Freemasonry has always rested on a network: that of the Brothers and Sisters who recognise one another, welcome one another and help one another far beyond their own Lodge. That network exists. It simply never had a digital tool worthy of it.
Acacia mutual aid is that tool: a space reserved for verified Masons, extending online the trust that prevails in Lodge.
A network that already existed, without a tool
A Brother who moves house, who travels, who is looking for a trustworthy craftsman or who is going through hardship has always been able to count on his peers. But that mutual aid rested on chance encounters, personal address books and the memory of the elders. Outside one's own Lodge, it soon came to a halt.
Mainstream tools could not answer this. Publishing a directory of Masons on a social network means exposing everyone's membership — information the GDPR ranks among the most sensitive. Acacia meets this need without ever leaving the closed circle.
Reserved for verified Masons
Access rests on a verification of Mason status carried out by humans and renewed every year. It is the condition that makes everything else possible: you do not ask a stranger for help, and you do not publish your contact details in front of just anyone.
Three ways to be verified
Not every Obedience works the same way. Verification therefore follows one of these three paths, according to your own Obedience's customs.
Your Lodge's vouching. As soon as one member of your Lodge is verified, their Brothers and Sisters can be too: they have already been vouched for within their own Lodge. The chain of trust starts where it has always existed.
The Obedience password. Most Obediences give their members a yearly word — or a half-yearly one, depending on custom. Entered in the app, it verifies your standing instantly. It is never stored in clear text: only a cryptographic fingerprint is kept server-side, which makes it unreadable, including by us.
Masonic passport and dues certificate. Anglo-Saxon Obediences do not use a yearly word. For their members, verification is based on documents: masonic passport and dues certificate — current-year stamp or membership certificate. The documents are reviewed by a person, then deleted once the request has been processed.
In every case, the final decision rests with a human, never with a machine.
The directory
Members who wish to do so publish their entry: bar, restaurant, agency, practice, craft workshop… Listing is strictly voluntary and everyone keeps control over what they show. A Brother passing through a city he does not know will find a welcome there; another will find the craftsman he had been looking for for months.
The exchange board
Passing on an object, offering a service, posting a want. Listings are masonic as well as profane, sorted by category. Ritual items — regalia, aprons, jewels, old books — are notoriously hard to track down: the board finally gives them a place.
Exchanges are made directly between members. My Lodge is not a party to them, receives nothing and does not intervene in the transaction.
The papers
Shared and freely consulted, the papers gradually form a common library. When an author provides no summary, the app suggests one, generated by artificial intelligence — an aid to reading, never a replacement for the work of the Brother or Sister, who remains the sole owner of their text.
Location-based mutual aid
This is the most sensitive feature, and the one that required the most care. When you need it, an alert goes out to the seven nearest verified Brothers and Sisters, within a hundred kilometres.
Location is only enabled with your explicit consent and is never used for anything else. Positions are processed anonymously: an approximate distance, never an address. Aid requests, which contain contact details, are kept only as long as strictly necessary and then deleted automatically.
What we will never do
It seems more honest to state what we do not do than to line up promises.
- Your data is neither sold, nor rented, nor shared with third parties.
- No advertising, no commercial trackers.
- No algorithm ranks, sorts or promotes members.
- No non-member can access the space, or even be invited into it.
Masonic membership is sensitive data within the meaning of Article 9 of the GDPR. It is processed only with your explicit consent, and you may withdraw it at any time.
Moderation, openly
A closed space is not a space without rules. Any content can be reported, and removed if it breaches the law, respect for others, or the discretion that is proper to our institution. Verification itself can be suspended or revoked.
Why Acacia is paid for
Verification is human, and it starts again every year. It has a cost, as do hosting, security and the ongoing dialogue with the Obediences. We do not sell your data: the subscription is therefore our only resource. That is precisely what allows us to keep the commitments above.
The subscription can be individual — there is no longer any need to pay for the whole Lodge — even though the whole-Lodge plan remains available.
Discovering Acacia
Update My Lodge from the App Store or Google Play, then start your verification from within the app. Once your status is confirmed, the space opens.