Help Center & User Guide

Family trees support four distinct types of parent-child relationships with unique visual line styles rendered on the tree:

• Biological (Solid Line): Standard biological line connection (────────).
• Step-Parent / Step-Child (Dashed Line): Clean dashed line (─ ─ ─ ─ ─).
• Adoptive Parent / Child (Dotted Line): Dotted line (· · · · · ·).
• Foster Parent / Child (Dot-Dash Line): Distinct dot-dash pattern (─ · ─ · ─).

If you accidentally linked the wrong relative or want to disconnect someone while keeping both records in your tree database:

1. Click on the person's card to open their Profile Modal.
2. Click on the Relationships tab.
3. Locate the relative under Parents, Spouses / Partners, or Children.
4. Click the red Unlink button next to their name.
5. Confirm the prompt. The connection line will disappear from the tree, and both individuals will remain safely in the database.

You can calculate exact genealogical kinship relationships between any two individuals in your tree in two ways:

• Top Tree Toolbar: Click the Kinship Calculator button in the tree toolbar to pick any two individuals in the tree.
• Person Profile Modal: Open any person's modal, go to the Relationships tab, and select a relative in the Calculate Kinship selector at the bottom.

✨ Real-Time Auto-Calculation

As soon as you pick two distinct relatives, the calculator automatically runs instantly and presents the kinship connection with smooth animation — no need to click a submit button. Changing either person automatically clears previous results and updates immediately.

🧬 Blood & In-Law (Affinity) Calculations

• Direct Blood Consanguinity: Accurately calculates generation steps and collateral degrees for common ancestors (e.g. 1st Cousin Once Removed, Great-Uncle, Granddaughter).
• In-Law & Marriage Connections: When two individuals do not share a common blood ancestor, the calculator traces marital links to identify:
  • Spouse's Family: Father-in-law, Mother-in-law, Brother-in-law, Sister-in-law, Step-children, Aunt/Uncle-in-law, Cousin-in-law.
  • Relative's Spouses: Son-in-law, Daughter-in-law, Sister-in-law (Brother's wife), Brother-in-law (Sister's husband), Step-parents.
  • Co-In-Laws: Relationships between spouses of siblings.
• Descriptive Subtitles: In-law results include a helpful clarification (e.g. "Clara is the Daughter-in-law of William (Son's Wife)").

If you or a collaborator manage more than one tree, and the same real person appears in both (a shared ancestor, a relative by marriage, and so on), you can link that person's record across trees. This makes it quick to jump from one tree to the other at exactly that person — for example, keeping your own family tree and your partner's separate, but linking through the person who connects you both.

• Open the person's detail panel and choose "Link to a person in another tree" (Editors and Owners only).
• Pick the other tree and search for the matching person.
• A "Linked elsewhere" section then appears on both people's detail panels, with a button to jump straight to the other tree.

Our platform adheres to standard genealogical chart conventions with visual notation:

• When creating a spouse: In the Quick Link modal, select Marital Status as Divorced (⧵⧵), Separated (⧵⧵), or Annulled (⧵⧵).
• Changing an existing marriage to divorced:
  1. Open the person's Profile Modal.
  2. Switch to the Relationships tab.
  3. Under Spouses / Partners, select the marital status from the quick dropdown (Married / Ongoing, Divorced (⧵⧵), Separated (⧵⧵), Annulled (⧵⧵), or Widowed). The status updates immediately!
• Tree Visual Notation: The horizontal partnership dotted line on the tree automatically displays a genealogical double-slash marker (⧵⧵) between divorced or separated partners.

All spouses and partners (first, second, third, etc.) are automatically aligned on the same generation row inline side-by-side.

Even if an added spouse does not have parents listed, our layout engine synchronizes their generation level with their partner so they never jump to the top of the tree.

1. Click any person's card on the tree.
2. Click the Edit Info tab.
3. Update given names, surname, nickname / known as, maiden name, sex, birth/death dates, or locations.
4. Click Save Changes. The modal will close automatically and the tree will refresh.

For tree Owners and Editors, each person card on the interactive tree canvas and in the profile modal header features an interactive progress ring surrounding their portrait avatar:

• Blue Arc: Indicates a profile in progress (less than 100% complete). The arc sweeps clockwise starting from the 12 o'clock position matching the percentage of completed milestones.
• Vibrant Green Circle: Indicates a 100% complete profile with all required biographical milestones filled in.

