KinwisePrivacy Policy
Effective date: September 24, 2026
Revised: October 9, 2026 (sections 2.2, 2.4, 10 and 13), effective from the release of app version 1.3.
Applies to: the iOS app known as Kinwise (also 새식구, 亲戚通, 親戚通, 義実家ノート, Xưng Hô, रिश्ते, เรียกญาติ, Kerabat, Akrabam), version 1.x
ForgeLab, a sole proprietorship run by Jason Lee ("we") respects your privacy and the privacy of the family members you record in the app. This policy explains what information the app handles, where it is stored and your choices.
1. The short version
- Version 1.x has no account, and your family information is never sent to servers run by us. Everything you enter is stored on your device and in your own iCloud. We cannot see or receive it.
- When you open the app, it asks our server only for the minimum app version, so we can tell you when an update is required. No family or account information is sent.
- No advertising, advertising identifiers, analytics SDKs or tracking.
- Face detection runs on your device. We never create or store face recognition templates.
2. Information the app handles
2.1 Information you enter (stored only on your device and in your iCloud)
| Information | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Names, nicknames, gender, birth dates (solar or lunar) and birth order of you, your relatives, friends and coworkers | Working out relationships and forms of address; showing ages and birthdays |
| Family links (parent, child, spouse) | Drawing the family map; calculating forms of address |
| Face photos (only the face area cropped from a photo you pick) | Remembering people by face; quizzes |
| Place, job, school, likes, dislikes, foods to avoid, gift notes, topics to avoid, notes from past visits | Reviewing before a family visit |
| Whether someone has passed away, and the memorial date | Keeping family links; memorial reminders |
| Meeting name and date (if picked from your calendar, only that event's title and date) | Reminders and the "Before we meet" review |
The "Can't eat" field may include health-related details such as allergies. This too stays on your device and in your iCloud and is never sent to us.
2.2 Settings kept only on this device
Quiz history, notification and lock settings, the form-of-address language, and which tips you've seen. These are not synced to iCloud.
So that the free trial is offered only once, the app also keeps on the device when your trial started. This record may remain after the app is deleted, and it is never sent to us.
2.3 Information we collect
We do not collect or store the information you or your family members enter. When the app checks the minimum version, the internet connection itself leaves the following record on our server:
| Information | Purpose | Retention |
|---|---|---|
| IP address, time of the request, and basic device and app details sent with any connection (operating system, app version) | Telling you when an update is required; keeping the service secure and fixing outages | Kept in server logs for up to 7 days, then deleted automatically |
We do not use this record to identify you or combine it with other information.
2.4 Information handled by Apple
- iCloud (CloudKit) stores your data in your iCloud account for syncing and co-editing, under Apple's Privacy Policy.
- Purchases are processed by Apple. On your device, the app checks only whether you have a pass or a free trial. It never receives payment details and does not send this information to us.
- Crash reports may be shared with developers by Apple, anonymously, if you allow this in your device settings.
3. Device permissions
| Permission | When it's used | If you decline |
|---|---|---|
| Photos | No permission is requested. The system photo picker gives the app only the photos you choose | (not applicable) |
| Calendar | Only when you pick a meeting date from your calendar, the app reads the next 60 days of events. It never writes to your calendar | Enter the date yourself |
| Notifications | Birthday, memorial and meeting reminders are scheduled on this device | See them inside the app instead |
| Face ID | If you turn on the lock, to unlock the app. Face data is handled by Apple on the device; the app never receives it | Use the app without the lock |
4. Co-editing (sharing)
Only people you invite can view and edit a shared family. Sharing uses Apple's iCloud sharing, and shared data is stored in the iCloud of the person who created the family. If you stop sharing, the other person can no longer see it. Forms of address, quiz history and notification settings are personal and never shared.
5. Information about other people
The app is for recording information about other people (your partner's family, relatives, friends, coworkers).
- It stays on your device and in your iCloud and is used only to help you remember.
- Please record only what you need, and respect what the people concerned would want, especially for photos and health-related details.
- A person whose information you recorded can ask you to delete it. We do not hold this information and cannot delete it ourselves, but if you contact us we'll explain how.
6. Children
The app is not directed to children under 14 (or the equivalent minimum age in your country). Adult users may record a child relative's name, birthday or photo; this stays on the user's device and iCloud. We do not collect children's personal information.
7. Retention and deletion
- Information stays on your device and in your iCloud until you delete it.
- People you delete stay in "Recently deleted" for 30 days and are then removed.
- In Settings, "Erase everything and start over" removes the families you created from this device and your iCloud. Families you were invited to remain in their creator's iCloud and are only removed from this device's list. Deleting the app removes data on this device; iCloud data can be removed in Settings > Apple Account > iCloud > Manage Storage.
- Connection records from the version check are deleted automatically within 7 days.
