Privacy Policy

Plain-language summary

This summary helps you understand how WeTree handles personal information. It is not a substitute for the full privacy policy below. If anything here conflicts with the official policy, the official policy controls.

WeTree is operated by Steven Quince, doing business as Askewsoft, located in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. In this policy, "Askewsoft," "we," "us," and "our" refer to that operator.

What we collect

Account data — email, display name, and authentication through Amazon Cognito (AWS's sign-in service).
Family tree data — names, dates, relationships, facts, events, stories, sources, and photos you and collaborators add.
Technical data — IP address, browser type, and request logs for security and operations.
Billing data — when you purchase through Paddle (merchant of record), Paddle processes payment details; we receive subscription and transaction identifiers needed to provision access.
Waitlist email — if you join the waitlist on this site (processed via Web3Forms).

How we use it

To run the private family-tree service and enforce role-based access.
To send invitation emails and protect the service (including malware scanning on uploads).
To show family activity history to authorized members.
To provision paid plans and record contribution/donation status after Paddle processes payments.
We do not sell your data or use family content for third-party advertising.

Who sees your data

Families are private and invitation-only. Tree data is shared with members you authorize — not the public. We use cloud providers (primarily Amazon Web Services (AWS)) to host the service. Paddle is the merchant of record for paid purchases and is an independent controller of payment data it collects at checkout. See the full policy for details.

Your choices

Update your profile in the app, work with family administrators on tree data, or contact privacy@askewsoft.com about access or deletion requests.
Control optional analytics via Cookie preferences in the footer on this site or in the app.
Delete your account from in-app settings (My Account → Delete account) when available for your account state.

Your use is also governed by our Terms & Conditions and Refund Policy.

Official Privacy Policy

This policy covers WeTree at we-tree.app (marketing) and my.we-tree.app (application), including related APIs. It is issued by Steven Quince, doing business as Askewsoft, located in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States.

1. Roles

Askewsoft operates WeTree and is the controller for the personal data we collect about users of our product and sites (account data, family collaboration content we host, and technical logs), as described in this policy. You and your family administrators submit most tree content and are responsible for doing so lawfully, including respecting living people's privacy. People may appear in a tree without having their own account.

Key terms

Some providers are referred to by name or abbreviation in this policy:

Amazon Web Services (AWS) — Amazon's cloud computing platform. We use AWS to host and operate WeTree (servers, databases, file storage, email, and related infrastructure).
Amazon Cognito — AWS's authentication service for WeTree account sign-in, passwords, and session tokens.
Paddle — Our payment partner and merchant of record for paid WeTree purchases (subscriptions, contributions, and donations). Paddle processes checkout and payment data as an independent controller for that payment relationship.
Web3Forms — A third-party service that relays waitlist sign-ups from the marketing site to us.
LogRocket — An optional diagnostics service that may record in-app sessions when you opt in to analytics.

After first use, we may use shorter names such as "AWS," "Cognito," or "Paddle."

2. Information we collect

Account information: email, display name (nickname), Cognito user ID, and account status. Passwords are stored by Amazon Cognito, not in our database.

Family collaboration data: people and pet profiles; relationships; life events and person facts; stories, comments, and suggestions; media and metadata; sources and citations; GEDCOM imports; roles, permissions, and invitations (including invitee email, role, and expiration — default 30 days).

Activity logs: family-visible changes (people, media, invites, imports, etc.) and account-only changes (nickname, email, display name preferences).

Technical data: IP address, User-Agent, and request metadata in operational logs; authentication via Cognito.

Marketing site: waitlist email via Web3Forms (requires agreement to this policy before submit); optional local storage for comparison chart filters and pricing billing toggle.

Cookie preferences: your choices for optional analytics are stored in browser local storage and, on production domains, may sync across we-tree.app and my.we-tree.app via a first-party cookie.

Optional diagnostics: LogRocket session replay runs only if you opt in to analytics in cookie preferences and the deployment enables it; recordings may be associated with your user ID, email, and display name.

Billing: If you purchase a paid plan, contribution, or donation, Paddle (merchant of record) collects payment and billing details at checkout. We receive identifiers and status needed to provision access (for example Paddle customer and subscription IDs, plan status, and renewal dates). We do not store full card numbers.

3. How we use information

We use data to provide and secure the service, send transactional emails (invitations), show activity history, process imports and media, provision paid entitlements after Paddle transactions, troubleshoot issues, comply with law, and communicate about the product. We do not sell personal information or use tree content for third-party advertising.

Within families: authorized members see data according to roles and permission rules — there is no public family directory.

Service providers: Amazon Web Services (AWS) and related AWS services (Cognito, RDS, S3, SES, Lambda, API Gateway, CloudWatch, GuardDuty), Web3Forms (waitlist), and optional LogRocket (diagnostics, only when you opt in). We self-host fonts and do not load typography from third-party font CDNs.

Merchant of record (Paddle): For paid purchases we share with Paddle the information needed to complete checkout and manage subscriptions (for example email, customer identifiers, and purchase context such as family or user IDs in transaction metadata). Paddle processes payment card and related billing data as an independent controller for the sale, subscription management, tax/invoicing, and buyer support. See Paddle’s privacy notice and our Refund Policy.

We may also disclose information when required by law or to protect users and the service.

5. Cookies and browser storage

When you first visit we-tree.app or my.we-tree.app, we show a cookie consent banner with options to accept all, reject non-essential technologies, or manage preferences by category.

Necessary (always active): Cognito/Amplify authentication tokens in browser storage; security and core functionality.

Functional (always active, disclosed): local storage and session storage for UI preferences — pedigree display options, dismissed tips, product tours, comparison chart filters, pricing billing toggle, invitation flows, and similar non-essential convenience features.

Analytics (opt-in only): optional LogRocket session diagnostics when enabled in a deployment. LogRocket does not load until you consent.

Your choices are stored in local storage (wetree:consent:v1). On production domains, a first-party cookie (wetree_consent on .we-tree.app) may sync preferences between this site and the app. Use Cookie preferences in the footer to change your choices at any time. We self-host fonts and do not use third-party advertising cookies.

6. Security

We use HTTPS, Cognito authentication, role-based access, encrypted object storage, malware scanning on uploads, and automated database backups (documented as approximately 14 days for RDS). Report security issues to security@askewsoft.com.

7. Retention

We retain data while your account and family workspaces are active, subject to administrator actions, soft deletes, invitation expiry, import processing needs, and audit history. RDS automated database backups are kept for approximately 14 days. Operational logs in AWS CloudWatch are retained for 7 days, then deleted automatically. You may delete your account from in-app settings; see §8.

8. Your choices and rights

Update profile fields in the app; contact family administrators for tree data; use Cookie preferences to control optional analytics; email privacy@askewsoft.com for access, correction, or deletion requests. Family owners and admins can download a GEDCOM file of the family tree (full export or a delta of changes since the last full export) from Family Overview — free on every plan. They can also download a rate-limited bulk media ZIP archive from the app (also available on Free when video/audio playback is limited). Rights vary by location — we respond as required by applicable law.

For payment refunds and billing disputes on Paddle transactions, see our Refund Policy and paddle.net.

9. Children's privacy

WeTree is not directed at children under 13. Users under 18 should have parent or guardian permission.

10. International users

We are based in the United States. Data is processed in the U.S. and other countries where our providers operate, typically on Amazon Web Services (AWS) (default region us-east-1).

11. Changes

We may update this policy and will provide notice of material changes before they take effect where required.