How the Score is Calculated (1.0 Pt Per Milestone):

• Date of Birth: 1.0 pt for an exact date; 0.5 pt if marked approximate (~).
• Birthplace: 1.0 pt when a birth location is recorded.
• Date of Death & Deathplace (Deceased only): 1.0 pt each (exact death date gives 1.0 pt; approximate gives 0.5 pt).
• Parent Linked: 1.0 pt if at least one parent (biological, step, adoptive, or foster) is connected.
• Note: 1.0 pt if at least one note visible to the viewer is recorded.
• Primary Photo: 1.0 pt when an avatar portrait is uploaded and set as primary.
• Life Event: 1.0 pt if at least one timeline milestone (e.g. residence, graduation, military, occupation) is added.
• Marriage / Partnership Date: 1.0 pt (averaged across partnerships) — only required if the person has one or more spouses or partners recorded.

How to Complete a Profile:

1. Click the person's card on the canvas to open their Profile Modal.
2. In the Overview tab, click the 📊 PROFILE COMPLETENESS accordion to expand the checklist.
3. Items marked with a green ✓ are complete. Any item marked with a red ✗ shows what information is still missing.
4. Use the modal tabs (Edit Info, Relatives, Photos & Documents, Timeline, or Notes) to add the missing items. Once all requirements are fulfilled, the ring turns into a full green circle!

Approximate Dates: When adding or editing birth dates, death dates, marriage dates, divorce dates, or timeline events, check the "Approximate date (~)" checkbox to mark an estimate. The app standardises date representations across cards, profiles, feeds, and exports:

• ~ indicates an approximate date (e.g. ~1875 or ~Aug 1875).
• < indicates a date known to be before (e.g. <1910).
• > indicates a date known to be after (e.g. >1875).

Birthday & Anniversary Reminders: Tree Owners and Editors can configure upcoming reminders for living relatives' birthdays and wedding anniversaries:

• Where to Configure: Visit Notifications Preferences to set your preferred lead time (1, 3, 7, 14, or 30 days) and toggle in-app and email reminders.
• Tree-Specific Overrides: Click the bell icon beside any tree on your My Family Trees dashboard to customize or mute birthday/anniversary reminders, real-time activity, or weekly digest inclusion for that specific tree.
• Canvas Card Icon: On the day of a living person's birthday, a special 🎂 icon is displayed on their tree card.
• Family Feed: Day-of birthdays and wedding anniversaries are automatically highlighted in your chronological Tree Feed.

To permanently delete an individual along with their photos, notes, and timeline events:

1. Click the person's card to open their Profile Modal.
2. Click the Edit Info tab.
3. Scroll to the bottom-left and click the red Delete Person button.
4. Confirm the deletion prompt. The person and all associated lines will be permanently removed.

To upload portraits, historical documents, audio recordings, and video clips for an individual:

1. Open the person's profile modal and go to the Photos & Documents tab.
2. Click + Upload Media.
3. Select your file:
   • Photos (Free & Plus): JPG, PNG, WEBP, GIF. Check Set as Primary Avatar if you want it displayed on their tree card.
   • Historical Documents (Plus tier): PDF certificates, wills, census records, and letters (viewable directly in a new tab).
   • Audio Recordings (Plus tier): MP3, AAC, and M4A voice memos, oral history interviews, and ancestor voice recordings (playable directly with the built-in media player).
   • Video Clips (Plus tier): MP4 and WebM video recordings (playable directly in the fullscreen lightbox preview).
4. Add an optional caption or document title, then click Upload File.

You can add and update rich context for any uploaded photo, historical document, audio recording, or video clip at any time:

How to Edit Media Details:

1. Open the person's profile modal and go to the Photos & Documents tab.
2. Hover over any media thumbnail and click the small ✏️ (Edit) button in the top-right corner. Alternatively, click any photo or video to open the fullscreen lightbox preview and click "✏️ Edit Details" below the image.
3. In the modal that appears, you can edit:
   • Title / Headline: A descriptive name (e.g. "Arthur & Clara Wedding Day" or "1911 Census Record").
   • Date Taken / Recorded: Exact or approximate historical date strings (e.g. "14 June 1952", "c. 1920", or "Summer 1975").
   • Description & Notes: Multi-line backstory, transcriptions of handwritten letters, lists of individuals pictured left-to-right, or recording provenance.
4. Click Save Details. The gallery and fullscreen viewer will update instantly.