8. Sharing with third parties, processors and international transfers
We do not sell or share personal information with third parties. We entrust the operation of the version-check server as follows, so connection records may be processed by a provider outside your country:
| Recipient | Service | Countries | Information | When and how | Retention |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Supabase Pte. Ltd. (Singapore, privacy@supabase.com) | Hosting the minimum-version server | Stored in the Republic of Korea (Seoul region); provider based in Singapore | The connection records in 2.3 | Each time the app opens, over an encrypted connection | Up to 7 days |
This happens automatically whenever the app is online. If you prefer, you can use the app without an internet connection: recording your family and forms of address still work, but update notices, iCloud sync and co-editing do not. The storage location of iCloud data follows Apple's policies.
9. Security
Data on your device is protected by iOS Data Protection, and traffic to iCloud is encrypted. You can lock the app with Face ID or your device passcode, and the app hides family information in the app switcher while locked. Face detection stays on the device, and the app contains no advertising, analytics or tracking code.
10. Your rights
You can view, correct and delete your information in the app. A family that is locked because you no longer have Lifetime Pro or Kinwise Plus (see section 6 of the Terms of Use) can't be viewed or edited until it reopens, but nothing in it is deleted, and you can erase it at any time with "Erase everything and start over" in Settings. With Lifetime Pro or Kinwise Plus you can also export a copy with Settings > Export family info. The exported backup file (JSON) contains people, photos, notes and relationships as they are. It goes only where you choose (email, the Files app and so on) and is never sent to us. You can restore it as a new family with Settings > Restore from backup file. Because the file contains your family information as is, keep it somewhere safe.
- EEA, UK and Switzerland (GDPR): because we do not store the information you enter and connection records are deleted within 7 days, most requests can be completed in the app. You may still contact us about access, rectification, erasure, restriction, portability or objection, and you have the right to complain to your local data protection authority.
- California (CCPA/CPRA) and other US states: we do not sell or share personal information and do not use it for targeted advertising.
- Korea (PIPA): see the Korean version of this policy for the complaint and dispute agencies.
11. Contact
- Privacy contact: Jason Lee
- Email: forgelab.aitech@gmail.com
- Contact page: https://jsonpassion.github.io/saesikgu-site/contact/en/
12. Changes
We will announce changes in the app and on our website at least 7 days before they take effect (30 days for material changes). If we introduce server-based co-editing, the information we handle, our processors and international transfers will change; we will publish the updated policy in advance and ask for consent where required.
13. Android app
This policy also applies to the Android app Kinwise (1.x) from Google Play; this section applies from the day the Android app is released on Google Play. In the Android app, the following replaces the parts above about iOS, iCloud and Apple. Everything else (the information handled and why, information about other people and children, your rights and how to contact us) is the same.
- Where information is stored: What you enter is stored on this device. The Android app has no co-editing or iCloud sync and does not connect to our server (it does not check the minimum app version either). Section 2.3 (connection logs) and section 8 (processors and international transfers) therefore do not apply to the Android app.
- Your phone's Google backup: If Google backup is turned on in your device settings, Android backs up your family information (including photos), app settings and automatic backup files to your Google Account and restores them when you change devices or reinstall the app. This backup is handled by Google under the Google Privacy Policy, and we cannot see it. You can turn it off in your device settings.
- Calendar: The app asks for permission only when you pick a meeting date from your calendar, and then reads the next 60 days of events. It never writes to your calendar and saves only the title and date of the event you pick as the meeting.
- Notifications: Birthday, memorial and meeting reminders are scheduled and shown on this device. On Android 13 and later, the app asks for permission when you tap "Get reminders". Reminder content never leaves the device.
- Photos and face detection: The app does not ask for photo permission; it receives only the photos you pick in the system photo picker. Face detection runs only on the device. It only finds where a face is and never identifies who it is. Only the cropped face is saved.
- Lock: If you turn on the lock, the app asks for your fingerprint, face unlock or screen lock. Biometric data is handled by the device; the app never receives it. While the lock is on, family information is hidden on the recent apps screen.
- Payments: Lifetime Pro purchases and Kinwise Plus subscriptions are processed by Google Play. The app keeps on this device only the records it needs to confirm your pass and free trial, and never sends them to us. We do not receive your payment details.
- Google Play Billing Library: The Google Play Billing Library used for payments may send diagnostic information (such as basic device and app information and records of how the library worked) to Google to check that it works and to analyze errors. Google handles this information under the Google Privacy Policy. The app has internet permission because of this library; the app never sends family information over the internet.
- Crash information: If you allow usage and diagnostics sharing on your device, Google may collect crash and "app not responding" information for the app and show it to the developer as statistics.
- Retention and deletion: Deleting the app deletes the information on this device. "Erase everything and start over" in Settings erases the information on this device, and the copy in your Google backup is replaced at the next backup. To delete it right away, delete the device backup under Backups in Google Drive.
- Security: Information stored on the device is protected by Android device encryption.