rafiq chat at rafiqai.app.
• The Rafiq apps for Android and iOS. The apps open the same service as the website, so everything on this page applies to them in the same way.
• A share link made from a chat.
• The Rafiq developer dashboard at dev.rafiqai.app and the Rafiq API at api.rafiqai.app.

The Nizam account, which you can use to sign in on the website, is covered by the Al Muslim privacy policy at the-muslim.org/privacy.

The short version

• You can use Rafiq without an account and without giving your name.
• What you type is stored so your chats work, and is sent to DeepSeek, the AI model that writes the reply.
• Rafiq does not sell your information, does not show ads, and does not track you across other sites or apps.
• The apps ask for no permission except internet access. They do not read your location, contacts, photos, files, camera or microphone.

What we collect

What you type. Your questions, Rafiq's replies and the conversation around them, with the time each was sent and whether the chat is in Rafiq or Dawah mode.

How each answer was made. For each reply, a technical record: the search Rafiq ran, the passages it found and used, the reply itself, and how long each step took. It is used to check and correct answers.

Your settings, if you set them. The name you want Rafiq to call you; whether you are Muslim, a new Muslim or a spiritual seeker; the answer language; and the city, country and calculation method for prayer times. The name, background, answer language and country are stored with your profile on our servers. The city and the calculation method are kept on your device and sent with your questions. The time zone your device reports may also be stored, so times are shown correctly.

A random id. If you do not sign in, the browser or the app creates a random id, and your chats are stored against it. It is not your name, and it is not shared with other sites.

Your account, if you sign in. Signing in is available on the website only. It uses the Nizam account, and Rafiq receives that account's id, name, email address and picture.

Feedback and reports. A thumbs-up or thumbs-down, and a report with what you say was wrong, what would have been correct and any note you add. Each is stored with a copy of the question and answer it concerns.

Questions Rafiq could not answer. When Rafiq finds nothing to answer from, the question is added to a list of gaps in its library, with a reference to the chat it came from.

Your network address. Your IP address is kept with a counter that limits how many questions one connection can send each minute. It is not attached to your chats. Cloudflare, which hosts Rafiq, also processes your IP address and the details of each request in order to deliver and protect the service.

Visit counts. The website uses Cloudflare Web Analytics, which counts page views without cookies and without following you to other sites.

On the developer dashboard and the API. The developer's account details (name, email address and organisation), a hashed copy of each API key, and a record of each call: its time, the endpoint and the result. Questions sent through the API are answered and are not stored as chats.

What we do not collect

• Your precise location. A place is used only when you type it.
• Your contacts, photos, files, camera or microphone.
• An advertising id, or information from other apps.
• Payment details. Rafiq does not take payments.
• Government identity documents.

Sensitive information

A question about faith can reveal your religious beliefs, and a question can contain details of your health, your family or your private life. Some laws treat that information as sensitive. Rafiq uses what you send only to answer you and to run and improve the service, as this page describes.

Share only what you are comfortable sending, and leave out other people's names and private details. If you do not want something stored, do not send it.

How we use it

• To answer your question, and to keep your chats so you can open them again.
• To follow a conversation, by sending recent turns from the same chat with a new question. A question is not given the history of your other chats.
• To apply your settings: the name to call you, the language to answer in, and the place for prayer times and the qibla.
• To check and correct answers. Members of the Rafiq team, and scholars and reviewers who help check answers, may read questions, replies, reports and the records of how answers were made.
• To keep the service working and secure, and to stop abuse.
• To count visits in aggregate.
• To meet legal obligations.

Rafiq does not use your conversations to train AI models. It does not make decisions about you that have legal or similarly significant effects, and it does not build an advertising profile of you.

Legal bases

Where the law requires a legal basis for using personal information, for example in the European Union, the European Economic Area and the United Kingdom:

• Answering your questions and keeping your chats is necessary to provide the service you ask for.
• Checking answers, keeping the service secure and counting visits rely on our legitimate interest in running an accurate and safe service. You can object, as described under Your rights.
• Where a question reveals your religious beliefs or other sensitive information, we rely on your explicit choice to send it to us for an answer. You can withdraw that choice at any time by no longer sending questions and by asking us to erase what you sent.
• We keep or disclose information where the law requires it.

Who else receives it

Rafiq uses these service providers. Each receives only what its part of the work needs.