We believe your family history and research should always remain safe. No automated data deletion ever occurs when your subscription ends:

• Full Data Preservation: All people, relationships, notes, citations, timeline events, and uploaded photos remain 100% intact and preserved on our servers.
• Deterministic Oldest-First Rule: When your account transitions back to the Free plan (which includes 1 active tree):
  • Your oldest created family tree (by creation date) remains completely active, editable, and viewable.
  • Any additional trees created beyond your active plan allowance transition into a secure Suspended state until reactivated.
• Reactivation at Any Time: You can reactivate all suspended trees instantly at any time by renewing or upgrading your subscription on the Billing & Subscription Plans page.

When a family tree is suspended due to an inactive or downgraded subscription:

• For the Tree Owner:
  • The canvas cannot be opened or edited while suspended.
  • On your My Family Trees dashboard, the tree displays an amber Suspended badge with exactly two available options:
    1. Reactivate: Links directly to Billing to restore full active access to all your trees.
    2. Delete Permanently: If you no longer need the tree, you can permanently remove it via a type-to-confirm modal. If you delete an active tree, your next oldest suspended tree automatically moves into the active slot!
• For Collaborators (Editors, Contributors, Viewers):
  • The tree appears in the collaborator's tree list greyed out with the notice: "Unavailable — owner's subscription is inactive".
  • Canvas viewing and editing are paused until the tree owner renews their subscription.
• For Public Share Links:
  • Visitors clicking a share link for a suspended tree will be redirected to the homepage with a friendly notification: "This family tree is temporarily unavailable — the owner's subscription is inactive."
  • Existing share tokens remain intact and will resume working automatically as soon as the tree is reactivated.

If your account or trees exceed the Free tier photo or storage allowance upon downgrade:

• Existing Uploads Are Never Deleted: All existing high-resolution photos, portrait attachments, PDF documents, and audio recordings remain securely stored and accessible.
• Soft-Lock on New Uploads: Only new photo, document, or audio uploads will be paused until either:
  • You upgrade to the Plus Plan (10 GB cloud storage, 10,000 photos, documents & audio files).
  • Or you free up storage by deleting unwanted media files to fall below the base limit.

We offer both monthly and annual subscription options across all supported currencies (GBP, USD, EUR):

• Annual Plan Discount: Choosing Annual billing gives you 10 months for the price of 12 (Save 17% / 2 Months Free):
  • GBP: £49.90 / year (effective £4.16/mo) vs £4.99/mo
  • USD: $59.90 / year (effective $4.99/mo) vs $5.99/mo
  • EUR: €54.90 / year (effective €4.58/mo) vs €5.49/mo
• In-App Frequency Switch: Existing monthly subscribers can switch directly to annual billing with one click on the Billing page. Any unused time remaining on your current monthly cycle is automatically prorated and credited.

Our referral program lets you share your love of family history with friends and family while earning free months of Plus access:

• Where to Find Your Referral Link: Head to the Rewards Hub (or click Rewards in the top navigation bar) to copy your personal referral link or share directly to social media.
• Two-Sided Reward:
  • Your Friend: Receives an immediate 1-month free trial of the Plus plan when they register through your link.
  • You: Earn 1 month of Plus credit deposited directly into your rewards balance once your friend qualifies.
• How Friends Qualify: To earn your reward credit, your referred friend simply needs to create their own family tree and add at least 5 relatives. There is a brief 24-hour cooling-off period after qualification before the credit is ready to redeem.
• Collaborator Invites Also Qualify: When you invite family members to collaborate on your tree, their invitation link is automatically attributed to you — if they go on to create their own tree with 5+ relatives, you earn referral credit automatically!
• Redeeming Your Credits: You can stack and save your earned credits. Whenever you want to use them, go to the Rewards Hub or Billing page and click Redeem Referral Credit. If you have an active paid subscription, your credit is safely scheduled to activate automatically at the end of your current billing period.

