{"id":82471,"date":"2026-02-25T15:36:13","date_gmt":"2026-02-25T14:36:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/churchtools.academy\/help\/non-knowledgebase\/uncategorized\/information-and-practical-tips-for-birthdays\/"},"modified":"2026-07-21T07:36:05","modified_gmt":"2026-07-21T06:36:05","password":"","slug":"information-and-practical-tips-for-birthdays","status":"publish","type":"docs","link":"https:\/\/churchtools.academy\/en\/help\/administration\/tips\/information-and-practical-tips-for-birthdays\/","title":{"rendered":"Information and Practical Tips for Birthdays"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Birthdays are special, but for some people they\u2019re also a private matter\u2014a sensitive topic. Some people enjoy celebrating this day and are happy when you wish them a happy birthday, while others would rather not reveal how old they\u2019re turning or even that it\u2019s their birthday at all.   <\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In this article, we\u2019ll start by explaining where and how birthdays appear in the app and on the website. We\u2019ve also put together some practical tips to help you manage birthdays for your congregation in the most effective way. <\/p>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Birthday Visibility on the Web and in the App<\/h2>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>The Birthday widget<\/strong> on the <strong>Home page<\/strong> in the web version and the app displays your church congregation\u2019s birthday list. Here you\u2019ll find the birthdays of people who are visible to you <strong>and<\/strong> whose person status in the <em>People module\u2019s<\/em> <em>System settings<\/em> is taken into account for the birthday list. The widget will only appear if your permissions allow you to view any birthdays in ChurchTools.  <\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On the website, you can also access the <strong>member list<\/strong> from the widget, where birthdays are also displayed. As an authorized user, you can specify directly in the member list settings which people appear on this list and whether the birthdate should be displayed with or without the year of birth. <\/p>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/churchtools.academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/CleanShot-2026-02-25-at-12.16.11-1.png\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"418\" height=\"327\" src=\"https:\/\/churchtools.academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/CleanShot-2026-02-25-at-12.16.11-1.png\" alt=\"Screenshot of the birthday widget with links to the member list and all birthdays\" class=\"wp-image-49016\" srcset=\"https:\/\/churchtools.academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/CleanShot-2026-02-25-at-12.16.11-1.png 418w, https:\/\/churchtools.academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/CleanShot-2026-02-25-at-12.16.11-1-300x235.png 300w, https:\/\/churchtools.academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/CleanShot-2026-02-25-at-12.16.11-1-360x282.png 360w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 418px) 100vw, 418px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You can also view birthdays in <strong>the calendar<\/strong> \u2014either all the ones you&#8217;re allowed to see, or just those of your groups.<\/p>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/churchtools.academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/CleanShot-2026-02-25-at-12.20.31.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"972\" height=\"294\" src=\"https:\/\/churchtools.academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/CleanShot-2026-02-25-at-12.20.31.png\" alt=\"Screenshot: Birthdays in the Calendar\" class=\"wp-image-49017\" srcset=\"https:\/\/churchtools.academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/CleanShot-2026-02-25-at-12.20.31.png 972w, https:\/\/churchtools.academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/CleanShot-2026-02-25-at-12.20.31-300x91.png 300w, https:\/\/churchtools.academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/CleanShot-2026-02-25-at-12.20.31-768x232.png 768w, https:\/\/churchtools.academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/CleanShot-2026-02-25-at-12.20.31-360x109.png 360w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 972px) 100vw, 972px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You can control who is allowed to view the birth dates of public figures by setting the <strong>security level<\/strong> for the &#8220;Birth Date&#8221; <em>personal data field<\/em>. By default, this field is set to &#8220;Level 2,&#8221; meaning it is classified as general information. <\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If you want to handle birthdays more sensitively in your congregation, you can set a higher security level for the &#8220;personal data&#8221; field. The security level can then be restricted, for example, to within a group and based on specific roles. We explain how to adjust the security level of a personal data field in the article <a href=\"https:\/\/churchtools.academy\/en\/help\/permissions-management\/editing-security-levels\/how-to-change-the-security-level-of-a-personfield\/\">\u201cHow do I change the security level of a personal data field?\u201d<\/a>  <\/p>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/churchtools.academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/CleanShot-2026-02-25-at-12.27.40.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"992\" height=\"146\" src=\"https:\/\/churchtools.academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/CleanShot-2026-02-25-at-12.27.40.png\" alt=\"Screenshot of the &quot;Date of Birth&quot; personal data field with security level 2\" class=\"wp-image-49018\" srcset=\"https:\/\/churchtools.academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/CleanShot-2026-02-25-at-12.27.40.png 992w, https:\/\/churchtools.academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/CleanShot-2026-02-25-at-12.27.40-300x44.png 300w, https:\/\/churchtools.academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/CleanShot-2026-02-25-at-12.27.40-768x113.png 768w, https:\/\/churchtools.academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/CleanShot-2026-02-25-at-12.27.40-360x53.png 360w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 992px) 100vw, 992px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Hide birth dates<\/h2>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Some people prefer not to disclose their age\u2014that is, their <strong>year of birth<\/strong>. If the year is not entered in the <em>&#8220;Date of Birth&#8221;<\/em> field, the person will appear in the birthday list with their day and month, but their age will not be displayed. Furthermore, their current age will not be shown in the person&#8217;s detail view.  <\/p>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/churchtools.academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/CleanShot-2026-02-25-at-12.31.09.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"486\" height=\"112\" src=\"https:\/\/churchtools.academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/CleanShot-2026-02-25-at-12.31.09.png\" alt=\"Screenshot of a person in the birthday widget without an age\" class=\"wp-image-49019\" srcset=\"https:\/\/churchtools.academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/CleanShot-2026-02-25-at-12.31.09.png 486w, https:\/\/churchtools.academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/CleanShot-2026-02-25-at-12.31.09-300x69.png 300w, https:\/\/churchtools.academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/CleanShot-2026-02-25-at-12.31.09-360x83.png 360w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 486px) 100vw, 486px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Others, however, are concerned about <strong>their full date of birth<\/strong>, which they do not want to be publicly visible. Of course, a person cannot simply enter their date of birth into ChurchTools. In some cases, however, it makes sense to record dates of birth in ChurchTools. This allows, for example, leaders to filter by that information or narrow down groups of people based on age. Naturally, this requires that the data be visible only to a group of people who have been granted permission to view it.    <\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To do this, you can create a separate <em>personal data field<\/em> (e.g., hidden date of birth) and assign it a higher security level than the default field.<\/p>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/churchtools.academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/CleanShot-2026-02-25-at-12.38.35.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1114\" height=\"51\" src=\"https:\/\/churchtools.academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/CleanShot-2026-02-25-at-12.38.35.png\" alt=\"Screenshot of the &quot;personal data&quot; field for a hidden date of birth  \" class=\"wp-image-49022\" srcset=\"https:\/\/churchtools.academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/CleanShot-2026-02-25-at-12.38.35.png 1114w, https:\/\/churchtools.academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/CleanShot-2026-02-25-at-12.38.35-300x14.png 300w, https:\/\/churchtools.academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/CleanShot-2026-02-25-at-12.38.35-1024x47.png 1024w, https:\/\/churchtools.academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/CleanShot-2026-02-25-at-12.38.35-768x35.png 768w, https:\/\/churchtools.academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/CleanShot-2026-02-25-at-12.38.35-360x16.png 360w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1114px) 100vw, 1114px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For people who prefer to keep their date of birth private, the date of birth is not entered in the default field, but in a custom field. This way, the date of birth is visible only to users with permission and can be filtered, for example. To learn how to create your own personal data fields, see the article <a href=\"https:\/\/churchtools.academy\/en\/help\/churchtools-modules\/settings-people\/how-to-create-edit-my-own-person-fields\/\">\u201cHow do I create\/edit my own personal data field?\u201d<\/a>  <\/p>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Filter by birthdays<\/h2>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Does your congregation want to congratulate those celebrating milestone birthdays during the worship service? Is it important to you to personally address all young people who have just turned 18? Is your congregation starting a new group for seniors who are young at heart, and do the leaders need to identify the group of people who might be interested in such a group? The next cohort of teens is starting Bible classes, and the leaders would like to know whom they can personally invite? In these and similar cases, it makes sense to filter by date of birth.    <\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To do this, you can use the <a href=\"https:\/\/churchtools.academy\/en\/help\/churchtools-modules\/basics-people\/filter\/#0-toc-title\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/churchtools.academy\/de\/help\/churchtools-module\/grundlagen-personen\/0-filter\/#0-toc-title\">&#8220;Additional Filters<\/a> &#8221; (1) in the People module. Here, for exactly these types of scenarios, you can use the &#8220;Date of Birth&#8221; <em>filter<\/em> (3) under <em>&#8220;People Filters&#8221;<\/em> (2), with or without the year of birth (4). You can set the filter itself either absolutely\u2014that is, for a defined time period\u2014or relative to the current time.  <\/p>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/churchtools.academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/CleanShot-2026-02-25-at-12.45.45.