What we collect, how we use it, and the choices you have. Plain language wherever we can manage it — questions to support@rootkin.family.
Effective: April 18, 2026 · Last updated: August 6, 2026
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.
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.
When you create an account, we collect:
When you use the app, you may create:
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.
The app may request the following permissions:
You can revoke any of these in your device settings at any time.
If you buy a Paid Plan, we and our payment providers process information needed to manage your subscription — such as which plan you have, its status and renewal date, and the platform you purchased on. Payment card details are collected and stored by the payment processor (Apple, Google, or Stripe), not by Rootkin — we never see or store your full card number.
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.
Rootkin asks your permission before this feature sends anything, and you can withdraw it at any time in Settings › Privacy › Allow AI processing. When you use the feature, the description you type or dictate is sent over an encrypted (TLS) connection to Anthropic's Claude API for processing, together with the names and family relationships of people already in your tree so the app can tell who you are referring to. 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.
We use the information we collect to:
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. The one exception is when a member deliberately creates a Shareable Memory Link to an individual voice memory — see "Shareable Memory Links" below.
AI processing is opt-in, and you can turn it off. Before Rootkin sends anything to OpenAI or Anthropic, it tells you what will be sent and who will receive it, and asks your permission. If you decline, your recordings are still saved to your tree — they are simply not turned into text, and the ✨ features that depend on this are unavailable. You can change your answer at any time in Settings › Privacy › Allow AI processing. Every provider below is required by contract to protect your information to a standard equivalent to the protections described in this policy.
We use the following third-party service providers, each bound by their own privacy policies:
We don't share your information with anyone else, except:
Shareable Memory Links. If a member chooses to create a Shareable Memory Link to an individual voice memory (see our Terms of Service, Section 8), then the audio of that one memory, its title, and the display names of the member who shared it and of the person speaking become accessible to anyone who holds the link. No Rootkin account is needed to listen: the link plays in an ordinary web browser or in the app, and if the link is forwarded, whoever receives it can listen too, until the link is revoked or reaches its open limit. The link grants access to that single memory only — never to your tree, its members, or any other content — and the member who created it can revoke it at any time or cap the number of times it can be opened. A memory about a protected minor cannot be shared this way. Playback is authorized behind the scenes by a temporary anonymous session; a listener is never asked for their name, email address, or any other personal information in order to listen. We record basic, non-identifying events about shared links — such as when a link is sent, opened, or used to play a memory — to understand how the feature is used and to enforce any limit the member set on a link.
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.
You can request full deletion at any time. Two ways:
Option 1 — From within the app
Option 2 — By email
What gets deleted (within 30 days):
What is kept:
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.
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.
Depending on where you live, you may have rights under laws like the GDPR (EU) or CCPA (California), including:
To exercise any of these rights, email support@rootkin.family.
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.
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.
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.