Two-Factor Authentication adds an essential extra layer of security to your family tree account by requiring a rotating 6-digit verification code in addition to your password:

• Where to Enable: Click your name / profile in the top-right navigation bar to open Profile & Account Security, then click Enable Two-Factor Authentication.
• Compatible Authenticator Apps: You can use any standard Time-based One-Time Password (TOTP) app, such as Google Authenticator, Apple Passwords / iCloud Keychain, 1Password, Authy, or Microsoft Authenticator.
• Setup Process:
  1. Navigate to /profile/2fa/setup to view your unique QR Code and Base32 secret key.
  2. Open your authenticator app on your phone and scan the QR code (or enter the key manually).
  3. Enter the 6-digit code shown in your app to activate 2FA.
• Signing In: On future logins, enter your password followed by the current 6-digit code from your authenticator app.

Tree Owners can require all collaborators (Editors, Contributors, and Viewers) to have two-factor authentication (TOTP) or a biometric passkey enabled on their account before accessing the tree:

• Why Enable This? Enhances privacy and security on shared family trees by ensuring collaborators cannot be easily compromised via weak passwords, protecting living relatives' data from unauthorized leaks.
• Owner Requirement: The Tree Owner must have 2FA enabled or a passkey registered on their own account first before this setting can be activated.
• Instant Lockout & Remediation: When enabled, non-compliant collaborators attempting to view the tree are presented with a clear security notice and direct buttons to set up 2FA or add a passkey on their profile. Once set up, they automatically regain access without needing a new invite.
• Share Links & Owners Exempt: Public view-only share link visitors and the Tree Owner are exempt from this requirement.

Passkeys let you sign in quickly and securely without typing a password, using your device's built-in biometric sensors or hardware security keys (FIDO2 / WebAuthn standard):

• How to Enroll: Go to your Profile & Account Security page and click + Add Passkey in the Biometric Passkeys card.
• Supported Devices: Apple Touch ID / Face ID (macOS, iOS), Windows Hello, Android fingerprint sensors, and physical YubiKeys.
• Signing in with a Passkey: On the sign-in page (/login), click "Sign in with Passkey" and follow your browser's biometric prompt for instant passwordless access.

You can change your password at any time or request a recovery email:

• Logged-in Password Update: Click your name in the top navigation bar to visit Profile & Account Security, enter your current password, type your new 8+ character password, and click Save New Password.
• Forgot Password: If you cannot sign in, visit the Reset Password page, enter your registered email, and follow the 60-minute secure reset link sent to your inbox.

To protect your account and sensitive genealogical data:

• Our system automatically recognizes your trusted browsers using secure persistent device tokens and cryptographic fingerprinting.
• When you sign in from a brand new device or browser, an email security alert and in-app notification are immediately dispatched.
• If you sign in from an existing recognized browser on a new network or IP address (such as switching to mobile data or public Wi-Fi), the login is logged to your in-app notifications panel for your review, but email notifications are suppressed to prevent inbox fatigue.
• You can view all security alerts in the in-app notification bell dropdown in the top navigation bar.

You can install My Family Tree App directly onto your Mac, Windows, Linux PC, Chromebook, iPhone, iPad, or Android device as a standalone application window without needing an app store:

✨ Key Benefits of Installing

• Dedicated App Window: Opens in its own clean, distraction-free desktop window with no browser tabs, bookmarks bars, or search bars cluttering your canvas.
• Desktop Dock & Taskbar Integration: Launches straight from your macOS Dock, Windows Taskbar/Start Menu, or Linux launcher just like any native software.
• Instant 1-Click Launch: Opens directly into your active family trees (/trees) for rapid research sessions.
• Snappier Performance: Core styles, icons, and interface scripts are pre-cached locally for near-instant window launches and fluid canvas interactions.
• Zero Privacy or Security Compromise: All tree data, notes, and family photos are loaded securely and live over encrypted HTTPS and are never stored unencrypted on-device.

📲 How to Install by Device & Browser

• Chrome / Microsoft Edge / Brave (macOS, Windows, Linux, Android):
  • Click the Install App icon (⊕ or 📥) on the right side of your browser address bar.
  • Or go to Profile & Account Security and click "Install App to Desktop / Device" in the Desktop & Mobile App card.
  • On Android, tap the browser menu (⋮) and select "Install app" or "Add to Home Screen".
• Apple Safari (macOS Sonoma / Safari 17+):
  • In the top macOS menu bar, choose File → Add to Dock..., name the app, and click Add.
• Apple Safari / Chrome (iPhone & iPad iOS 16.4+):
  • Tap the Share button (⎋ with arrow) at the bottom of Safari or browser bar.
  • Scroll down and tap "Add to Home Screen", then tap Add.
• Firefox:
  • Firefox does not currently support standalone desktop PWAs. You can continue using the web application directly in your browser tab with 100% feature parity.

