Privacy Policy

Last Updated: March 27, 2026

1. Introduction

Welcome to Flinker ("we," "our," or "us"). Flinker is a genealogical tree application that allows you to create, manage, and share your family tree, including collaborative trees shared with other users. We are committed to protecting your privacy and the privacy of your family members' information.

This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you use our mobile application and related services (including authentication, cloud storage, push notifications, and server-side processing described below).

2. Information We Collect

2.1 Account Information

When you create an account or sign in, we collect:

• Email address (when you register with email/password or when provided by a third-party sign-in provider)
• Password (only if you use email/password sign-in; stored securely using Firebase Authentication)
• Unique user identifier (UID)
• Optional profile details you or your sign-in provider supply, such as display name and profile photo URL (for example when you sign in with Google or Apple)
• Your marketing preference if you opt in to updates at registration (e.g. "keep me updated")
• List of family trees (spaces) your account can access
• Optional saved tree views or similar preferences stored with your account

2.2 Family Tree and Profile Data

To provide our core service, we collect and store information about people in your trees that you (or collaborators with permission) enter, including:

• Names and surnames
• Birthdays and related dates (e.g. wedding date, death date where applicable)
• Gender and living/deceased status
• Family relationships (parent-child, marital relationships)
• Location information (country, city, address, country of birth)
• Contact information you choose to add (e.g. phone number, email)
• Additional profile fields you may add (e.g. blood type, height)
• Education and career information
• Custom fields and notes you choose to add
• Profile photos for tree members (stored as described in section 2.6)

2.3 Sign-In with Third Parties

You may sign in using Google or Apple. In that case, authentication is handled by Firebase Authentication together with the provider. We receive identifiers and, depending on the provider and your choices, your name, email, and profile photo URL. How Google or Apple processes data is governed by their respective privacy policies.

2.4 Collaborative Trees (Family Spaces)

When you create or join a shared tree ("space"), we process:

• Space metadata (e.g. name, identifiers, creation time)
• Membership and roles (e.g. owner, contributor, viewer)
• Information needed to show who belongs to a space (e.g. display email or label for members, as shown in the app)
• Invite links or tokens you create to invite others, and related limits (expiry, usage counts) as configured in the app

Other members you invite can see and, depending on their role, edit tree data in that space. Only add or share information you are allowed to share under applicable law.

2.5 Push Notifications and Device Data

If you grant permission, we may use Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM) to send push notifications—for example, reminders about family birthdays in your trees. To deliver notifications at the right local time, we may store:

• Your FCM device token
• Your device timezone (e.g. IANA timezone identifier)

You can disable notifications through your device settings; we will not send pushes if you do not grant permission or if the token is unavailable.

2.6 Photos and Media

Profile pictures for people in your tree may be uploaded to Firebase Storage. Images are associated with your account folder and referenced by URL in your tree data. Other authenticated users who have access to the same shared tree may be able to view those images according to the app's sharing rules.

2.7 Usage and Technical Data

We may collect limited technical information needed to run and secure the service, including:

• App and OS-related data as processed by our infrastructure providers (e.g. authentication events, storage access)
• Connectivity or error information where needed for reliability
• Deep links or invite URLs you use to open the app (so we can route you to the correct tree or invite)

We do not integrate the Firebase Analytics SDK for product analytics; Google may still process limited technical or security-related data when you use Firebase services, as described in Google's documentation. If we add analytics in the future, we will update this policy.

3. How We Use Your Information

We use the collected information for the following purposes:

• To provide and maintain our service
• To create, edit, and display your family trees and related profiles
• To authenticate your account and ensure security
• To enable collaborative trees, roles, and invitations
• To generate statistics and insights about your family (from your tree data)
• To send optional push notifications you have allowed (e.g. birthday-related reminders)
• To process deep links and invites so you can join shared trees
• To improve our app and develop new features
• To communicate with you about your account, security, or (if you opted in) product news

Server-side processing (Google Cloud Functions) may run on our Firebase project—for example to maintain indexes used for birthday notifications. That processing uses data already stored in Firestore as needed for those features.

4. Data Storage and Security

Your data is stored and processed using:

• Firebase Authentication: For secure user authentication (including email/password and federated sign-in)
• Cloud Firestore: For account data, family trees, spaces, invites, and related records
• Firebase Storage: For profile images uploaded for tree members
• Firebase Cloud Messaging: For delivering push notifications to your device
• Cloud Functions (Google Cloud): For scheduled or event-driven processing tied to app features (e.g. birthday reminders)

We implement appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect your personal information against unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. However, no method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is 100% secure.

5. Data Sharing and Disclosure

5.1 Your Control

You have full control over sharing your family tree. We only share your family tree data when you explicitly choose to share it through our sharing features.

5.2 Service Providers

We use third-party services to operate our app, including:

• Google (Firebase, Google Cloud, and—if you use it—Google Sign-In): Authentication, databases, file storage, messaging, and server-side functions. See Google's privacy documentation for how Google processes data as a processor/infrastructure provider.
• Apple (Sign in with Apple): If you choose Apple sign-in, Apple processes authentication according to its policies.
• Other subprocessors may apply as we add or change infrastructure; we will reflect material changes in this policy where required.

5.3 Legal Requirements

We may disclose your information if required by law or in response to valid requests by public authorities.

6. Your Rights and Choices

Depending on where you live, you may have rights regarding your personal data, including:

• Access: Request access to your personal data
• Correction: Update or correct your information through the app where available
• Deletion: Delete your account (and request erasure of associated data where applicable)
• Export / portability: Request a copy of your family tree data in a structured form where feasible
• Object or restrict: Object to or restrict certain processing where applicable by law
• Withdraw consent: Stop using the app, turn off optional notifications, or delete your account
• Lodge a complaint: If you are in the European Economic Area or the UK, you may lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority (in France, the CNIL: www.cnil.fr).

Collaborative trees may contain information about others entered by you or fellow members. Questions about data entered by another member may need to be coordinated with space owners or administrators.

To exercise these rights, contact us using the information in the "Contact Us" section below.

7. Children's Privacy

Flinker is not directed at children under 13 (or the minimum age required in your country to consent to processing). We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under that age for their own account. Parents or guardians may include minors in a family tree as genealogical information; you are responsible for having appropriate consent for any living minors you document. If you believe a child has created an account or provided personal information improperly, contact us and we will take appropriate steps.

8. Data Retention

We retain your personal information for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide the services. If you delete your account, we will delete or anonymize your personal information in line with our technical capabilities and legal obligations. Some data may persist for a short time in backups or logs before deletion. Content you added to a collaborative tree may remain visible to the space until removed by a member with permission or until the space is deleted, depending on how the product is implemented—contact us if you need help.

9. International Data Transfers

Your information may be transferred to and processed in countries other than your country of residence. These countries may have data protection laws that differ from those in your country. By using Flinker, you consent to the transfer of your information to these countries.

10. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update our Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of any changes by posting the new Privacy Policy on this page and updating the "Last Updated" date. You are advised to review this Privacy Policy periodically for any changes.

11. Contact Us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us at:

Email: mfd@flinker.fr
App: Flinker

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