Privacy Policy

Effective date: April 18, 2026 · Last updated: April 18, 2026

Our Ohana Tree ("the app," "we," "us") is a family genealogy app that helps families build and share their family trees. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, and the choices you have.

If you have questions, contact us at spencelloyd@gmail.com.

1. Information We Collect

We collect only the information needed to operate 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 you create

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
  • 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 the trees you create or are invited to.

Device permissions

The app may request the following permissions from your device:

  • Camera — only if you choose to take a new photo to add to the app. We do not access the camera except when you explicitly use the "take photo" feature.
  • 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 permissions at any time in your device settings.

Information 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.

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 family 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 of your tree. Each member is assigned a role (owner, editor, or viewer) that controls what they can see and do.

We use the following third-party service providers to operate the app. They process data on our behalf and are bound by their own privacy policies:

  • Google Firebase (Authentication, Cloud Firestore, Cloud Storage, Cloud Functions) — for account management, data storage, and file hosting. See Firebase privacy.
  • Apple App Store / Google Play Store — if you install the app from an app store, that store collects information per its own policies.

We do not share your information with any other third parties, except:

  • When required by law (for example, in response to a valid legal request)
  • To protect the rights, property, or safety of users or the public
  • In connection with a business transfer (we will 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 described above.

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

5. Data Retention and Deletion

  • While your account is active: your data is retained so you can continue 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 of your Our Ohana Tree account at any time. There are two ways:

Option 1 — From within the app

  1. Open Our Ohana Tree
  2. Go to the Settings tab
  3. Tap Delete my account
  4. Confirm the action when prompted

Option 2 — By email

  1. From the email address registered to your account, send an email to spencelloyd@gmail.com
  2. Use the subject line: Account deletion request
  3. We may reply to confirm your identity before processing the request

What gets deleted (within 30 days of your request):

  • 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, and activity history within those trees
  • Your role/membership in any other trees

What is kept:

  • Trees where you are an editor or viewer (but not the owner) remain intact for the other members. Your role is removed but the tree's content created by other members is unaffected.
  • We may retain anonymized, aggregated statistics that contain no personal information.
  • We may retain limited records as required by law (for example, records of a deletion request).

Retention period for backups: deleted data may persist in encrypted backups for up to 90 days before being permanently overwritten, after which it is unrecoverable.

Confirmation: we will email you to confirm when your deletion request has been completed.

6. Children's Privacy

Our Ohana Tree is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child under 13 has provided us with personal information, please contact us at spencelloyd@gmail.com and we will promptly delete the information.

Family trees often contain information about minors who are family members (names, dates of birth). This information is provided and controlled by the adult tree owner or editors, not collected from the children themselves.

7. Your Rights

Depending on where you live, you may have rights under laws such as the GDPR (European Union) 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 in a machine-readable format via the GEDCOM export feature)

To exercise any of these rights, email spencelloyd@gmail.com.

8. International Data Transfers

The app is operated from the United States and our backend services (Google Firebase) may store data in the United States or other countries where Google operates data centers. By using the app, you consent to the transfer of your information to these locations.

9. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will post the revised policy with an updated "Last updated" date. Material changes will also be communicated via the app or by email to your registered address.

10. Contact

Questions, concerns, or requests about this Privacy Policy:

Email: spencelloyd@gmail.com
App: Our Ohana Tree

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