Press the ♿ Easy access button at the top of any page, then choose a Text size: Normal, Large or Extra large. It's remembered on your account. You can also set it in Settings → Look & feel, along with dark mode.

♿ Open Easy access

Press the 💌 Invite button at the top of any page, right beside Easy access. Here's how it works.

Only family members with an approved account. The Family Portal is private: it isn't a public website, nothing is sold or shared with advertisers, and family information is never shown to search engines. Memories you mark 🔒 Only me are seen by you alone. Read the whole privacy promise.

Yes! Then it opens like an app, with its own tree icon. The easiest way: press this button on the phone, tablet or computer you want it on.

📲 Install the app

Or do it yourself:

• iPhone or iPad: open the site in Safari, tap the Share button (a square with an arrow pointing up), then Add to Home Screen.
• Android: open the site in Chrome, tap the ⋮ menu at the top right, then Add to Home screen (or Install app).
• Computer: in Chrome or Edge, click the small install icon at the right end of the address bar.

Yes. Go to Settings → Notifications, press 🔔 Turn on notifications on this device, and tap Allow when your phone asks. You'll get a note for new messages and when someone tags you in a photo, memory, event or recording. In the same place you can also choose notes for new memories and events, new photos, and family tree changes. There's a Send a test notification button so you can check it works.

• iPhone or iPad (iOS 16.4 or newer): Apple only allows this once the Family Portal is on your Home Screen. Open the site in Safari, tap Share, then Add to Home Screen. Then open the Family Portal from its new icon and turn notifications on in Settings.
• Android and computers: it works right in Chrome, Edge or Firefox.
• Turned on but nothing arrives? Check that notifications are allowed for the Family Portal in your phone's own Settings, and that Focus or Do Not Disturb isn't on. Turn it on separately on each phone or computer you use. On a shared phone, signing out stops notifications for the person who was using it.

Notes are kept plain on purpose (for example “New message from Ann”), so nothing private shows on a lock screen.

Go to Settings → My privacy and switch on the ones you want hidden. Admins can still see them, only to help with problems. You can also choose whether family can see when you're online.

To keep kids safe, anyone under 18 is only shown to their parents, grandparents and the site's admins. Members may add their own children to the tree; admins and moderators can add others.

Open the person's page and press ✏️ Fix it to correct it yourself. Not sure? Press 🚩 Flag it instead and explain what looks wrong. It goes on the Help Wanted page so someone can check it.

First try the search box at the top with just a last name. If you still can't find them, check Settings → Whose family do I see?: if it's set to "My relatives" or "My direct line", other branches are hidden. Still missing? Use the form below to let us know.

Photos and videos go in the Gallery. Records like birth certificates and census pages go in Documents & Records. Afterward, tag the people in them so they show up on each person's page.

That's their online status: 🟢 using the site now, 🟡 away, ⚪ offline. You choose what others see in Settings → My privacy, including never showing it.

On the sign-in page, press Forgot your password? and type your email address. You'll get an email with a link to choose a new password (check your spam folder if it doesn't arrive in a few minutes). Still stuck? Contact Jordan or another admin. Once you're signed in, you can change your password any time in Settings → My account.

Open the photo in the Gallery, press 👆 Tag a face, tap their face (or move the circle onto it with the arrow buttons) and press ❓ I don't know who this is: ask the family. The face goes on the Quest Board for the relatives most likely to know.

Think you know? Choose 🤔 I think so and pick the name. When another relative presses ✅ That's right, the name goes on the photo for everyone.

Yes. Above every photo you can choose 🏷️ Names (beside each face), 🔢 Numbers (a small number next to each face, with the names in the list), or 🙈 Hide names. Your choice is remembered. On small screens, crowded photos switch to numbers by themselves.

Open Family Voices and press 📁 Add a recording. Choose the file, say who you can hear and who it's about, and press Save recording. Sound files (MP3, M4A, WAV…) and videos up to 500 MB work. It shows on each of their pages under 🎙️ Voices.

On a cassette or an old answering machine? A local photo shop or library can usually turn it into a file, or ask a younger relative to help with a phone app.

You can also type out what's said (now or later). That helps anyone who can't hear it well, and lets the family search for words in it.

Yes. Open the photo and press 🎤 Record a voice note. Press Start recording, say what you remember, and press Stop recording (nothing to hold down). Listen back, then save it. Your browser asks for the microphone the first time.

Open Family Games in the menu. There are three: the ❓ Daily Family Question (everyone gets the same question each day, and you read the family's answers after you've shared yours), 🧠 Family Trivia (ten questions a day made from the family tree, no timer), and 🌳 Grow the Tree (a living picture of the family that gets fuller as people add dates, places and parents). Nobody plays against anyone: the whole point is to help each other learn the family story.

Thank you for spotting it. That means the family tree has a mistake. After you answer, press 🚩 This looks wrong and say what you think is correct. It goes to the family like any other flag, and the question fixes itself once the tree is fixed. Trivia only ever asks about relatives who have passed away.

Yes. At the bottom of the Daily Question page, type your question and press Suggest it. An admin or moderator looks it over and schedules it for an upcoming day, and your name appears on it. Warm, open-ended questions work best.

Yes. On Calendar & Timeline, open the 🎂 Living family tab and press Add to my calendar. Open the file that downloads, and the birthdays and anniversaries repeat every year.