Family Tree Studio helps you build a family tree and turn it into a print-ready poster. We designed it to keep your family's information private and under your control. This policy explains what we collect, why, how we protect it, and the choices you have.
This policy applies to the Family Tree Studio mobile app and the website at familytreestudio.app (together, the "Service"). The Service is operated by Swisspec Ventures Pty Ltd ("Swisspec Ventures", "we", "us", "our"), an Australian company. We are responsible for your personal information under the Australian Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and, where they apply, the UK and EU GDPR.
1. Who we are
Family Tree Studio is operated by Swisspec Ventures Pty Ltd, a company registered in Australia. For any question about this policy or your data, contact us at support@familytreestudio.app.
2. Information we collect
You can start building a tree without an account. In that mode your data stays on your device and is not sent to us. When you create an account or turn on cloud sync, we collect the following.
Account information
- Email address and display name. When you sign in with Apple or Google, we receive your email address and name. If you use Sign in with Apple and choose to hide your email, we only ever receive Apple's private relay address.
- Authentication tokens. A secure token is stored on your device to keep you signed in. We never see or store your Apple or Google password.
Your family tree content
- Tree data. The names, dates, relationships, notes and other details you add about the people in your tree.
- Photos. Any portrait photos you choose to add to a person. Photos are taken from your device's photo library only when you pick one.
If you turn on cloud sync, this content is stored on our servers so it can be backed up and available on your other devices. If you do not sign in, it never leaves your device.
Purchase information
- Plan and entitlements. Family Tree Studio offers one-time purchases (Basic and Pro). Payments are handled entirely by the Apple App Store or Google Play. We never receive your card or bank details. We work with RevenueCat to record which plan you have unlocked and to restore your purchases across devices, using a purchase identifier that is not your name or email.
Diagnostics
- Crash and stability data. To keep the app reliable, we may collect anonymous crash and performance reports through an error-monitoring provider. These reports are used only to diagnose and fix problems and are not used to identify you. This is disabled by default at launch, and this policy will be kept accurate as it changes.
We do not use third-party advertising, and we do not track you across other companies' apps or websites.
3. How we use your information
- To provide the Service: to build, store, sync and back up your tree, and to generate the posters you export.
- To create and secure your account and keep you signed in.
- To send you essential account emails, such as verifying your email address and resetting your password. We do this through our email provider, Resend.
- To recognise which plan you have purchased and unlock the matching features.
- To diagnose crashes and improve the stability and quality of the app.
- To respond to your questions and support requests.
- To comply with our legal obligations and enforce our terms.
We do not sell your personal information, and we do not use your family tree content for advertising or to train any product other than to operate the Service for you.
4. Legal bases (UK and EU users)
Where UK or EU data protection law applies, we rely on these legal bases:
- Contract: to provide the Service you have asked for, including accounts, sync and purchases.
- Legitimate interests: to keep the Service secure, to fix crashes, and to improve the product, balanced against your rights.
- Consent: where you choose to add optional content such as photos, or where consent is otherwise required. You can withdraw consent at any time.
- Legal obligation: where we must retain or disclose information to comply with the law.
5. Who we share your information with
We share information only with the service providers that help us run Family Tree Studio, and only as needed to provide the Service. These include:
- Apple and Google: for sign-in and for processing purchases on their app stores.
- RevenueCat: to manage and restore your one-time purchases.
- Resend: to deliver essential account emails.
- Our hosting provider: to run the servers that store your synced tree and account.
- An error-monitoring provider: if crash reporting is enabled, to help us fix problems.
These providers act on our instructions under contracts that require them to protect your data. We may also disclose information if required by law, to protect our rights or users, or in connection with a business transfer, in which case we will keep you informed as required.
6. Information about other people
A family tree naturally contains information about your relatives. When you add details about other people, you are responsible for having a proper basis to do so, and for handling their information respectfully. If someone contacts us about information you hold about them, we may refer them to you, since you control that content. You can edit or remove any person from your tree at any time.
7. Storage and retention
If you do not sign in, your tree is stored only on your device and we hold nothing. If you sign in and sync, we store your account and tree on our servers for as long as your account is active. We keep your information only as long as needed to provide the Service or to meet legal requirements, after which it is deleted or anonymised. When you delete your account, your account and synced tree are removed from our servers (see below).
8. Security
We protect your data in transit with encryption (HTTPS/TLS) and restrict access to it. No method of storage or transmission is completely secure, so we cannot guarantee absolute security, but we work to protect your information and to keep our systems up to date. Cloud sync is a convenience, not a substitute for your own backups. You can also export your tree in the standard GEDCOM format to keep your own copy.
9. Your rights and choices
Depending on where you live, you may have the right to:
- access the personal information we hold about you;
- correct information that is wrong or incomplete (you can edit most of this directly in the app);
- delete your account and information (see below);
- receive a copy of your data in a portable format (you can export your tree as GEDCOM at any time);
- object to or restrict certain processing; and
- withdraw consent where we rely on it.
To exercise any of these, contact us at support@familytreestudio.app. Australian users can also raise a concern with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC). UK and EU users have the right to complain to their local data protection authority, such as the UK Information Commissioner's Office.
10. Deleting your account
You can delete your account and its data from inside the app at any time. Open Settings, then choose Delete account. This removes your account, your synced tree and your entitlements from our servers, and erases the data held on your device. This action cannot be undone, so export a copy first if you want to keep your tree.
11. Children
Family Tree Studio is not directed at children, and we do not knowingly collect account information from children under the age required in your country. A tree may include details about children as members of a family; that content is created and controlled by the account holder. If you believe a child has created an account with us, please contact us and we will take appropriate action.
12. International transfers
We and our providers may store and process your information in countries other than your own. Where we transfer personal data internationally, we take steps to ensure it remains protected, using appropriate safeguards such as standard contractual clauses where required.
13. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy as the Service evolves or the law changes. When we make material changes, we will update the date at the top and, where appropriate, notify you in the app. Please review it from time to time.
14. Contact us
Questions, requests or concerns about your privacy can be sent to support@familytreestudio.app. We are Swisspec Ventures Pty Ltd, a company registered in Australia.