Home › Private family tree

What is a private family tree?

A private family tree is an online family tree that only invited relatives can see. Family Tree Circle gives each family its own tree, at its own web address, where members sign in to view and add to it. Visitors who aren't invited see only what the admins choose to show, or nothing at all.

Big genealogy sites are built for researching ancestors in historical records. A private family tree is built for the living family: the people who actually know who married whom, which cousin moved abroad, and what grandmother's nickname was.

Why families choose a private tree

• Everyone can help. Invite relatives by email. Each person can add their own branch, children, photos and stories. Family heads look after their branch; admins look after the whole tree.
• Contact details stay in the family. Phone numbers, emails and addresses are encrypted and visible only to signed-in members.
• Nothing is sold or shared. No ads, no DNA upsells, no public world tree. Your family's data stays your family's.
• It's easy to read. Five tree views (Focus, Circle, Whole Tree, By Generation and Faces) make even a 300-person family clear at a glance.
• It keeps the family close. Birthday and anniversary emails with a card for the whole family, family stories with photos, and messages between members.

How to start a private family tree in 5 steps

1. Start with yourself. Add your parents, grandparents, brothers and sisters. Partial dates like "1952" or "March 15" are fine.
2. Bring in what you already have. Import names from an Excel or CSV sheet; you check the matches before anything is added.
3. Invite one person from each branch. Give them the Family head role so they can fill in their side.
4. Add photos and stories. A profile photo for each person, family photos, and stories like how the grandparents met.
5. Turn on birthday emails. On each birthday and anniversary, everyone gets one email with a card made from the person's photo.

What does it cost?

One yearly price per family tree, with unlimited relatives, members and photos:

• Hosted on our cloud: from $0.99 a month. Starter covers up to 100 people; Unlimited is $39.99 a year or $199 once for Lifetime. We run it for you, with HTTPS, backups, email invites and every new feature. Use a free web address or add your own domain, like smithfamily.com.
• Self-hosted: $249 once. Install it on your own PHP hosting (PHP 8 and SQLite, no database setup). Your family's data never touches our servers.

You can explore the live sample tree first, with no sign-up.

Common questions

Can relatives who aren't invited see our tree?

Only if you allow it. Admins choose whether visitors see just a sign-in page, or a limited tree where you pick what shows (for example names, photos and house names). Contact details are always for members only.

Does it work for large and blended families?

Yes. It handles second marriages, widowed spouses, adoptions, half-siblings, in-laws, and relatives whose parents aren't known yet.

Can we use it on phones?

Yes. It works in any browser on phones, tablets and computers, with nothing to install.

Can we take our data with us?

Yes. Admins can export everyone to Excel, CSV or JSON at any time.