Privacy at nametree
Last updated: September 19, 2026
nametree is made by The Road South, Inc. This page covers the website nametree.me and the nametree app. Questions or requests: info@nametree.me.
The short version
- There are no accounts. We never ask for your email, phone number or address to use nametree.
- Your family's names, your saved list and your notes live on your device.
- We do record how nametree is used, including the names you type, so the matching gets better. Those records are not tied to an account or to your device.
- When you share a tree or a shortlist, what you share is stored on our servers so the link works.
- We do not sell your information. The app has no ads and no advertising trackers.
What stays on your device
The names in your family, your last name if you add it, the names you save, your notes, your saved trees and your settings are stored on your own phone or browser. In the app we also keep a copy in the phone's own app storage, so a low-storage cleanup does not erase your list. "Start fresh" in the app erases all of it from that device.
What we record when you use nametree
To improve the suggestions, nametree sends our servers a record of what it showed and what you did with it: which suggested names appeared, which you saved, pruned or passed on, the filters you chose, the language, and the names you typed as your family or searched for. If you add a last name, it is included, because how a first name sounds with a last name is part of the matching.
Each record also carries a random session number that changes daily, a general description of the kind of browser or app, and the number that identifies your internet provider's network. We do not store your IP address, your location, your email or a permanent device identifier with these records.
We use these records to see which names fit which families, which names people look for that we do not have yet, and whether changes to the matching help. We keep them for as long as they are useful for that. We do not delete them on a schedule today.
When you share
- A shared tree or list. The names in it, the notes on your saved names, and your last name if you added one, are stored on our servers for one year so the link works. Anyone who has the link can open it.
- Ask your people. Your shortlist is stored the same way. The people you invite type a display name, their ratings, their reasons and an optional short note; these are stored with the shortlist so you can see who said what. You can take the shortlist down, or remove one person's answers, at any time from the device that created it; taking it down deletes the answers too.
- The Tiebreaker. Both partners' lists and the first name the sender typed are stored for 30 days. From the app, the two of you stay linked after that: each app keeps its list (and your top five, if you ranked it) up to date on our servers so you can both see the names you both kept, until either of you taps "Stop sharing lists" or 30 days pass without an update. An invitation sent from the app (Decide together) also stores the first names of the family the tree was grown from, the last name if you entered one, and the filters you chose, so your partner's app can suggest names from the same tree.
Notifications in the app
If you allow notifications, we store your phone's notification address with your shortlist so we can tell you when someone rates your names. We use it for nothing else. It is deleted when you switch notifications off in the menu, when you take the shortlist down, or when the shortlist expires. We ask only when you create a shortlist link, never when you open the app.
The same goes for Decide together: if either of you asks to be notified, that phone's address is kept with your shared invitation and used only to tell you when your partner answers and when you both keep a new name. It is deleted when you switch notifications off, when either of you taps "Stop sharing lists", or 30 days after the two apps last updated the lists.
When you buy a report (website only)
Reports are sold on the website, not in the app. Payment is handled by Stripe; we never see your card. Stripe gives us the email address you used, and we send the report link to it. To write the letter, the names, last name, place and notes you entered are sent to the AI service that drafts it (Anthropic) and the finished letter is stored so your link works: about 30 days, or up to one year for a gift. The notes and place you write for a report are used for that report only.
Analytics and advertising on the website
The website uses Google Analytics to understand visits, and Google Ads to measure our own advertising and to show our ads to people who have visited. Google Analytics events on the website can include a name you searched for or saved. The website loads its heading typeface from Google Fonts. You can block Google Analytics with Google's opt-out browser add-on.
The app's own screens include none of these. When you open a name page or a story inside the app, you are viewing a page of the website, shown without Google Analytics and without anything for sale.
Companies that handle data for us
Cloudflare (hosting, storage), Google (Analytics, Ads and Fonts on the website; our company Drive holds weekly backups of shared trees and shortlists), Stripe (payments), Anthropic (drafting reports), Resend (sending report emails), Apple (delivering notifications). Each receives only what its job needs. Data is processed in the United States and in Cloudflare's network.
Your choices
- Erase everything on your device with "Start fresh".
- Take down a shortlist, or remove one person's answers, from the device that created it.
- Ask us to delete a shared tree, a shortlist, a Tiebreaker exchange or a report: email info@nametree.me with the link. We will delete it within 30 days.
- If you are in a place whose law gives you the right to see, correct or delete personal information, email the same address and we will help.
Children
nametree is for adults choosing a name. It is not directed to children, and we do not knowingly collect information from children under 16. The names of children in a family, typed by a parent, are handled as described above.
Changes
If this page changes in a way that matters, we will say so here and change the date at the top.