How to choose a family tree app in India

The right family tree app for an Indian family is one that is genuinely free for what you need, works on Android and the web, keeps the tree private by default, handles joint families with multiple marriages and adoptions, lets relatives maintain their own branches, and tells you plainly where your data lives and what happens to it if you leave. Most apps are strong on one or two of these and quiet about the rest.

This post does not rank products. It gives you the questions to ask of any app, including ours, and shows how FamRoot answers each one today, with the gaps stated as gaps.

Is the family tree app really free?

"Family tree app free" is one of the most searched phrases in this category, and the answer is usually "partly". The things "free" tends to hide:

• A cap on the number of people, often well below what a joint family reaches in two generations.
• A time limit, after which the tree is read-only until you pay.
• Features behind a paywall: photos, printing, sharing, or seeing relatives' additions.
• Your data as the product, used to sell records, matches or advertising.

Ask: what exactly is included, is there a limit on people or storage, and what is the published plan for charging later? A straight answer is a good sign. FamRoot is completely free today, with all features included. Paid subscriptions may come in future, with reasonable advance notice, and nobody is charged without agreeing first. We say that on every relevant page rather than in small print.

Does it work on Android and on the web?

Most Indian families are on Android phones, and the person who builds the tree often prefers a laptop for the first big session. Check both. Also check that the web and mobile versions show the same tree, so a grandparent on a phone and a grandchild on a laptop are looking at the same thing.

FamRoot works on the web today. The Android app is launching shortly, and an iOS app is in development. The Android app also carries Smart Caller ID, which shows a relative's name and relationship when they call, something a web-only tool cannot do.

Who can see the tree, the photos and the phone numbers?

This is the question most people skip and regret. A family tree holds full names, dates of birth, relationships, photos, and often mobile numbers and addresses. Before adding your family, find out:

• Is the tree public by default, or discoverable by search engines?
• Can a stranger see a relative's profile because they share a surname?
• Who can see phone numbers: everyone in the tree, or only close family?
• Is there a public link that anyone can forward?
• Can a relative who was added without consent ask to be removed?

On FamRoot the tree is private: there is no public link. Content is visible to relatives connected within seven relationship levels and to the people in your circle. Friends see your profile, not your family tree. Someone who finds their details on FamRoot without being a user can email support@famroot.com and support removes them. Our Data & Security page lists what is encrypted, what is not, and that we have no external certifications yet.

Does it handle Indian families as they actually are?

Many family tree tools were designed around a nuclear family: two parents, children, one marriage each. Indian families often need more:

• Multiple marriages, with children correctly placed under each.
• Adoptions, recorded as such, without breaking the relationship logic.
• Large joint families, where three brothers, their wives, children and grandchildren share one household and one tree.
• Relationship names that go beyond "aunt" and "cousin". The difference between chitti and periamma, or chacha and mama, matters at home.
• Multiple generations without a hard limit, since elders often remember great-grandparents' names.

FamRoot's Family Tree supports multiple generations, spouses, adoptions and multiple marriages. Relationship labels such as "Cousin's wife" are generated from the actual path through the tree, not typed by hand.

Can relatives maintain their own branch?

A tree built by one person goes out of date the day they stop updating it. The alternative is a shared tree where each relative keeps their own corner current: new babies, marriages, a move to another city. Check how invitations work, whether relatives need to pay to join, and whether one person can quietly rewrite everyone else's branch.

On FamRoot, when you add a relative, an invite is selected by default and they receive an SMS with a link to join. If you would rather not notify someone yet, untick it. Changes to relationships are requested, and if the tree has more than one user, at least one other user must approve, so nobody can rearrange the family alone.

Does it show how two people are related?

The question "how exactly are we related?" comes up at every wedding. A good app answers it with a path: you, your mother, her sister, her son, his wife, so "Cousin's wife". Check whether the app computes this or only shows a static drawing. FamRoot shows the relationship path for anyone in your network, up to seven relationship levels, and on Android the same path appears when that person calls you.

Where is the data stored?

Family data stored outside India is subject to other countries' laws and requests, and may be slower to reach from here. Ask where the servers are and which country's law governs the service. FamRoot runs on AWS in the Mumbai region, data is stored on servers in India, Famroot Private Limited is incorporated in India, and the governing law is Indian, with courts in Chennai.

Can you export and import your tree?

GEDCOM is the common file format family tree tools use to exchange data. Import lets you bring an existing tree in; export lets you take yours out. Both matter, because a tree you cannot take out is a tree you do not fully own.

Here we have to be honest: FamRoot does not offer GEDCOM import or export today. Both are in the pipeline. If you already have a large GEDCOM file and need it imported this month, FamRoot is not yet the tool for that. If you are starting from scratch, or from a paper chart, it is.

What happens to your data if you leave?

Read the delete-account page before the sign-up page. Look for: can you delete the account yourself, how long until data is removed, what stays behind, and whether relatives' trees break when you go. On FamRoot you can delete your account in the app (Settings, Delete account, OTP confirmation) or by email. Your personal data is inaccessible immediately and removed from servers within 90 days. A minimal "Deleted user" placeholder, holding only relationships and gender, stays where you connect other people, so the rest of the family's tree does not fall apart. All your future and last messages are deleted with the account. Details are on the data retention and deletion page.

The checklist in one table

How should you decide?

Take the table to any app you are considering and fill in the right-hand column yourself. If an answer is not on the website, email their support and see how long the reply takes. Then weigh what matters for your family. A household with an existing 2,000-person GEDCOM file and a researcher's habits has different needs from a family of 40 across Chennai, Pune and Dubai that wants one private place for names, numbers, photos and a few messages for the future.

FamRoot is built for the second family. It is The Living Family Graph: a private network built around your family, with the tree, the Vault and Smart Caller ID in one place. If you want to see it before deciding, how FamRoot works walks through the first branch.

Ready to try the checklist on us? Sign up, add ten relatives, invite one, and see whether it fits your family. Sign up for free.