Privacy policy
In short
- Kinwood stores the family tree you build (people, relationships, dates, photos, stories, voice recordings) so you can see it on any device you sign in to.
- Your data is stored with Google Firebase in the United States. We do not sell it, we do not show ads, and we do not use advertising or analytics trackers.
- You can export everything as a data file, and you can delete your account and all its data from inside the app at any time.
- A family tree contains information about other people. Please add only what you are entitled to share, and remove anything a relative asks you to remove.
Contents
- Who we are
- What we collect
- How we use it
- Where it is stored and who processes it
- When we share it
- Information about other people
- How long we keep it and how to delete it
- Your rights
- Security
- Children
- International transfers
- Changes to this policy
- Contact
1. Who we are
Kinwood is made and operated by Varnit Saini, an individual developer based in Delhi, India ("we", "us"). We are the controller of the personal data described in this policy. You can reach us at sainivarnit@gmail.com.
2. What we collect
Account information
You can start Kinwood as a guest or sign in with Google or Apple.
- Guest: the app creates an anonymous account with a random identifier. No name or email is collected. If you later sign in, your guest data moves to your signed-in account.
- Google or Apple sign-in: we receive the identifier, name and email address that Google or Apple share with us (Apple lets you hide your real email behind a relay address). We never see your Google or Apple password.
Family data you add
Everything you put into your tree: names (including birth names, nicknames and alternative names), gender, dates and places of birth and death, whether a person is living, parent, partner and child relationships and their types, partnership status and dates, a story or notes about each person, and, if you add them, contact and origin details (phone, email, current city, place of origin). Much of this is information about people other than you; see section 6.
Photos and voice recordings
Photos you choose from your library for a person and, with Premium, a photo gallery, full-resolution originals and voice recordings made with your microphone. Kinwood only accesses the photos you pick and only records when you tap record; the app asks for the photo-library and microphone permissions the first time you use these features, and you can withdraw them in your phone's settings.
Purchase information
Premium is bought through Google Play or the Apple App Store. The store handles your payment details; we never receive your card number. To unlock Premium on your account we receive a confirmation of what you bought, when it renews or expires, and an anonymous purchase identifier, through our subscription provider RevenueCat.
Technical information
When the app talks to our servers, Google Firebase processes your IP address, device type and operating system, timestamps and request logs in order to deliver the service, keep it secure and prevent abuse. We do not use advertising identifiers, advertising networks, or third-party analytics or tracking SDKs.
Kept only on your phone
Your settings (theme, tree theme, reminder preferences), the "Coming up" list and birthday, anniversary and remembrance reminders are worked out and shown on your device as local notifications. They are not sent to us.
3. How we use it
- To provide Kinwood: store your trees, show them on your devices, draw the tree, search it, export it and, where you choose, share it with family members.
- To run your account: sign you in, keep your guest and signed-in data together, and unlock Premium features you have bought.
- To keep the service safe: enforce access rules so only you (and the family members you invite) can read your data, and detect abuse.
- To answer you when you contact us.
Where the GDPR or UK GDPR applies, our legal bases are the performance of our contract with you (providing the app), our legitimate interest in running the service securely, and your consent for permissions such as the photo library and microphone, which you can withdraw at any time. We do not use your data for advertising, profiling or automated decisions with legal effect, and we do not sell it.
4. Where it is stored and who processes it
| Service | Provider | What it does | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| Firebase Authentication | Google LLC | Accounts and sign-in | United States |
| Cloud Firestore | Google LLC | Trees, people and account settings | United States (multi-region) |
| Cloud Storage for Firebase | Google LLC | Photos and voice recordings | United States (us-central1) |
| Firebase Hosting | Google LLC | This website and app links | Global edge network |
| Google Sign-In, Sign in with Apple | Google LLC, Apple Inc. | Identity when you choose to sign in with them | Per provider |
| Google Play, App Store | Google LLC, Apple Inc. | App distribution and Premium payments | Per provider |
| RevenueCat | RevenueCat, Inc. | Subscription and purchase management | United States |
These providers process data on our behalf under their own terms and security commitments (see Firebase privacy and security and RevenueCat privacy policy). Google and Apple also act as independent controllers for the sign-in and store services you use with them, under their own privacy policies.
5. When we share it
- With family members you invite. If you share a tree, the people you invite can see it according to the role you give them (owner, editor or viewer). Editors can change it. You can change roles or remove members at any time, and the owner can delete the tree for everyone.
- With the providers above, only as needed to run the service.
- When the law requires it, for example to respond to a valid legal request, or to protect the rights and safety of users.
- If Kinwood changes hands, for example if it is sold, your data may be transferred to the new operator under this policy; we would tell you first.
We never sell or rent personal data, and we never share it with advertisers.
6. Information about other people
A family tree is mostly about other people, including living relatives and children. When you add someone to your tree you are responsible for having a legitimate reason to record that information, for example that they are your family and the tree is for personal, household use. Please:
- add contact details, private notes or photos of living people only when you are confident they would not object;
- remove or correct anything a relative asks you to remove or correct;
- share a tree only with people you trust.
If you are in someone's tree and want to know what is stored about you or have it removed, ask the person who keeps the tree, or contact us: we will help where we can, within the limits of the law and of other users' rights.
7. How long we keep it and how to delete it
- While you have an account, we keep your trees so they are there when you come back. If you delete a tree, a person or a photo, it is deleted from our servers.
- Delete account: Settings → Delete account removes your photos, voice recordings, people, trees and account from our servers. This works for guest accounts too. Trees you share with others that you own are deleted for everyone; trees others own stay with them, minus your membership.
- Guest accounts that are never signed in and have been unused for a long time may be deleted along with their data.
- Backups and logs kept by our providers for reliability and security are removed on their normal schedules, typically within a few weeks.
- Export: you can export any tree as a data file at any time from the tree's menu, free of charge, so your family's information is always yours to take with you.
8. Your rights
Depending on where you live (for example under the GDPR in the EU and UK, India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act, or US state privacy laws) you may have the right to access, correct, export, restrict or delete your personal data, to object to certain processing, and to withdraw consent. Most of this you can do yourself in the app: edit anything in your tree, export it, or delete your account. For anything else, email us at sainivarnit@gmail.com and we will respond within 30 days. If you are unhappy with our answer, you can complain to your local data protection authority.
9. Security
Data travels between the app and our servers over encrypted connections (HTTPS) and is encrypted at rest by Google. Access rules on our servers check who you are on every request, so your trees can be read and changed only by you and the members you have invited. No system is perfectly secure; if we learn of a breach affecting your data we will tell you and the relevant authorities as the law requires.
10. Children
Kinwood is not directed at children and we do not knowingly collect personal data from anyone under 13 (or the age of digital consent where you live, if higher). Children naturally appear in family trees as people entered by their relatives; that information is provided and controlled by the adult who keeps the tree. If you believe a child has created an account, contact us and we will delete it.
11. International transfers
Our servers are in the United States, so your data is transferred there wherever you use Kinwood from. Google and RevenueCat rely on recognised safeguards for such transfers, including the EU Standard Contractual Clauses and the EU–US Data Privacy Framework where applicable.
12. Changes to this policy
We will update this policy when the app changes, for example when a new feature processes new data. The date at the top shows the current version. For significant changes we will let you know in the app before they take effect.
13. Contact
Varnit Saini
Delhi, India
sainivarnit@gmail.com