Privacy Policy

Last updated 23 October 2026 · Version 2026-10-23

TreeBee helps families build their family tree together. This page explains, in plain words, what we collect, why, and what you control. TreeBee is run by Lintas Global FZE ("we"), United Arab Emirates.

What we collect

• Your phone number, to sign you in with a one-time code. It is never shown to your family unless you share it.
• Details you or your relatives add: names, gender, year of birth, and if you choose, birthday (day and month), city, and dates of remembrance for relatives who have passed away.
• How people are related (parent, partner, brother or sister).
• Photos you add for a person. Photos are cropped to the face and made small on your phone before upload.
• Your choices on this page and the consent screen, saved with the date and policy version.
• Invite links you create, and whether they have been used.
• Album photos you add, with a caption, year and the relatives tagged in them. Anyone tagged can remove their tag.
• News you share: posts, photos and hearts in Family Gossip. Photos are made small on your phone before upload. If you remove a post, its words and photo are cleared.

We do not upload or keep your contacts (see Finding family in your contacts below), and we take nothing from other apps. If you tap Find relatives near me, your phone's location is used only on your phone, to compare it with your family's cities; it is not saved or shown to anyone. To place cities on the family map, city names (never people's names) are looked up with OpenStreetMap.

Family check

Relatives can mark a person's details as "Looks right" or flag that something is wrong, with an optional note. Your family can see these, and whoever can fix the details is told. TreeBee also points out dates that can't be right (for example a child born before their parent). Nothing on the tree changes until the right person fixes it.

Photos of relatives in memory

A photo of someone who has passed away can be added by the relative who added them to the tree. A photo from anyone else is first checked by another family member, usually the closest relatives, before the rest of the family sees it. If they say it's not right, it is removed.

Sending a gift (coming soon)

When it launches, "Send a gift" will open a gift partner's website (IGP or Ferns N Petals, in India and the UAE). You will choose the gift, enter the address and pay on their site, under their privacy policy; TreeBee never sees addresses or payment details. We only count that a gift button was tapped, which partner and for what occasion, to understand what families use. TreeBee may earn a small commission from partners on orders, at no extra cost to you.

Online and last seen

While you use TreeBee, your family can see that you're active, and afterwards roughly when you were last on (for example "Active 2 hours ago"). You can turn this off in Settings with "Show when I'm active"; then nobody sees it, on any of your devices.

Stories and memories

Anyone in the family can write a memory or story about a relative, marked as a family memory, from a record, or a best guess. Stories can only be read by your family (and families connected to yours). Whoever wrote a story can remove it at any time.

Voice blessings

You can record a short voice message on your own card, or record a relative who hasn't joined TreeBee (with their agreement), or add an old recording of a relative in memory. Recordings can only be played by your family (and families connected to yours). Whoever added a recording can remove it at any time. If you delete your account, recordings of your own voice on your card are removed.

Social profiles

In Celebrations you can plan a get-together for your whole family or for relatives you choose. Its details, replies, photos and videos (up to 2 minutes) can be seen only by the people invited and the host. Videos are kept in Google Firebase storage and played through a private link. Whoever added a photo or video, or the host, can remove it; removing your own video deletes the file. "On this day" shows your family's own photos and dates from past years, only to your family.

Communities are groups beyond your family, such as your samaj, school friends or neighbours. Only a group's members can see it. Members see only what you choose for your group card: your name, a small photo and your city (optional). They never see your family tree, relatives, birthday or phone number. Any member can invite people with a link, which works for 30 days; anyone with the link can join, so share it only with people you want in the group. Members can message each other privately. You can change your card or leave a group at any time; leaving, or deleting your account, removes your card. When you invite people from your contacts, only the people you tick are used. WhatsApp messages are sent by you from WhatsApp. Emails are sent either from your own email app or, at your request, from TreeBee's address (invites@treebee.app, through Google Workspace) as one personal email to each person you ticked, up to 50 at a time; the addresses are used only to send that email and are then removed. Numbers and email addresses of people you invite are not kept by TreeBee.

Reporting and blocking. You can report a post, message, photo, video or relative that isn't right, and block a relative. A report goes only to the TreeBee team, with the words or link reported; the person is not told who reported them. When you block someone, their posts, photos and videos are hidden from you and they can no longer message you; they are not told. You can unblock them any time.