Only the tree Owner can export a .ged file of the whole tree. This is a deliberate security boundary: export produces a complete, portable copy of the tree's data, so we keep that ability limited to the one role accountable for the tree as a whole.

If you're an Editor, Contributor, or Viewer and need a copy of the tree:

• Ask the tree Owner to run the export from their account and share the resulting file with you directly.

This doesn't limit what Editors can see or do inside the app — Editors still have full editing access to the tree. It only limits who can generate a standalone exported file.

As a tree Owner, you can mark any note as private when you add it — private notes are visible only to you, not to Editors, Contributors, Viewers, or anyone with a share link. Use this for anything you'd rather keep off other collaborators' view, even ones with full editing access.

If you no longer wish to use My Family Tree App, you can permanently delete your user account and all associated data at any time from your profile settings.

How to Delete Your Account:

1. Click your name or avatar in the top navigation bar to go to your Profile settings.
2. Scroll down to the Danger Zone card at the bottom of the page.
3. Click the Delete Account button to open the confirmation dialog.
4. Enter your current account password to verify your identity.
5. Type DELETE ACCOUNT in uppercase into the confirmation field to unlock the delete button.
6. Click Permanently Delete My Account to complete the process.

Critical Consequences to Understand Before Deleting:

• All Owned Trees are Deleted: Every family tree you own, including all relatives, dates, citations, notes, and relationship links, is deleted immediately and permanently.
• Uploaded Media is Destroyed: All photos, portraits, audio recordings, and documents associated with your owned trees are deleted from server storage and cannot be restored.
• Collaborators are Automatically Notified: All collaborators (Editors, Contributors, and Viewers) on your owned trees will receive an email and in-app notification informing them that the tree owner has deleted their account and that the tree is no longer available. This ensures collaborators are aware and do not suspect a technical glitch.
• Security Credentials and Sessions are Revoked: All your biometric passkeys, two-factor authentication (2FA) credentials, active sessions, and preferences are permanently wiped.
• Immediate and Irreversible: Unlike automated inactivity deactivation (which offers a 28-day holding period for recovery), manual self-service account deletion is permanent and takes effect immediately.

Exploring large, multi-generational trees is fluid and responsive:

• Pan & Drag: Click and drag anywhere on the canvas background to pan across generations.
• Zoom In / Out: Use your mouse scroll wheel, pinch gesture on trackpad, or the + / − floating buttons on the bottom-right control dock.
• Mini-Map: The interactive overview map on the lower right displays your complete tree thumbnail with a glowing blue viewfinder indicating your current viewport. Drag the viewport inside the mini-map for instant navigation across distant branches.
• Fit to Screen: Click the Fit Screen (⛶) icon in the controls dock to instantly centre and scale all family members into full view.
• Person Search & Keyboard Shortcut (Cmd+F / Ctrl+F): Press Cmd+F (Mac) or Ctrl+F (Windows/Linux) anywhere on the canvas to instantly focus the relative search box. Clicking any search result pans and zooms straight to their card with a pulsing highlight. Press Escape to dismiss.
• Living vs. Deceased Card Appearance: Living relatives are displayed with bright white cards, while deceased relatives are subtly distinguished with soft slate cards and muted borders for effortless visual scanning.
• Spouse Marriage Knot (🪢) Badges: The connecting line between partners displays a compact knot badge with the marriage year (e.g. 🪢 1969). Hovering over the badge reveals full date details and divorce/separation notes.

In trees with large families, placing all siblings side-by-side on a single horizontal row can cause the tree to stretch thousands of pixels wide, making cards difficult to read without extreme zooming. We provide two intelligent solutions to minimize horizontal sprawl:

1. Compact Card View Mode:

• Toolbar Toggle: Click the ⊟ Compact View button in the top toolbar dock (or choose Compact View from the settings cog dropdown menu ⚙).
• Dimensions: Compact mode scales cards down from 240×74px to 154×48px with tighter sibling and branch gaps, reducing overall canvas width by 55–60% immediately.
• Full Card Functionality: All features—including avatars, completeness rings, relation handles (+), profile previews, and quick action buttons—remain accessible on hover and selection.
• Persistent Preference: Your chosen view mode is saved locally in your browser so your preferred view is maintained every time you return.

