The short version
- Memory titles, stories, people, dates and media are stored in the app’s private local storage.
- Camera, microphone, Photos and Apple’s Journaling Suggestions picker open only after you choose the related action.
- Art Alive processing stays on the device.
- Optional Family Circle sharing uses Apple CloudKit and Apple-managed invitations.
- We do not sell family information, build advertising profiles or track people across other companies’ apps and websites.
Memory Drops and local storage
The app stores the family name, contribution names, Memory Drop titles, stories, dates, people, place labels, source labels and replay information in its private application storage. Photos, scans, audio recordings, video clips and generated Art Alive clips are kept as files in the app’s private storage.
Local capture continues to work without Family Circle. Deleting the app removes its local data from that device, subject to Apple device backups and any separate iCloud-shared records you control.
Camera, Photos and microphone
- Camera: used only when you choose to capture a photo, scan artwork or record a video note.
- Photos: Apple’s picker lets you choose specific images. The app does not browse the rest of the photo library.
- Microphone: used only while you actively record a voice Memory Drop or an artwork voice note.
- Exports: Apple’s Share Sheet or Files interfaces are shown only when you choose to export or share something.
Permissions can be reviewed or withdrawn in iOS or iPadOS Settings.
Artwork scanning and Art Alive
Apple’s document-camera interface detects page edges and straightens scanned artwork. On-device Apple Vision identifies a foreground subject, and Apple media frameworks create a short animated loop locally. The scan is not sent to Let’s Build Apps HQ or a third-party AI service for this feature.
A voice note or optional video explanation can be attached to the scanned artwork. Those attachments follow the same local-storage and optional Family Circle rules as the rest of the Memory Drop.
Day Weave and Apple Journaling Suggestions
Day Weave begins with Apple’s private Journaling Suggestions picker. Family Memories cannot see what you browse in that system interface. The app receives only the one suggestion you choose and the items Apple includes with it.
Depending on the selected suggestion, those items may include photographs, short videos, a place name, motion activity and step totals, selected workouts and route points, or a song. The app copies only the selected media into its private storage and turns the supplied facts into an editable draft.
On supported iOS 26 devices, Apple Foundation Models can write a short opening locally using only the selected facts. If the on-device model is unavailable, the app creates a rules-based summary instead. Day Weave does not send this information to a developer server or an external language-model provider.
Optional Family Circle sharing
Family Circle uses Apple CloudKit and CKShare. When the organiser chooses “Start & Invite Family,” Apple presents a private invitation and manages each participant’s access through their Apple Account. Family Memories does not ask anyone to create a separate developer account and does not receive an Apple Account password.
Once sharing is enabled, the Family Circle record and contributed Memory Drops can sync through the organiser’s iCloud container and become visible to accepted participants. People in the shared circle can add and edit contributions. Apple processes this information under its iCloud terms and privacy policy.
The organiser can manage participants through Apple’s sharing interface. Removing the app from one device does not by itself promise deletion of records that remain in iCloud or are still shared with other participants.
Automated and on-device features
Art Alive uses on-device subject detection. Day Weave can use on-device Apple Intelligence when available. Replays and Then & Now use dates, people and places saved inside the app to organise memories. These features do not train a Let’s Build Apps HQ model and are not used to profile the family for advertising.
Apple services and diagnostics
Apple may process TestFlight or App Store diagnostics, iCloud records, system-picker interactions and device backups according to your Apple settings and Apple’s own privacy terms. Let’s Build Apps HQ does not add a separate advertising, tracking or analytics service to the app.
Children and family content
The app is designed for family use, but an adult should supervise what a child records or contributes and who is invited into a Family Circle. Do not include information you would not want the invited family participants to see.
Your choices and contact
The app includes a readable catalogue export and a source ledger showing how saved drops entered the collection. You can manage Apple permissions in Settings and manage invited participants through Apple’s sharing controls.
For a privacy question or request, use the support form. Please do not email private family media, children’s artwork or sensitive personal information unless it is necessary to explain the request.