You can add your own Instagram and LinkedIn usernames to your card so your family can find you there. Only you can add or change them, we keep just the username, and they are removed if you delete your account.

Where we come from, and faith

You can add a relative's ancestral village or town, the country it is in today, and their mother tongue, so the family can see its roots. Faith is different: it can only be added by you, for yourself, it is shown to your family only if you turn it on, it is never passed on to your relatives' entries, and you can remove it at any time. TreeBee never asks about caste. Faith is removed if you delete your account.

Why we use it

• To show your family tree, relationship names (like Uncle or Cousin) and the family tree poster.
• To remind your family of birthdays and remembrance days, only if you turned that on.
• To let you invite relatives and let them join the right place in the tree.
• To keep TreeBee safe, for example blocking unusual sign-in attempts.

Who can see it

Only members of your family on TreeBee can see your family's tree. Other families cannot. Your phone number and private settings are visible only to you. A small number of TreeBee staff (admins) can see and correct the information on TreeBee, including names, family trees, photos, groups and the phone number you sign in with, to run the service, help families fix mistakes, and remove content or accounts that break our rules. They cannot read your private messages. Every change an admin makes is recorded with who made it and when. We do not sell your data, show ads, or share it with advertisers.

Where it is kept

Your data is stored with Google Cloud (Firebase) in Mumbai, India. Google also sends the sign-in text message and runs a check (reCAPTCHA) to stop automated sign-ups. Google handles this data for us under its own security and privacy terms.

Relatives who are not on TreeBee

When you add a relative, you are sharing their details with your family. Please only add what they would be happy for the family to see. When they join, they take control of their own details and photo. Anyone can ask us to remove details about them by emailing us.

Finding family in your contacts

If you choose "Find family in your contacts", you pick which contacts to check. Their numbers are turned into a one-way code on your phone and checked against TreeBee; we never upload or keep your address book. When you add a relative's mobile number to invite them, it is kept as that code so the right person can see "Is this you?" when they join, and the number itself is kept privately on your own account (only you can see it) so TreeBee can remind you each month to nudge anyone who hasn't joined. It is removed as soon as they join, or when you delete your account. You can switch off "Let relatives find me by phone number" in Settings at any time, and deleting your account removes your code.

Private messages

You can send a private message to a relative who has joined TreeBee, in your family or a family connected to yours. Only the two of you can read the conversation; other relatives and TreeBee staff cannot (unless you report a message, when the team sees the words you reported). Messages are kept so you can read back your conversation, and they are included when you download your data.

Connecting two family trees

If a relative is on TreeBee with their own family, you can ask to connect your two trees. They are asked first, and nothing is shared unless they say yes. Once connected, members of both families can see both trees (names, relations, cities, birthdays and photos on the tree), but each family can only change its own people. Family Gossip and the family album stay private to each family. Either family can disconnect at any time in Settings, and both trees go back to being private to their own family.

Children

You must be 18 or over to create a TreeBee account. Adults may add children in their family to the tree; the adult who adds them is responsible for doing so with a parent's agreement.

Your choices and rights

• See and change your details any time in the app.
• Turn optional choices (city, alerts, birthday reminders) on or off in Settings. Turning off "Show my city" takes your city off the family tree and keeps it only in your private account.
• Download a copy of your data, or delete your account, any time from Settings → Your data. Deleting removes your private details, photo and posts; your name stays on your family's tree as a relative.
• For anything else (a correction, removing your name from the tree too, or details about you added by a relative), email we@lintas.global. We reply within 30 days.

Depending on where you live, laws such as the UAE Personal Data Protection Law, India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act or the UK GDPR may give you further rights. Email us and we will help.

How long we keep it

We keep your family's tree while your family uses TreeBee, because it is built to keep family history. If you ask us to delete your account, we remove your phone number and private details and, if you wish, your own entry and photo.

Changes

If we change this policy in a way that matters, we will tell you in the app and ask again where needed.

TreeBee is run by Lintas Global FZE, United Arab Emirates. Questions: we@lintas.global. See also the Terms of Use.