2. Automatic Vertical Stacking for Leaf Siblings:

• What Are Leaf Siblings? A "leaf" sibling is an unmarried individual who has no recorded children or spouse in the tree. Because they do not branch further down, they do not require an entire horizontal column to themselves.
• When Does Stacking Happen? To preserve the natural family look, vertical stacking only activates when strictly necessary: (1) when a sibling group has 4 or more children, OR (2) when the tree's natural width exceeds 3.5 times your viewport width, AND (3) the sibling group contains 2 or more leaf siblings.
• Branching Siblings: Siblings who have spouses or children always stay on the main horizontal row so their descendants have clear vertical space to extend below them.
• Balanced Columns: When a sibling group has 6 or more leaf siblings, the canvas organizes them into a compact two-column waterfall stack to prevent excessively tall single columns.
• Spine Bracket Connectors: Parent lines to vertically stacked siblings run down a dedicated outer margin spine, ensuring lines never cross through or obscure cards above them.

When working on extensive family trees containing hundreds of individuals, you may want to focus on a specific person's direct bloodline without the visual distraction of in-laws and distant collateral branches:

How to Enter Isolated Lineage View:

1. Locate any person's card on the tree canvas.
2. Click the ⚡ (Lightning) icon in the top-right corner of their card.
3. The tree will smoothly recalculate and render only the chosen person's direct family:
   • Direct Ancestors: Parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, etc.
   • Direct Descendants: Children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, etc.
   • Full Siblings: Brothers and sisters sharing parents.

Exiting & Bookmarking Isolated Views:

• Exit Banner: While in isolated mode, an amber banner floats at the top of the canvas: "⚡ Isolated View: [Person Name]". Click ✕ Exit Isolated View (or click the ⚡ button again) to return to the full tree.
• Shareable URL & Bookmarks: Entering isolated view automatically appends ?isolate=[person_id] to your browser's address bar. You can copy or bookmark this URL to open directly into that specific ancestor's isolated lineage view in future sessions.

The Vertical Timeline View transforms your family tree into an intuitive, continuous chronological visualizer plotted along an authentic calendar year scale:

• Accessing Timeline View: Click the ⏳ Timeline button in the canvas topbar, or navigate directly to /trees/[id]/timeline (or /share/[token]/timeline for public share links). Click 🌳 Tree View to toggle back at any time.
• Central Calendar Year Spine: A vertical ruler running down the centre marks every year from your earliest ancestor to the present day, with amber decade highlights (e.g. 1900, 1910, 1920).
• Dual Symmetrical Wings:
  • Left Wing: Displays direct ancestors and their siblings grouped together chronologically.
  • Right Wing: Displays married partners and spouses opposite their partners.
• Lifespan Columns & Sticky Headers: Each person appears as a vertical column spanning the exact height of their lifespan. Their photo avatar, name, and birth year pin sticky to the top of the screen as you scroll down through their life, smoothly scrolling away at their death year.
• Living Relatives Soft Fade: Living family members are styled with an open-ended gradient fade at the bottom that smoothly dissolves into transparency at the current year, indicating their ongoing journey. Deceased relatives feature a solid bottom cap displaying their year and age of passing.
• Marriage Bridges Across the Spine: Connecting lines cross the central year spine directly between spouses with a love knot badge (🪢 [year]). Hovering over the badge displays full marriage dates, locations, and partner names.
• Milestone Life Events: Military service, graduations, occupations, and custom life events are plotted on the person's column at their exact calendar row with compact icon pills (🎖️, 🎓, etc.). Hovering reveals full event notes and locations.
• Timeline Density Switcher: Switch between Compact (18px/year), Normal (26px/year), and Relaxed (38px/year) in the top toolbar to comfortably browse short or long lifespans.
• Keyboard Search & Jump-To: Press Cmd+F or Ctrl+F to search for any relative and instantly auto-scroll straight to their lifespan column. Clicking any relative's card opens their full biographical profile details modal.

