Privacy Policy

TalkFam is built around a simple idea: your family conversations belong to your family, not to us. This policy describes exactly what data the app handles, where it lives, and what we — the people who make TalkFam — can and cannot see.

Who we are

TalkFam ("we", "us", "our") is the developer of the TalkFam iOS and watchOS app. You can reach us at support@mytalkfam.com.

Data we collect

The app processes the minimum required for it to work:

• Display name — the name you choose to show in your groups.
• iCloud user ID — an opaque identifier Apple gives the app so your groups sync across your devices. We cannot use this to identify you.
• Voice messages — short audio clips you record and send to a group.
• Pings — small signals indicating you've requested someone's attention.
• Live talk routing data — when you start talking, your display name, an opaque group identifier, and your device's push token are used to wake your family's devices so they can play your voice live. Tokens and identifiers are stored on our routing backend; they contain nothing personally identifying.
• App settings — preferences like notification choices and active group.

Data we do not collect

• Your location
• Your contacts or address book
• Analytics, usage telemetry, or crash data linked to you
• Your email address or password
• Any third-party trackers or advertising IDs

Where your data lives

Your message history — voice messages, groups, and your profile — is stored with Apple's CloudKit in your group's iCloud container. We cannot read those conversations, and we cannot recover them if you lose access to your Apple ID.

Live talk works differently: when you hold the talk button, your voice streams through LiveKit Cloud, a realtime audio service, so your family hears you within about a second — even with their phones locked. Live audio is encrypted in transit (DTLS-SRTP), exists on the relay only for the instant of delivery, and is never recorded or stored there. The finished message is saved only to your iCloud, exactly as before.

Service providers

We use two infrastructure providers to make live talk work: LiveKit Cloud (real-time audio relay) and Supabase (push-notification routing). They process only what's listed above — streamed audio in transit and opaque routing identifiers — under their own security and privacy commitments. Neither receives your name, email, contacts, or message history.

Bluetooth and peer-to-peer

When nearby family members are in range, TalkFam can send voice messages directly between devices using Bluetooth and local networking. These transmissions never leave the devices involved.

Push notifications

We use Apple Push Notification service (APNs) to alert you when someone sends a message, ping, or SOS, and to wake your device the moment a family member starts talking so their voice can play live. Notification payloads contain only the speaker's display name and a group identifier — never the contents of your messages.

Apple Watch

On Apple Watch, TalkFam handles voice the same way as on iPhone. On cellular Watches it can operate independently of your phone. The same privacy rules apply. When your Watch is near your iPhone, live talk is relayed through the phone; away from your phone, the Watch sends voice messages via iCloud.

Retention and deletion

Voice messages are kept for up to 7 days in your group's iCloud container so family members can catch up if they were offline. You can delete any message you sent at any time. You can delete your entire account from Settings → Delete Account, which removes your profile and your messages from CloudKit.

Children's privacy

TalkFam is designed for families and is suitable for users of all ages. Children should use TalkFam under their parents' supervision and with the parents' Apple ID Family Sharing in place. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children outside of what's described above.

Changes to this policy

If we change this policy, we'll update the "Last updated" date and, for material changes, surface a notice in the app.

Contact

Questions about privacy? Email support@mytalkfam.com.