Managing Your Profile

Your profile is your personal information page within the Member Portal. You can update your contact details, upload a photo, manage your privacy settings, choose your language, and change your password -- all in one place.

Accessing Your Profile

1. Log in to the Member Portal.
2. Open your account menu -- click your name at the bottom of the sidebar (on a phone, tap the person icon at the top) -- and choose My Profile. This opens your My Account page.

Your account is organized into tabs across the top of the page:

• Profile -- Your personal information, photo, password, and security settings (this article).
• Family -- Your household and family members.
• Privacy -- Consent choices, a copy of your data, and deletion requests.
• Activity -- Your recent activity and attendance.

This article covers the Profile tab, plus the Privacy tab at the end.

Editing Personal Information

The Profile tab is organized into expandable sections. Click a section header to open or close it.

Personal Information

This section is open by default and includes:

• First Name (required)
• Last Name (required)
• Email (required) -- This is your primary contact email and login email.
• Phone -- Your mobile phone number.
• Birth Date -- Your date of birth.
• Marital Status -- Choose from Single, Married, Divorced, or Widowed.
• Anniversary -- This field appears when you select "Married" as your marital status.

Update any field and click Save Changes at the bottom of the page.

Address

Expand the Address section to update:

• Street
• City
• State
• ZIP

Uploading or Changing Your Photo

Your profile photo appears at the top of the profile page and is visible in the church directory (if you opt in).

1. Click the small camera icon on your current photo or initials.
2. Select an image file from your device.
3. The photo uploads (you'll see its progress) and the preview updates.

Tip: For best results, use a square photo with a clear view of your face. Common image formats (such as JPEG, PNG, and GIF) are accepted.

Privacy Settings (Directory Privacy)

You have full control over what information other church members can see about you in the church directory. Expand the Directory Privacy section to manage these toggles:

• Show me in directory -- Turn this off to hide your profile entirely from the member directory.
• Show email -- Controls whether your email address is visible to other members.
• Show phone -- Controls whether your phone number is visible to other members.
• Show city -- Controls whether your city is visible to other members.

Changes take effect after you save.

Tip: Even if you hide yourself from the directory, church administrators can still see your information in their management tools. These privacy settings only affect what other members can see.

Custom Fields

Your church may have set up additional profile fields specific to their needs (for example, a T-shirt size, dietary restrictions, or spiritual gifts). If custom fields are available:

• They appear as additional sections on your profile page, grouped by category.
• Fields you can edit can be updated directly.
• Fields marked (view only) are shown for your reference but can only be changed by a church administrator.

Language

The Language section lets you choose the language TimelyChurch uses for you.

1. Expand the Language section.
2. Open Display language -- "Choose the language used across your portal." -- and pick your language: English, Español, Русский, Português, Deutsch, or Lietuvių.
3. Your choice saves as soon as you pick it, and the portal switches language.

This setting is personal -- it changes only what you see, not the language for the whole church. See Choosing Your Language.

Changing Your Password

If your account has a password:

1. Expand the Change Password section.
2. Enter your Current Password.
3. Enter your New Password and Confirm it.
4. Click Update Password.

Passwords must be at least 8 characters long.

Setting a Password for the First Time

If you have been signing in with magic links, the section is called Set Password -- "You logged in via magic link and don't have a password yet. Set one to enable email/password login."

1. Expand Set Password.
2. Enter and confirm your new password.
3. Click Set Password.

Once set, you can use either the magic link or your email and password to sign in.

Notification Preferences

Your email notification choices live on their own page. Open your account menu and choose Notification Settings. See Notifications.

Connecting Telegram

If your church uses the TimelyChurch Telegram bot, the Profile tab includes a Connected accounts section where you can link your Telegram account. Once linked, you can receive private reminders -- such as volunteer serving requests with Yes / No / Snooze buttons -- as direct messages from your church's bot.

1. Expand the Connected accounts section on your Profile tab.
2. Click Connect Telegram. This opens Telegram and starts a chat with your church's bot.
3. Tap Start in the chat to finish linking.

Note: If your church has not set up Telegram yet, this section will let you know -- you will be able to link once they enable it.

