Your family plans should stay with your family.

Information FamilyGather handles

• Account information: the email address and display name you approve when you use Sign in with Apple, plus Apple’s opaque account identifier for FamilyGather so your membership remains connected securely. Apple may provide a private relay address instead of your real email.
• Family content: family and calendar names, membership, invitations, events, dates, notes, meeting addresses, edit history, attendance responses, availability votes, checklists, shopping lists, chores, assignments, event messages, and other details you choose to provide.
• User content: profile pictures, event photos, and event attachments such as photos, PDFs, and calendar files that you select and upload.
• External calendar subscriptions: the private HTTPS subscription address you provide and the event details FamilyGather imports from that feed. Subscription addresses can contain a private access token and should not be shared publicly.
• Map information: address searches, selected places, map coordinates, and saved meeting locations.
• Device preferences: settings such as selected device calendar and event-link identifiers, saved event drafts, offline calendar copies, notification tokens, reminder choices, quiet hours, signed-in session details, and the limited upcoming-event copy used by the iPhone Home Screen widget.

How the information is used

FamilyGather uses this information to authenticate members, operate shared family calendars and lists, show who created or edited content, support event conversations and protected attachments, import calendar subscriptions you request, deliver private invitations and opt-in plan alerts, schedule reminders you choose, display photos and meeting places, synchronize events you authorize with your chosen device calendar, and maintain service security and reliability.

What other family members can see

Members of the same family group can see the group’s shared events and calendars, lists and chores, event messages and attachments, event photos, meeting details, member display names and profile pictures, and content creation or editing attribution. Private invitation and calendar-subscription links should be sent only to the intended people.

Device calendars and sharing

The iPhone app requests Calendar access only to list writable calendars and to add, update, and remove FamilyGather event copies on that device. These may include iCloud, Google, Outlook, or other accounts the user connected to iPhone Calendar. FamilyGather does not upload the contents of other calendar events. The chosen calendar and FamilyGather event-link identifiers are stored on the device.

If you add the FamilyGather widget, the next three event titles and times are stored in the app’s private shared container on that iPhone. The app clears this widget copy when you sign out or delete your account.

If you enable notifications, Apple receives a device token and the notification text needed to deliver plan-change alerts. Individual event reminders are scheduled on your iPhone. You can turn alerts off or change quiet hours in Family → Settings.

When you choose Share, iOS lets you select another app such as Messages, Mail, or WhatsApp. The selected service receives only the content you choose to share and handles it under its own privacy policy.

On-device notice scanning

If you choose Scan an invitation or notice, Apple Vision or PDFKit reads the selected image, screenshot, or PDF on your iPhone. FamilyGather does not send the original document to ChatGPT or another OCR service. Recognized text is used only to fill an editable event draft; nothing is shared with the family until you review the draft and create the event. A document is uploaded only if you separately attach it to an event.

Service providers

FamilyGather relies on service providers to operate its features and requires them to protect information consistently with this policy. Cloudflare provides the independent application hosting, database and uploaded-file storage used by the current test service. OpenAI Sites continues to host the already released transition version only until that App Store build is replaced. Google Maps Platform processes map loading, address searches, place details, and geocoding. Apple provides account sign-in, on-device Vision and PDF processing, Calendar access, notifications, and App Store distribution. When you add an external calendar, FamilyGather contacts the calendar host shown in the HTTPS subscription address to retrieve that feed. These providers also process information under their own terms and privacy policies.

Retention and deletion

Family data is retained while it is needed to operate the family group and provide the service. Deleted events remain recoverable for 30 days before their event data, messages, photos, and attachments are permanently removed. Removed lists and calendar subscriptions are no longer shown, and removing a subscription deletes its imported events. Unused private invitations and shared event links expire after seven days. Safety reports remain open while reviewed and are then retained only as reasonably necessary to prevent abuse, resolve disputes, or meet legal obligations. A family creator can remove a member and their stored profile picture. Event creators and family managers can move shared events to Recently Deleted.

You can permanently delete your FamilyGather account inside the app under Family → Settings. Deletion removes your FamilyGather profile, uploaded profile picture, notification devices, active sessions, and membership. Plans you created transfer to the remaining family manager so other members do not lose their calendar; if no member remains, the family calendar and all associated data are deleted. This does not delete your Apple Account. When FamilyGather holds a valid Apple refresh token, it also revokes the app’s Sign in with Apple authorization. Older accounts without that token receive instructions for disconnecting FamilyGather in iPhone Settings.

The iPhone app also attempts to remove linked device-calendar copies when account deletion is completed and Calendar access remains available. Other devices synchronize deletions when FamilyGather is opened. For additional help, use the FamilyGather Support page.

Security and children

FamilyGather uses encrypted HTTPS connections, sign-in protection, private expiring invitations, and access checks between family groups. No internet service can guarantee absolute security, so members should protect invitation links and their signed-in devices.

FamilyGather is intended for use by families under adult supervision and is not directed to children under 13 acting independently. Parents and guardians should decide whether and how younger family members participate.

Policy changes and questions

This policy may be updated when FamilyGather features or service providers change. The effective date above will be revised when material changes are published. For assistance or privacy questions, use the FamilyGather Support page or email alan.alansze@gmail.com.