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Privacy Policy

How Photo Family Tree handles your data — images processed locally, cookies, analytics, and advertising partners

Last updated: August 31, 2026

Introduction

This Privacy Policy explains how Photo Family Tree ("we", "us") collects, uses, and protects your information when you use our website and tools. We are committed to keeping your data — especially your images — private.

Your Images Stay on Your Device

This is the core of our privacy promise:

  • All photo processing happens locally in your browser. When you add a photo to your family tree, the file is processed by your own device using browser technologies (Canvas, JavaScript, IndexedDB).
  • Your photos are never uploaded to our servers. We do not receive, store, transmit, or see the pictures you add — not the faces, not the names, not the tree.
  • Your tree lives in your browser. The editor autosaves to your own device's storage (IndexedDB). Clearing your browser data removes it; nothing ever reaches us.
  • Exports happen on your device. Downloading a PNG, JPG or SVG renders the file in your browser and saves it straight to your disk.

Information We Collect

Because processing is local, we collect very little:

  • Usage Data: anonymous information about how the site is used — pages visited, approximate region, browser type, and referral source. This is collected via privacy-friendly analytics.
  • Device Information: standard server logs (IP address, user agent) processed by our hosting provider, Cloudflare, for security and abuse prevention.
  • Contact Information: if you email us, we receive your email address and message, used only to respond.

We do not require accounts, and the site works fully without registration.

Advertising

Photo Family Tree is free and funded by advertising. We may display ads served by third-party advertising networks, including Google AdSense.

  • These vendors may use cookies or similar technologies to serve ads based on your prior visits to this or other websites.
  • Google's use of advertising cookies enables it and its partners to serve ads based on your visits to our site and/or other sites on the Internet.
  • You may opt out of personalized advertising by visiting Google Ads Settings. You can also opt out of third-party vendor cookies at aboutads.info.

See our Cookie Policy for the full cookie breakdown.

Analytics

We use analytics to understand which tools are useful and how the site can improve. Analytics data is aggregated and does not identify you personally.

Third-Party Services

We rely on these third parties to operate the site:

Children's Privacy

Our service is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children. Family photos of children are common in family trees — please note that photos added to a tree stay on the device they were added on. If you are a parent and believe your child has provided us personal information, please contact us and we will delete it.

Data Security

We implement appropriate technical measures to protect the information we do handle. Because your images never leave your device, the most sensitive data is protected by design.

Your Rights

Depending on your jurisdiction (e.g., GDPR in the EU, CCPA in California), you may have rights to access, correct, or delete personal data we hold about you. Since we hold almost none, these requests are usually resolved immediately — contact us at our contact page.

Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this policy from time to time. Changes are posted on this page with an updated date.

Contact Us

Questions about this policy? Contact us.