Once linked, you can:

• See your linked status -- The section shows which bot you are connected to (Linked to).
• Choose what the bot sends you -- Turn on Get notifications on Telegram to choose what the church bot may message you about (off means no direct messages), and set optional Quiet hours (From / To) when you don't want messages.
• Control your digest privacy -- Turn on Share my birthday & anniversary in Telegram digests if you want your name to appear in your church's daily birthday and anniversary posts. This is off by default.
• Unlink at any time -- Click Unlink to stop receiving messages from the church bot.

Two-Factor Authentication

Two-factor authentication adds a second layer of security to your account. Once enabled, signing in requires both your password (or magic link) and a 6-digit code from an authenticator app on your phone.

What you will need

• A smartphone with an authenticator app installed -- for example Google Authenticator, Microsoft Authenticator, Authy, or 1Password.

Enabling 2FA

1. Open your Profile tab.
2. Expand the Two-Factor Authentication section.
3. Click Enable Two-Factor Authentication.
4. A QR code appears (Step 1 / Step 2), along with a code you can enter manually (Or enter this code manually).
5. Open your authenticator app, add a new account, and scan the QR code (or type the code).
6. Your authenticator app starts showing a 6-digit code that refreshes every 30 seconds.
7. Type the current code (Step 3) and click Verify & Enable.

Saving your recovery codes

Right after you enable 2FA, the portal shows Save these recovery codes! -- a list of one-time codes that let you sign in if you lose your phone.

1. Click Download or Copy and store them somewhere safe (a password manager or a printed copy in a secure place).
2. Click I've Saved My Codes - Continue.

Each code works once. If you run low or suspect someone has seen them, click Regenerate Recovery Codes to replace the whole list.

Important: Treat recovery codes like passwords. Anyone who has them can get past 2FA on your account.

Signing in with 2FA enabled

1. Sign in with your email and password (or magic link) as usual.
2. The Two-Factor Authentication page asks you to "Verify your identity to continue".
3. Enter the current 6-digit Verification Code from your authenticator app.
4. Click Verify.

If you cannot use your authenticator app, click Lost your device? Use a recovery code and enter one of your saved recovery codes instead.

Disabling 2FA

1. Open your Profile tab and expand Two-Factor Authentication. It says Two-factor authentication is enabled.
2. Click Disable Two-Factor Authentication.
3. Confirm when prompted.

You can turn 2FA on again at any time. When you do, you get a fresh QR code and a new set of recovery codes.

Certifications (Teachers and Team Members)

If you teach or serve, the Certifications section lets you keep your credentials on file:

• Add a certification -- choose the type, enter the issue and expiration dates, and optionally attach the document.
• See each certification with its expiration date; expired ones are marked (Expired).
• Remove a certification you no longer need.

See Teacher Certifications.

Privacy & Communication Preferences

The Privacy & Communication Preferences section on your profile lets you review what you've agreed to:

• Marketing Communications -- Receive newsletters, updates, and announcements.
• Photo/Video Release -- Allow your photo to be used in church materials.
• Church Directory -- Include me in the church directory.
• Data Processing -- Allow processing of my data for church administration.

Change any of these and click Save Changes.

The Privacy Tab (Privacy & My Data)

The Privacy tab in your account is a self-service area for managing the personal data your church holds about you.

• Consent preferences -- See what you've consented to or withdrawn, and when. Manage consent preferences takes you to the section above.
• Download my data -- Click Request data export to get a ZIP file with your profile, group memberships, donations, form submissions, and other personal data. The download link works once and expires after 15 minutes. You can request one export per hour.
• Child check-in history -- If you are a child's guardian, you can click Request check-in history deletion to ask for that child's check-in history to be deleted. Church staff respond within 45 days, and the child's profile itself is kept.
• Request account deletion -- Ask to permanently anonymize your personal data. Click Request account deletion, then Send confirmation email, and open the link we email you within 24 hours -- the request is only sent once you click it. Your church then reviews it (Pending admin review), and your data is anonymized after a 30-day grace period. Donations and attendance are kept in anonymized form for legal and tax reasons. To cancel, contact your church admin before the 30 days are up. (Church staff and administrators delete their own sign-in account differently -- see Your Account: Deleting Your Own Account.)

Saving Your Changes

After making edits, click Save Changes in the bar at the bottom of the page (it appears with Unsaved changes when you've changed something). You will see a confirmation message when your profile has been updated.