Privacy Policy

Last updated: 14 April 2026

Kinbook helps families create books from shared memories. Your family's stories are deeply personal, and we treat them that way. This policy explains what we collect, how we use it, and the control you have over your data.

Who we are

Kinbook is operated by David Pinkerton, based in Australia. You can reach us at kinbook@dpinkerton.com.

What we collect

  • Account information — your name, email address, and authentication credentials (password hash or passkey public key). We never store plaintext passwords.
  • Contributions — text, voice recordings, and photos that you submit to a book project. Voice recordings are transcribed to text, and the original audio is stored unless you choose to delete it.
  • Book content — chapters, knowledge entities (people, places, timeline), and editorial settings generated from your contributions.
  • Session data — we use a single httpOnly cookie for authentication. We do not use tracking cookies, analytics, or advertising pixels.

How we use your data

  • To create your book — contributions are processed by AI to extract knowledge and synthesise narrative chapters.
  • To send you emails — invitation links, contributor prompts, and account-related notifications. We do not send marketing emails.
  • To improve the service — we may review aggregate, anonymised usage patterns (such as how many contributions a project typically receives). We never read your family's stories for this purpose.

AI processing

Kinbook uses third-party AI services to process your contributions:

  • Anthropic (Claude API) — extracts knowledge from your contributions and synthesises book chapters. Anthropic does not use API data to train their models.
  • OpenAI (Whisper API) — transcribes voice recordings to text. OpenAI retains API data for up to 30 days for abuse monitoring, then deletes it. They do not use API data for model training.

Your family's stories are never used to train AI models. The AI services we use process your data transiently and do not retain it for training purposes.

Audio recordings

Voice recordings are a sensitive form of contribution. By default, only the person who recorded their voice can play back the audio. Transcripts are shared with the project, but the audio file itself is not accessible to other members.

As a contributor, you can:

  • Opt out of audio exports — toggle "Include my audio in data exports" off in your project settings. Your transcripts will still be included, but your audio files will not.
  • Delete audio recordings — remove the audio file from any of your voice contributions while keeping the transcript.

Third-party services

We share data with the following services, solely to operate Kinbook:

  • Anthropic — AI text processing (narrative synthesis, knowledge extraction)
  • OpenAI — voice transcription
  • Fastmail — email delivery (invitations, contributor prompts)

We do not sell, rent, or share your data with anyone else.

Data export and portability

Project owners can export all project data at any time as a zip file. The export includes the book PDF, chapters, all contributions (text, photos, and audio from contributors who have not opted out), and extracted knowledge. You own your data and can take it with you.

Data retention and deletion

Your data is stored for as long as your account is active. If you request account or project deletion:

  • Your account or project is deactivated immediately — no one can access it.
  • After a 30-day cooling-off period, all data is permanently deleted, including database records, uploaded files, and generated content.
  • During the cooling-off period, you can contact us to restore your account if the deletion was accidental or unauthorised.

Security

We protect your data with:

  • Passwords hashed with bcrypt
  • FIDO2/WebAuthn passkey authentication
  • Optional TOTP two-factor authentication
  • httpOnly, secure session cookies
  • All traffic encrypted via HTTPS

Backups and data protection

Family stories are irreplaceable. We protect yours with multiple layers of redundancy:

  • Uploads (photos and audio) are stored on Backblaze B2, a cloud storage service designed for 99.999999999% (eleven nines) annual durability. Files are encrypted at rest on B2's servers.
  • Database (your account, contributions, chapters, and knowledge) is backed up daily to a separate cloud storage location. We retain 7 daily, 4 weekly, and 6 monthly backup snapshots.
  • Application code is version-controlled and can be redeployed independently of your data.

We maintain a tested disaster recovery plan covering scenarios from a simple service restart to full server replacement. Our layered backup strategy means your data can survive any single point of failure.

Children

Kinbook is intended for users aged 13 and over. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. Stories about children, told by adult contributors, are the contributor's content and are treated accordingly.

If you believe a child under 13 has created an account, please contact us and we will delete it promptly.

International users

Kinbook is operated from Australia. If you are located outside Australia, your data will be transferred to and processed in Australia (and transiently by our AI providers, which are based in the United States). By using Kinbook, you consent to this transfer.

Your rights

You have the right to:

  • Access your data — use the data export feature or contact us
  • Correct your data — edit your contributions or account details at any time
  • Delete your data — request account or project deletion
  • Object to processing — contact us to discuss

If you are in the EU, these rights are provided under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). If you are in Australia, these rights are provided under the Australian Privacy Act 1988.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. Significant changes will be communicated by email to all registered users. The "last updated" date at the top of this page reflects the most recent revision.

Contact

Questions or concerns about your privacy? Email us at kinbook@dpinkerton.com.