How Hmong Family Tree collects, uses, and shares information.
Scope
This Privacy Policy applies to hmongfamilytree.com, the Hmong Family Tree web application, and related emails and collaboration features.
It covers information collected directly from you, generated through your use of the service, or supplied by other users when they invite you or collaborate with you.
Information We Collect
The service collects only the categories of information needed to run the app, support collaboration, and protect the platform.
- Account and sign-in data, including your name, email address, profile image, authentication provider details, and session records such as IP address and user agent.
- Optional email-update preferences and related delivery metadata when you choose to receive future product updates, tips, or announcements.
- Family content you create or upload, including tree names, person records, relationships, notes, life stories, photos, audio, revision history, and backups or snapshots.
- Collaboration data, including invitation email addresses, membership roles, access requests, proposals, review notes, and in-app notifications.
- Communications data, including emails sent through the service for sign-in links, invitations, access requests, and collaboration updates.
- Technical and browser data, including cookies required for sign-in, logs used for security and abuse prevention, and local browser storage used for preferences and in-progress recording state.
- Donation-related data when you choose an external donation link. Those payment providers collect information under their own policies after you leave Hmong Family Tree.
How We Use Information
We use collected information to operate the service, secure accounts, and support the collaboration features that make the product useful to families.
- Create and secure accounts, sessions, and sign-in flows.
- Send optional product-update emails, feature announcements, and product tips when you choose to receive them.
- Store, render, back up, and restore family trees, stories, media, and collaboration history.
- Send magic links, invitations, access-request emails, and collaboration notifications.
- Enforce permissions, investigate misuse, prevent abuse, and maintain internal audit and security records.
- Improve the reliability, safety, and core functionality of the service.
Review, Update, and Delete Information
The product includes self-service controls for some categories of information, and other changes may require operator assistance.
- You can review and update certain account details, such as your name and profile image, from the Settings page.
- If you have the required permissions, you can edit or remove family tree records, stories, media, collaboration settings, and shared-access permissions inside the app.
- You can clear local browser storage from your browser settings, although doing so may reset saved preferences or in-progress recorder state.
- Some account-level or content-removal requests may require manual help if the available in-app controls do not cover the request.
Retention and Security
We keep information for as long as it is reasonably necessary to operate the service, provide history and backup features, maintain security, and meet legal or operational obligations.
Even after content changes or removals, backups, logs, notifications, and audit records may remain for a reasonable period. We use administrative and technical safeguards designed for the product, but no internet service can promise absolute security.
Do Not Track and Children
Hmong Family Tree does not currently respond to browser Do Not Track signals with a separate technical treatment. The app also does not currently use third-party advertising trackers or cross-site behavioral profiling tools.
The service is intended to be managed by adults or other authorized family members. If you upload information about other people, including children, you are responsible for having the right and authority to add and share that information.
Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy as the product changes. The effective date at the top of this page reflects the current version.