How privacy works

You manage your information. Your family manages theirs.

FamilyStoryline is a family-tree app built to grow through real people joining and adding their own part of the family. We provide the tools. We do not create, edit, correct or decide your family information for you.

The FamilyStoryline approach

Start with you. Then let the family grow.

We recommend starting with your immediate family, then adding extended family as your tree grows. The idea is simple: you add the people you know, invite them, and the people who join add their own people too.

01

Start with yourself

Your FamilyStoryline account begins with your own profile.

02

Add your family

Add parents, siblings, a partner, children and other relatives you know.

03

Invite them

Send an invitation by WhatsApp, SMS or email. We recommend using a contact method they already recognise.

04

They add their side

People who accept manage themselves and can add their own relatives. The tree grows naturally from family to family.

One person does not need to build the whole family tree alone.
Before someone accepts

Adding someone is not the same as creating their account.

If you add a living relative who has not joined FamilyStoryline, the app keeps that entry limited. It exists so your family relationship can be shown in the tree.

You can show the relationship
You can add the person's name and the basic relationship information needed to understand where they fit in your tree.
You can invite them
If you added the person, you can send or resend an invitation through the invitation options in the app.
You can remove them
If you added an unconfirmed person, you can remove that unconfirmed entry from your tree.
You cannot fill in their private life
Private personal information is not opened up as a member profile until that person accepts the invitation and manages it themselves.
An invitation is a request to join. It is not consent.
When they accept

Once they join, they manage themselves.

When a living relative accepts the invitation and confirms their profile, control of their personal information belongs to them.

They manage their profile

They manage their name, personal details, privacy choices and other personal information available in the app.

They manage their content

They add, change or delete their own memories, stories, photographs and other content.

They can grow the tree

They can add and invite their own relatives, helping the family tree grow organically.

The original inviter steps back

The person who first added them no longer controls that person's private information simply because they created the first family-tree entry.

No response or decline

If they do not accept, private information stays private.

No response does not mean yes. Declining does not create an account.

No response
The person stays unconfirmed. The tree only keeps the limited relationship entry needed to show how they are connected.
They decline
They do not become a FamilyStoryline member. Private member information is not opened for them.
The inviter still manages the unconfirmed entry
The person who added the unconfirmed relative can invite them again or remove that unconfirmed entry from their tree.
Deleting information

Deleting your account deletes your information, not everyone else's.

Every person is responsible for their own FamilyStoryline account and personal information.

You can delete your own account

Your account and the personal information that belongs to your account are removed through the app's deletion process.

Other people remain

People you added do not disappear because you leave. If they have their own account, their information belongs to them.

Each person deletes their own information

A family member who also wants to leave deletes their own account. One person cannot delete another confirmed member's account for them.

Unconfirmed entries stay limited

Unconfirmed relatives remain basic relationship entries unless a family member with permission removes them.

Google Drive backup

Keep your own backup. We strongly recommend it.

FamilyStoryline includes a Google Drive backup option in Settings. When you turn it on, your backup is stored in the Google Drive account you connect.

Your Google Drive
The backup is stored with Google in the Drive account you choose.
FamilyStoryline format
The backup uses a format designed for FamilyStoryline and is intended to be restored through the app.
Restore or migration help
For restoring a backup, moving to another device or migration questions, contact FamilyStoryline Support.
Recommended
Turn on Google Drive backup in Settings and keep it enabled for important family information.
Children

Parents manage younger children's profiles.

A parent or guardian manages a child's FamilyStoryline profile. A child aged 13 or older who has their own smartphone can manage their own profile when their parent or guardian allows it and the rules that apply in their location permit it.

Being old enough to use a phone does not remove the need for family consent where it is required.
Deceased relatives

Family can preserve the profile of someone who has died.

A deceased person cannot accept an invitation, so their profile is managed differently.

Who can manage it
The person who added the deceased relative and appropriate immediate family members can manage the deceased profile.
What family can preserve
Family can maintain relationships, photographs, memories, stories and known life information.
Responsibility stays with the family
FamilyStoryline provides the tools. Family members are responsible for what they add, change or remove from a deceased relative's profile.
App privacy

Your family tree lives in the FamilyStoryline app.

The FamilyStoryline website explains the product, policies and business offering. Your living-family profiles and private family tree are managed inside the app. They are not public profile pages for strangers to browse on the website.

The rule to remember.

You manage your information. Your relatives manage theirs. Together, you build the family tree.

For the formal explanation of how FamilyStoryline processes account and service information, read the Privacy Policy. For the rules of using the app, read the Terms of Use.