Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

Our Family Tree ("we," "us," or "our") is a private, invitation-only genealogy website for one extended family: the Siegel, Friedman, Elting, and Lass lines and the people who married into them. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, and safeguard your information when you use the site. By using the site, you agree to the collection and use of information in accordance with this policy.

2. Information We Collect

2.1 Information You Provide

We collect information that you directly provide to us, including:

• Account information (your name and email address, received when you sign in)
• Family history contributions (photos, stories, dates, places, and corrections you add to the tree)
• Feedback and messages you send through the site

2.2 Automatically Collected Information

We automatically collect the minimum needed to run a private site: sign-in session cookies and standard server logs (browser type, IP address). We use no advertising trackers and no third-party analytics.

2.3 Third-Party Sign-In

When you choose to sign in with Google, we receive your name, email address, and profile picture from Google according to your authorization. We request nothing else from your Google account.

3. How We Use Your Information

We use the collected information to:

• Recognize you as an invited family member and operate the site
• Show your name next to the contributions you make, so the family history stays trustworthy
• Send the emails you ask for (sign-in links and family invitations)
• Detect and prevent unauthorized access and technical issues

We send no marketing email and show no advertising.

4. Information Sharing and Disclosure

We do not sell your personal information, and we do not share it except in these circumstances:

4.1 Service Providers

The site runs on established services that process data on our behalf: Vercel (page hosting), Supabase (data storage and sign-in), and Resend (email delivery).

4.2 The Family

The family history itself, including details about living relatives, is visible only to signed-in, invited family members. There is no public access and no search-engine indexing of family pages.

4.3 Legal Requirements

We may disclose information if required by law, court order, or government regulation, or to protect our rights, property, or safety.

5. Data Security

We implement appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect your information against unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. However, no method of transmission over the Internet or electronic storage is 100% secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

6. Data Retention

Family history contributions are kept as part of the permanent family record, with each contribution attributed to its contributor. Account information is kept only as long as you remain a member; if you leave or are removed, your sign-in access ends and you can ask us to delete your account information.

7. Your Rights and Choices

You may at any time:

• Access and obtain a copy of your personal information
• Correct inaccurate or incomplete information about you
• Request deletion of your personal information
• Ask any question about how your information is handled

To exercise these rights, email us at siegel@siegel.design.

8. Cookies

We use cookies only to keep you signed in. There are no advertising or cross-site tracking cookies. You can control cookies through your browser settings, but disabling them will prevent sign-in from working.

9. Third-Party Links

The site may contain links to third-party websites. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of these third parties, and we encourage you to review their privacy policies before providing any information.

10. Children's Privacy

Site accounts are for adult family members. A family history naturally includes relatives of all ages; details about living minors are visible only to signed-in family members and will be corrected or removed at a parent's request.

11. International Data Transfers

The site is operated from the United States, and your information is processed on United States based services. We take appropriate measures to ensure that your information receives adequate protection in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

12. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will post any changes on this page with a new "Last Updated" date. Your continued use of the site after such changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

13. Contact Us

If you have questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy or our data practices, email us at siegel@siegel.design.