Privacy Policy — Rootkin

Rootkin (the "app," "we," "us") is a family genealogy app that helps families build and share their family trees. This Privacy Policy explains what we collect, how we use it, and your choices.

If you have questions, email support@rootkin.family.

1. Information we collect

We collect only what's needed to run the app. We do not sell your data, use it for advertising, or share it with data brokers.

Account information

When you create an account, we collect:

Email address
Display name
Password (stored as a secure hash by Google Firebase Authentication — we never see your actual password)

Family tree content

When you use the app, you may create:

Person records (names, dates of birth and death, biographical notes, birthplaces, gender)
Relationships between people (parent, child, spouse, sibling)
Photos you upload and attach to people
Voice memories — audio recordings made within the app, along with an AI-generated transcript (produced by OpenAI Whisper), recording duration, language, and date recorded
An activity log of changes made within each tree

This information is stored in Google Firebase (Cloud Firestore and Cloud Storage) and is visible only to members of trees you create or are invited to.

Device permissions

The app may request the following permissions:

Camera — only if you choose to take a new photo to add to the app.
Photo library — only if you choose to pick an existing photo to attach to a person.
Notifications — only if you opt in to birthday and anniversary reminders.
Calendar — only if you choose to add family events to your device calendar.

You can revoke any of these in your device settings at any time.

What we do not collect

We do not collect your location.
We do not include third-party analytics or advertising SDKs.
We do not track your usage across other apps or websites.
We do not sell or rent your personal information to anyone.

AI-assisted family entry (✨ Describe your family)

The Add Person screen offers an optional feature, ✨ Describe your family, that lets you describe your family in plain English (for example, "I have two brothers Tom and Bob, my wife is Sarah, our daughter is Sue") and have the app pre-populate the structured form for your review.

When you use this feature, the description you type or dictate is sent over an encrypted (TLS) connection to Anthropic's Claude API for processing. Anthropic returns a structured layout the app uses to fill in the form. We do not store the raw text — it's used only to produce the structured layout and is then discarded. We log only operational metadata (token counts, latency, success/failure, and the count of family entries returned). Anthropic does not retain the input for model training under their API data usage policy.

This feature is optional. The Add Person form works the same way without it, and using it never replaces your review — every suggestion is shown to you as an editable entry before you save.

2. How we use your information

We use the information we collect to:

Authenticate you and secure your account
Display your family tree and allow collaboration with invited members
Send in-app and (optional) local device notifications for birthdays and anniversaries
Maintain the service, diagnose problems, and improve features
Comply with legal obligations

3. How your information is shared

Your family tree content is shared only with people you invite as members. Each member has a role (owner, editor, or viewer) that controls what they can see and do.

We use the following third-party service providers, each bound by their own privacy policies:

Google Firebase (Authentication, Firestore, Cloud Storage, Cloud Functions) — account management, data storage, file hosting. Firebase privacy.
OpenAI — voice memory audio is sent to Whisper for transcription. OpenAI does not retain audio for training under their API policy. OpenAI privacy.
Anthropic — family-description parsing for the ✨ Describe your family feature. Anthropic does not retain inputs for training under their API policy; we don't store the raw text either. Anthropic privacy.
Apple App Store / Google Play Store — if you install from a store, that store collects information per its own policies.

We don't share your information with anyone else, except:

When required by law (a valid legal request)
To protect the rights, property, or safety of users or the public
In connection with a business transfer (we'll notify you in advance)

4. Data security

We rely on Google Firebase's security infrastructure, including encryption in transit (TLS) and at rest. Access to your tree's data is controlled by Firestore security rules that enforce the member/role system above.

No method of electronic storage or transmission is 100% secure. While we strive to protect your information, we can't guarantee absolute security.

5. Data retention & deletion

While your account is active: your data is retained so you can keep using the app.
Deleting content: you can delete individual persons, relationships, photos, or entire trees from within the app at any time.

How to delete your account and data

You can request full deletion at any time. Two ways:

Option 1 — From within the app

Open Rootkin
Go to the Settings tab
Tap Delete my account
Confirm when prompted

Option 2 — By email

From the email address registered to your account, write to support@rootkin.family
Subject: Account deletion request
We may reply to confirm your identity before processing

What gets deleted (within 30 days):

Your user profile (display name, email, password hash)
Your authentication record in Firebase
Any family trees where you are the owner — including all person records, relationships, photos, voice memories (audio and transcripts), and activity history within those trees
Your role/membership in any other trees

What is kept:

Trees where you are an editor or viewer remain intact for the other members. Your role is removed; the tree's content from other members is unaffected.
We may retain anonymized, aggregated statistics that contain no personal information.
We may retain limited records as required by law (such as records of a deletion request).

Backup retention: deleted data may persist in encrypted backups for up to 90 days before being permanently overwritten.

Confirmation: we'll email you once your deletion request has been completed.

6. Children's privacy

Rootkin is intended for users 18 or older. We don't knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 18. If you believe a person under 18 has created an account, contact support@rootkin.family and we'll terminate the account and delete the associated information.

Family trees may include records for minor family members (such as names and dates of birth). Those records are provided and controlled by the adult account holder — minors do not hold accounts or access the service directly.

7. Your rights

Depending on where you live, you may have rights under laws like the GDPR (EU) or CCPA (California), including:

The right to access the personal information we hold about you
The right to correct inaccurate information
The right to delete your information
The right to object to or restrict certain processing
The right to data portability (export your data via GEDCOM)

To exercise any of these rights, email support@rootkin.family.

8. International data transfers

The app is operated from the United States. Our backend services (Google Firebase) may store data in the U.S. or other countries where Google operates data centers. By using the app, you consent to that transfer.

9. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. We'll post the revised version with an updated date, and material changes will also be communicated via the app or by email.

10. Contact

Questions, concerns, or requests about this policy:

Email: support@rootkin.family
App: Rootkin

This policy is provided in good faith to describe our practices. It is not legal advice. For specific legal questions, consult an attorney.