Our app fully supports industry-standard GEDCOM 5.5.1 files for transferring trees:

• Import: Tree Owners can click Import in the top toolbar to upload any standard GEDCOM export from Ancestry, FamilySearch, or MyHeritage.
• Export: Tree Owners can click Export to download your complete tree and relationship hierarchy (Plus tier feature).

GEDCOM files often reference photos and documents that aren't included in the file itself. After importing your GEDCOM file, use Import Photos, Documents & Audio to upload those files — anything with a matching filename is attached to the right person automatically.

Anything that doesn't match automatically appears in a list where you can pick the right person yourself, or delete it if you don't need it. If you built your tree by hand rather than importing one, this same tool works for bulk-uploading and manually matching photos, documents, and audio.

Plus-tier trees can store short video clips (MP4 or WebM, up to 20MB per file) alongside photos, documents, and audio. 20MB doesn't go far with video, so you'll usually need to compress a clip before uploading:

• HandBrake (free, Windows/macOS/Linux) — a reliable general-purpose compressor. Try the "Fast 1080p30" preset, or a lower resolution/quality setting if you're still over the limit.
• Online tools — sites like FreeConvert, CloudConvert, or VEED.io let you upload and download a compressed MP4 without installing anything.
• On your phone — video-editing apps such as CapCut or InShot let you export at a lower resolution or bitrate, which is often enough to get a short clip under 20MB.

Every family tree supports 4 distinct collaboration roles to balance shared discovery with data privacy:

How Contributor Suggestions Work (Addendum L):

1. Submitting a Suggestion: Contributors can click "💡 Suggest Edit / Relative" on the canvas topbar or choose "Suggest Edit" from any person's profile panel.
2. Two Structured Suggestion Paths:
   • Update Existing Person: Select a relative and category (Dates, Photo, Note, Other) with your proposed correction or fact.
   • Suggest a New Relative: Select the anchor relative, choose the relationship (Parent, Child, Sibling, or Partner), provide their proposed name, and enter biographical details.
3. Role Boundary: Contributors suggest one relative or update at a time. To create entire family branches in one session, the tree Owner can upgrade the collaborator's role to Editor.
4. Owner & Editor Suggestions Inbox: Tree Owners and Editors receive an alert linking to the dedicated Suggestions Inbox (/trees/{id}/suggestions) where they can review proposals by type (Updates vs New Relatives).
5. One-Click Implementation: Editors can click Implement to automatically generate the person and relationship connections pre-filled with the contributor's data, or Dismiss with an optional explanatory note.
6. Loop-Closing Feedback: The contributor automatically receives an in-app notification when their suggestion has been implemented or dismissed (including the editor's note).

How Living Person Privacy Filtering Works:

To safeguard living relatives' identity and GDPR compliance, server-side privacy filtering automatically activates for Contributors, Viewers, and public Share Links. For all relatives marked living, birth dates, death dates, location details, personal notes, and private photos are automatically withheld at the database level.

Notifications, Tree Log, and Family Feed — what's the difference?

• Notifications (bell icon) are things you specifically should know about — an invite accepted, a suggestion received, a security alert.
• Tree Log is the complete technical record of everything that's happened on this tree — visible to Owners and Editors only.
• Family Feed is a friendlier, timeline-style view of what's new — new relatives, photos, events, and notes — visible to everyone with access to the tree, showing only what your role can already see elsewhere.

To keep family members and collaborators engaged without overloading inboxes with constant real-time alerts, our platform sends a concise Weekly Tree Digest email every Monday morning:

What's in the Weekly Digest:

• Consolidated Multi-Tree Summary: A single clean email summarizing activity across all active family trees you own or collaborate on.
• Key Discoveries: Highlights newly added relatives, uploaded photos and historical documents, life timeline milestones, and shared stories/notes.
• Upcoming Dates: Reminders for upcoming milestone birthdays and wedding anniversaries occurring in the coming week.
• 1-Click Deep Links: Jump straight into the interactive Family Feed for any specific tree.

Role-Based Privacy in Email Summaries:

Digest emails strictly respect our privacy boundaries:

• Tree Owners: Receive full activity summaries, including counts of private notes.
• Editors: See additions across both living and deceased relatives (private notes excluded).
• Contributors & Viewers: Only receive summaries of updates to deceased ancestors; timeline events and personal notes for living relatives are withheld from the email.