• DeepSeek (deepseek.com) writes the replies. It receives your question, recent turns from the same chat, the settings above that apply to the question, and the passages Rafiq found. It also performs smaller steps, such as understanding and translating a question. DeepSeek processes this on servers in the People's Republic of China, under its own terms and privacy policy for API customers.
• Cloudflare (cloudflare.com) hosts Rafiq and stores its data: the chats, profiles, reports and records described on this page. It also runs the search over the library, the models that match a question to passages, and the visit counts.
• Aladhan (aladhan.com) receives the city, country and calculation method when you ask for prayer times.
• Open-Meteo (open-meteo.com) receives the place name when you ask for the direction of the qibla, to find that place's coordinates.
• Google Fonts (fonts.google.com) supplies the typefaces. When a page loads them, your device's IP address and browser details reach Google.
• Nizam (the-muslim.org), Al Muslim's account service, when you sign in on the website.

Information is also disclosed:

• to anyone who holds a share link you created;
• where the law requires it, or where it is needed to protect the rights, safety or security of readers, Al Muslim or the public;
• to a successor organisation if Rafiq is ever transferred, which would remain bound by this policy.

Rafiq does not sell your personal information and does not share it for advertising. In the terms of California law, there is no sale and no sharing for cross-context behavioural advertising.

Where it is processed

Your information is processed in the countries where Al Muslim and its providers operate, including Canada, the United States and the People's Republic of China. The data-protection laws of those countries may differ from those of your own, and authorities there may be able to require access to information under their laws. Where the law of your country requires a safeguard for such a transfer, we rely on the safeguards our providers offer where they are available.

A shared chat

A share link lets anyone who has it read a copy of that conversation, without an account. Treat it like a letter you have handed to someone. Deleting the chat does not switch off a link you have already given out. To have a link removed, email hello@the-muslim.org with the link.

How long it is kept

• Chats are kept so you can return to them. Deleting a chat removes it from your chat list straight away. The stored copy is kept until you ask us to erase it, and is then erased within 30 days.
• Settings are kept until you change or clear them.
• Reports and feedback are kept while they are needed to correct the answer they concern.
• Records of how answers were made are kept while they are needed to check and correct answers.
• Questions Rafiq could not answer are kept until the gap in the library is filled or set aside.
• The rate-limit counter holds one entry per network address, and the count in it is replaced every minute.
• Short working results, such as a question's translation for searching the library, are kept for up to 30 days so that the same question is handled the same way. They carry nothing that identifies you.
• Developer records are kept while the developer account is open. Records of API calls are kept as long as they are needed for usage limits and security.

Information in Cloudflare's own logs is kept under Cloudflare's policies. Erased information may remain in backups for a limited period.

Your rights

Depending on where you live, including under the GDPR in the European Union and the European Economic Area, UK data-protection law, Canada's PIPEDA and US state laws such as California's, you may have the right to:

• know what we hold about you, and receive a copy;
• have it corrected;
• have it erased;
• receive it in a portable form (you can also export any conversation from its menu);
• object to how we use it, or ask us to restrict it;
• withdraw a consent you have given;
• not be treated differently for using these rights;
• complain to a data-protection authority, such as your national authority in the EU or EEA, the Information Commissioner's Office in the UK, or the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada.

To use any of these rights, email hello@the-muslim.org. Rafiq does not require an account, so tell us how to find what is yours, for example by sending a share link to the chat. We may ask for more information to confirm that a request comes from you. We answer within 30 days, or sooner where the law requires. Where the law allows, an authorised agent may make a request on your behalf.

You can also, at any time, change or clear your settings, delete a chat from its menu, and clear the browser's or the app's stored data, which removes the random id from your device.

If your browser sends a Global Privacy Control signal: Rafiq does not sell or share personal information, so there is nothing further for the signal to opt you out of.

Children

Rafiq is not directed at children under 13, and a child under 13 should not use it. Where the law of your country sets a higher age for agreeing to online services, a younger person should use Rafiq only with the permission of a parent or guardian. If you believe a child has sent us personal information, email hello@the-muslim.org and we will erase it.

Security

Connections to Rafiq are encrypted (HTTPS). Data is stored with Cloudflare, and access to it is limited to the people who run and review Rafiq. API keys are stored only in hashed form. No system is perfectly secure. If a breach affects your information, we will notify you and the authorities where the law requires.

Answers written by AI

Replies are written by an AI model from the sources Rafiq finds, and they can be wrong. A reply is not a fatwa and not professional advice. The Terms of Use say more.

Changes to this policy

When this policy changes, the date at the top of the page changes with it. If a change materially affects how your information is used, we will also say so in Rafiq before it takes effect.

Contact

Al Muslim. Privacy: hello@the-muslim.org. Support: support@the-muslim.org.