Privacy Policy
Last updated October 27, 2026.
Information we collect
Family Archive Lab may store information that archive members provide directly, including names, email addresses, family relationships, dates and places, stories, audio recordings, transcripts, photographs, documents, research notes and other family-history material.
Family Front Door verifies ownership of your email address and records your account name, self-reported family connection, sign-in sessions, and security events. A family-tree selection is a claim, not verified identity or permission to edit that person. Optional passkeys store public authentication keys; the archive does not receive your device unlock code or biometrics.
How information is used
Information is used to operate the family archive, preserve family history, organize family relationships, identify contributors, control access, transcribe recordings, display contributed material and maintain the security and integrity of the archive.
Voice recordings and transcription
Family Archive Lab may preserve original audio recordings along with generated and manually corrected transcripts. The current transcription system processes archive audio on Family Archive Lab's privately operated server rather than using a paid external AI transcription API.
Sharing and access
New members who know the family phrase and verify their own email receive Contributor membership automatically. Connection answers and person claims do not grant extra permissions. Existing roles and blocks remain in force. Only the owner changes roles or confirms person links. “Archive members” means accounts admitted under the current registration policy, not verified relatives. Item-level private and named-reader restrictions remain separate.
Saved stories offer three sharing choices: “Only me and Justin,” “Choose people,” or “Archive members.” The person who added the story and Justin always retain access. “Choose people” gives named archive accounts permission to read the story, without giving them editing permission. A close-family shortcut suggests people for the storyteller to review; the saved audience is an explicit list of accounts. New members and later family-tree changes do not automatically expand that list.
A story's recordings, transcripts and attached files follow its sharing choice. Other photos and documents retain their own sharing choices. Viewer submissions remain private to the sender and Justin until Justin reviews and shares them.
We do not sell personal information or family archive content to advertisers.
Service providers
Cloudflare provides network protection and secure routing. Family Front Door handles member sign-in. Its configured email provider sends requested verification, sign-in, and security messages. When Gmail is configured, the archive requests send-only mailbox permission, not access to read or delete mailbox messages. Account information is not included in public family profiles. Verification links expire and are single-use. Remembered sessions last up to 30 days and can be revoked. Previously downloaded copies cannot be erased remotely.
Data retention
Family archive material is generally retained until it is removed by an authorized archive owner or until a valid deletion request is processed. Some records may be retained when necessary to protect the integrity or security of the archive or where retention is legally required.
Children and family history
A family archive may naturally contain historical or genealogical information about relatives of different ages. User accounts and contributions concerning minors should be managed appropriately by their parent or guardian.
Your choices and deletion
You may request deletion of information associated with your account or contributions through our Data Deletion Request page. Identity verification may be required before a request is completed.
Changes to this policy
This policy may be updated as Family Archive Lab develops. The current version will always be posted at this address.