FAQ

TaleOak helps families know Mum and Dad better. You draw one question a week, ask Mum or Dad in person or on a call, and keep what you learn. Over time you get the whole picture of who they are: their stories, their quirks, their best lines and the little things they love.

The tree is only the map. Mum and Dad are the destination. TaleOak is not another family-tree app, not a clinic, and not a place where stories are turned into marketing or training data.

Only the people who have a seat in your family house. You decide who gets invited (partner, siblings, kids/house, or other family members). Nothing is public, and nothing is visible to people outside that house.

Before someone accepts an invite, they are told what a seat can see. Once they join, they can see the draws, Keeps, Mum's and Dad's pages, and photos that belong to that house.

No. An adult in the family plants the house and can invite others. If Mum or Dad are able to decide for themselves, the person adding stories, photos, or notes on Mum's or Dad's page should have their agreement before saving them. If they cannot decide, only close family who are already part of their everyday life should add notes, and only inside that house.

Even if Mum or Dad never create an account, they can still ask us for access, correction, or deletion of notes about them. We verify the request and act where we can.

It's one question a week to get to know Mum and Dad better. Mum's and Dad's pages hold what you've learned: likes, dislikes and the stories you keep. TaleOak doesn't ask for health details.

TaleOak is not a clinic, not a school records system, and not a clinical or health record. We will not onboard any outside organisation, such as a health or support provider, or let them access a family house until there is a written data-processing agreement, a named list of subprocessors, and a stated storage location. No such agreement exists today.

What you save stays with the family. You can share it with anyone you choose, but it is not a substitute for professional advice or official records.

One question a week is the intended rhythm. It is deliberately light — not a homework list. Draw the question, ask it next time you see them (at the table, on a walk) or on a call, and keep what you learn. Skip weeks if life gets busy. The value builds slowly from the notes you do save, not from perfect consistency.

You can leave a house at any time, and you can ask us to help unwind a house. Deleting your account does not always erase copies that other seats in the house already hold. Those family members keep their own access until they delete the content too. We will help where we can if the family wants to wind everything down.

TaleOak does not claim ownership of the stories. Keep your own copies of anything precious — we do not promise that content will never be lost.

Yes, for now. We may introduce paid plans in the future. If that happens, we will explain prices clearly before anyone pays. Emails from us are transactional only — we do not send marketing spam.

Yes. The “Draw a tale” card on the homepage shows a real-style question and lets you copy it straight away. You can use that question with Mum or Dad immediately. When you are ready to start keeping the answers in one shared place, you can plant a house.

The adult who plants the house (or who adds notes about Mum or Dad) is responsible for having a fair reason to record them, and — where the person can decide — their agreement. TaleOak provides the private space and the tools. The family decides what is appropriate to keep.

Family content is stored so that only people with a seat in that house can see it. We use service providers (such as hosting and database partners) to run the product. These are listed in our Privacy Policy. We do not sell personal information, we do not use family stories or Mum's and Dad's pages for third-party ads, and we do not use them to train public models.

People 15 or older can create their own TaleOak account. If someone under 15 wants to join, we only create their account after a parent or guardian confirms. We email that confirm to the parent or guardian, not to the young person's own inbox. A parent or guardian can also add a kids or house seat they control. If we hold a child's information without the right consent, email founder@taleoak.com and we will delete it.

Email founder@taleoak.com. You can ask for a copy of your data, a correction, or deletion. People written about (even without an account) can also make these requests; we verify them before acting. If you are in Australia and are not satisfied with our response, you can contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC).

Yes. Each chapter can have one voice clip, up to 5 minutes. Ask everyone who'll be heard first, and only record if they say yes. Only people with a seat in your house can play it, and it's kept privately in Sydney. If you delete the clip, the story and photos stay.

Only people with a seat in your family house.

Yes. Ask them before you record. If they can't decide for themselves, please don't record.

Yes. You can delete it in the app any time. Mum or Dad can also email founder@taleoak.com to have a recording of them removed, even if they don't have an account.

No. We never sell recordings, use them to train AI, or use voices to identify anyone.