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1164\" height=\"547\" src=\"https:\/\/churchtools.academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/CleanShot-2026-02-25-at-12.45.45.png\" alt=\"Screenshot: Additional filter for the date of birth\" class=\"wp-image-49023\" srcset=\"https:\/\/churchtools.academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/CleanShot-2026-02-25-at-12.45.45.png 1164w, https:\/\/churchtools.academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/CleanShot-2026-02-25-at-12.45.45-300x141.png 300w, https:\/\/churchtools.academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/CleanShot-2026-02-25-at-12.45.45-1024x481.png 1024w, https:\/\/churchtools.academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/CleanShot-2026-02-25-at-12.45.45-768x361.png 768w, https:\/\/churchtools.academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/CleanShot-2026-02-25-at-12.45.45-360x169.png 360w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1164px) 100vw, 1164px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Relative filters are particularly well-suited for global <a href=\"https:\/\/churchtools.academy\/de\/help\/churchtools-modules\/weiteres-personen\/0-filtergruppen\/\" data-type=\"docs\" data-id=\"7342\">filter groups<\/a>. Save these filters so you can access them quickly and make them available to others. <\/p>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Export Birthday List<\/h2>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If necessary, it may be helpful to export birthdays so you can continue working with the data outside of ChurchTools. Authorized users can use the <em>Export<\/em> function for this purpose. This allows you to easily save the data for a previously filtered group of people as an Excel or CSV file. If you\u2019d like to know how to do this, read the article <a href=\"https:\/\/churchtools.academy\/de\/help\/churchtools-modules\/import-export-personen\/wie-exportiere-ich-personendaten\/\" data-type=\"docs\" data-id=\"7339\">\u201cHow do I export person data?\u201d<\/a>   <\/p>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/churchtools.academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/CleanShot-2026-02-25-at-12.58.20.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"254\" height=\"197\" src=\"https:\/\/churchtools.academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/CleanShot-2026-02-25-at-12.58.20.png\" alt=\"Exporting Screenshots in the People module\" class=\"wp-image-49025\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n<aside class=\"wp-block-group ct-artikel-zum-weiterlesen has-background is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-79a8db7e wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"border-radius:8px;background-color:#f9fafb;margin-top:24px;margin-bottom:24px;padding-top:32px;padding-right:24px;padding-bottom:32px;padding-left:24px\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-medium-font-size\">Read more<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/churchtools.academy\/en\/help\/permissions-management\/editing-security-levels\/how-to-change-the-security-level-of-a-personfield\/\">How do I change the security level of a personal data field?<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/churchtools.academy\/en\/help\/churchtools-modules\/settings-people\/how-to-create-edit-my-own-person-fields\/\">How to create\/edit my own person fields?<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/churchtools.academy\/en\/help\/churchtools-modules\/basics-people\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/churchtools.academy\/de\/help\/churchtools-module\/grundlagen-personen\">Basics: People<\/a> <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/aside>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Birthdays are special, but for some people they\u2019re also a private matter\u2014a sensitive topic. Some people enjoy celebrating this day and are happy when you wish them a happy birthday, while others would rather not reveal how old they\u2019re turning or even that it\u2019s their birthday at all. In this article, we\u2019ll start by explaining [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":43,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"doc_category":[449],"doc_tag":[],"knowledge_base":[426],"class_list":["post-82471","docs","type-docs","status-publish","hentry","doc_category-tips","knowledge_base-administration"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","pp_force_visibility":null,"pp_subpost_visibility":null,"pp_inherited_force_visibility":null,"pp_inherited_subpost_visibility":null,"acf":[],"year_month":"2026-07","word_count":880,"total_views":"7","reactions":{"happy":"0","normal":"0","sad":"0"},"author_info":{"name":"Stefan Krumsdorf","author_nicename":"skrumsdorf","author_url":"https:\/\/churchtools.academy\/en\/author\/skrumsdorf\/"},"doc_category_info":[{"term_name":"Tips","term_url":"https:\/\/churchtools.academy\/en\/help\/churchtools-modules\/tips\/"}],"doc_tag_info":[],"knowledge_base_info":[{"term_name":"Administration","term_url":"https:\/\/churchtools.academy\/en\/help\/administration\/","term_slug":"administration"}],"knowledge_base_slug":["administration"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/churchtools.academy\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/docs\/82471","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/churchtools.academy\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/docs"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/churchtools.academy\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/docs"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/churchtools.academy\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/43"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/churchtools.academy\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=82471"}],"version-history":[{"count":2106,"href":"https:\/\/churchtools.academy\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/docs\/82471\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":86181,"href":"https:\/\/churchtools.academy\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/docs\/82471\/revisions\/86181"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/churchtools.academy\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=82471"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"doc_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/churchtools.academy\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/doc_category?post=82471"},{"taxonomy":"doc_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/churchtools.academy\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/doc_tag?post=82471"},{"taxonomy":"knowledge_base","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/churchtools.academy\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/knowledge_base?post=82471"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}