Kindred privacy policy

The short version

• Kindred has no server of its own. Your data lives on your devices and in iCloud.
• No analytics, no ads, no tracking. Nothing is sold or shared with advertisers or data brokers.
• I can't see your lists, calendar, photos, links, or nudges.

Where your data lives

Your lists, chores, meals, saved links, shared calendar events, profile photos, and locket photos are stored on your iPhone and sync through Apple's iCloud, in your private iCloud database.

When you invite your partner, Kindred uses iCloud sharing so you both see the same data. Only the people you invite can see it. Shared data is stored in the iCloud account of the person who created the household. Apple's iCloud terms and privacy policy cover that storage.

Nudges

A nudge is a short note you send your partner, like "grabbing tacos?". Your phone encrypts the text with a key only your two phones hold, then saves a small record in the app's public iCloud database so iCloud can deliver it as a notification. The record holds your household ID, your partner's member ID, your name as you entered it in Kindred, and the encrypted text. Neither I nor Apple can read the text. Your partner's phone decrypts it to show the notification.

When someone leaves your shared lists, the key is replaced, so a former partner can't read new nudges. Kindred deletes each nudge record from iCloud about a day after you send it. The last nudge your partner sent is kept on your phone so the Home Screen widget can show it.

If your partner's phone runs a version of Kindred from before encryption, nudges between you go unencrypted until they update.

Calendar

If you turn on calendar sharing, Kindred reads your calendars on your iPhone using Apple's calendar permission. For each calendar you choose Details, Busy only, or Hidden. Work (Exchange) calendars start as Busy only.

For the next 30 days, Kindred shares each event from a Details calendar with its title, start and end time, whether it's all day, and its location. Notes are shared only from Details calendars where you turn on Share notes, which is off unless you turn it on, and are cut at 2,000 characters. Busy only calendars share just the time and the word "Busy". Kindred never shares attendees. Hidden calendars never leave your phone.

Saved links

When you save a link, your iPhone fetches the page title and preview image straight from that website, the same way Messages builds a link preview. On iPhones that support Apple Intelligence, Apple's on-device model sorts the link (restaurant, recipe, travel, or other). That sorting happens on your phone. The link, title, and image then sync to your partner through iCloud.

Photos

Kindred only gets the photos you pick or take: locket photos, and your profile photo. For a profile photo you can also pick a contact card. Apple's contact picker hands Kindred only the photo from the card you choose, and Kindred never asks for access to your contacts.

Photos are resized on your phone, with location and camera details removed, and stored in your shared iCloud data so your partner can see them.

Copies kept on your phone

So nothing is lost by accident, Kindred keeps some copies on your iPhone. They stay on your phone, and in your phone's own backup if you use one. They never sync to your partner or reach me.

• Recently deleted keeps what you delete for 30 days, so you can bring it back.
• A daily snapshot of your lists keeps the last 7 days, so you can restore after a mistake.
• If you sign out of iCloud or switch Apple IDs, anything that hadn't reached iCloud yet is copied into Recently deleted, where only that iCloud account can see it.
• If you leave your partner's shared lists, you can keep a copy in your own iCloud.

Apple Watch, widgets, and Messages

The Apple Watch app talks only to your own iPhone. Widgets show data that's already on your phone, such as your partner's photo and their last nudge. When your partner adds groceries or to-dos, your phone posts the notification itself; nothing extra is sent anywhere. Siri and Shortcuts requests run inside Kindred on your phone.

In Messages, Kindred can put a card in the conversation, like your grocery list or a saved link. You decide whether to send it, and it travels through Apple's Messages like any other message. Tapping a button on a card updates that card in the thread.

What I receive

Nothing, by default. If you turn on sharing crash data with app developers in iOS Settings, Apple may pass me anonymous crash reports. I also see anything you choose to send me, like an email or an App Store review.

Deleting your data

Delete something in Kindred and it's removed from both phones. To remove everything, delete Kindred's data in your iCloud storage settings (Settings, then your name, then iCloud, then Manage Storage), then delete the app.

Children

Kindred isn't made for children under 13.

Changes

If this policy changes, I'll update this page and the date at the top.