Private family tree: who can see yours?

A private family tree is one that only the people you invite can see. Not every family tree site works that way: some build one big tree that everyone shares, where the people who have passed away are visible to every user. Here's how to tell the difference before you add Grandma's photos.

In short

Private means: Only the people you invite can see it
Ask first: Who sees living relatives, who sees the ones who passed, and who can edit
In ReuniTree: Only your family: each relative joins with their own link

Sample family

Three kinds of family tree sites

When a site says "private," it can mean different things. These are the three kinds you’ll run into, in their own words:

One shared tree for everyone: FamilySearch, Geni and WikiTree build a single tree that people all over the world add to and edit. It’s made for research. On FamilySearch, for example, people marked as deceased "are visible by all FamilySearch users," while living people are kept private.
Your own tree on a genealogy site: On sites like Ancestry you build your own tree and choose its settings. Ancestry says a public tree lets other users see everything except living people and private notes; a private one is "only visible to you and those you invite," and you can also make it unsearchable so it doesn’t come up in other users’ searches. Check those settings before you upload.
A private tree just for your family: Sites made for families instead of research: only the relatives you invite can get in. That’s how ReuniTree works.

Which site is for what

There’s no single best family tree site; each one is made for something different:

Looking for old records?: FamilySearch is free and has millions of records. Ancestry has huge collections too: building a tree there is free, but most of its records need a subscription.
Want a DNA test?: Ancestry and MyHeritage both sell them. MyHeritage’s free account lets you add up to 250 people to your tree.
Want one private place for the whole family?: That’s ReuniTree: no records and no DNA, just your family building its tree together, each from their own phone. One person pays once, and everyone else joins free.

Questions to ask before you put your family online

Wherever you build it, these are worth an answer first:

Who can see the relatives who are still living?
Who can see the ones who have passed away?
Can people outside the family edit it?
Can it come up in other people’s searches?
Can someone ask to be left out?
Can you download everything, anytime?
Is anything sold or used for ads?
What happens to the tree after you’re gone?

How ReuniTree keeps it just for your family

Here are those same questions, answered for ReuniTree:

Only your family gets in: The relatives you invite, and the ones they invite, each with their own personal link sent by text or email. No link, no way in.
Photos stay in the family: They only open for someone signed in to your family's tree.
Anyone can ask not to appear: They show up as "Private person": only they, whoever looks after the tree and, for a minor, their parents see their name.
Kids don't get accounts: Their family adds them, and their parents decide about them.
Never sold, never used for ads: What your family saves belongs to your family.
Yours to download, and to pass down: Download the family book and the GEDCOM file anytime, and choose in "My account" who inherits the tree.

A family moment

What Aunt Anne asked first

Before she added a single photo, Ethan’s aunt Anne texted him one question: "Who’s going to see this?"

He answered in one line: "Just us. Only the family." That evening she uploaded Grandma Margaret’s wedding picture, and by morning three cousins had added theirs.