Privacy policy

1. Controller

Erol Mutlu
Zollernweg 26
73760 Ostfildern
Germany
Email: wuauw@arcor.de
Phone: 01520 8832971

2. Scope

This privacy policy applies to the website rootmio.com, the protected member area and – after they are enabled – the rootmio app and related cloud functions.

Some functions are still in development. Where a function is not active yet, the planned processing only becomes effective when that function is actually provided.

3. Hosting, server operation and technical log data

rootmio is currently hosted at STRATO. When you visit the website, technically necessary connection and server data may be processed, in particular IP address, time of access, requested resource, browser/device information and technical status data.

Hosting provider: STRATO GmbH, Otto-Ostrowski-Straße 7, 10249 Berlin, Germany.

Processing is done to provide the service, keep it stable, analyse errors and keep it secure. Where STRATO processes personal data on our behalf, a data-processing agreement is used as required by law.

4. User account, registration and sign-in

For a rootmio account the following data are processed in particular:

• email address
• password hash; passwords are not stored in plain text
• optional display name
• internal and public technical user IDs
• account and confirmation status
• times of creation and change

These data are needed to create the account, manage access and provide protected functions.

5. Email confirmation and password reset

For email confirmations and password resets rootmio uses one-time, time-limited security tokens. The database stores a cryptographic hash, not the plain token from the link.

Confirmation links are currently valid for 24 hours; password-reset links for 1 hour. If a new link is created, older links can be invalidated.

6. Protection against misuse and unauthorised access

To protect accounts and infrastructure, technical security data are processed. These may include:

• hashed or pseudonymised email identifiers
• cryptographically derived IP identifiers
• type of attempt, for example sign-in or registration
• success or failure
• time of the attempt

These data are used only for security, abuse prevention and rate limiting.

7. Cookies and sessions

rootmio currently uses only technically necessary session cookies for sign-in, session management and security, including protection against forged form requests.

No analytics, advertising or marketing cookies are used. There is currently no advertising or user tracking.

8. Profile and account settings

In the member area, personal account settings can be managed. Only data given by the user or technically required for the account are processed. Visibility and releases are stored separately from the actual master data where this is planned.

9. Family trees, families and person data

rootmio is intended for managing family and family-tree data. Depending on use, the following data may be stored:

• first and last name, birth name
• date of birth and date accuracy
• gender, if given
• place of birth and place of residence at city/country level
• living or deceased
• parent-child relationships
• partnership and marriage relationships
• membership of a family tree or family view
• visibility and search releases

Living people are protected by default. Data are not made public just because they are stored in a family tree.

Data about people without their own rootmio account

Users may also record information about relatives or other people who do not have a rootmio account. Such data may only be processed within the legal rules and with respect for the rights of those people. rootmio provides or will provide graded visibility and release rules before launch.

10. App and cloud sync

After sync is enabled, family, person, relationship, settings and later also media data stored locally in the app can be matched with the rootmio account and the cloud.

Sync is used to make data available between app and website and to update it across devices. Conflicts and offline changes must be handled so that data are not overwritten by accident.

11. Photos, videos and other media

After the related functions are enabled, users can store profile photos, family photos, videos and other media. Besides the file itself, technical metadata may be processed, for example file type, size, assignment to a person or account, and visibility.

Media are to be stored separately from the relational database. The concrete storage provider will be named in this policy before launch.

12. Permissions, visibility and releases

rootmio distinguishes private, released, searchable and possibly public content. Access rights can be set per function for family trees, family views or individual people.

Private contact details such as phone number, address or email are not published or given to other users automatically.

13. Friends area and voluntary friend search

Users should be able to add former friends and acquaintances voluntarily and find them again. A search uses only the search features intended for that purpose. Taking part in friend search is voluntary and should be controlled by an express release.

Possible matches are treated as suggestions first. Private contact details are not disclosed automatically.

14. Profile photos on match suggestions

For possible friend matches a profile photo of the found person may be shown, but only if that person has expressly released their photo for such match suggestions.

The photo is used only for visual confirmation. Other private data are not disclosed automatically.

15. Contact requests and contact release

If a user wants contact details such as phone number, email or address after a possible match, the other person and the planned release rules must allow this first.

Only after that consent are the contact details that were expressly released shared.

16. Family-tree matching and family connections

rootmio can search voluntarily for possible matches between people or family branches. A merge or takeover does not happen automatically.

Possible matches are treated as suggestions. Identities, family connections and data takeovers become effective only after the planned confirmations and permission checks.

17. Merging, takeover and shared family information

When connections are confirmed, family branches or individual information can be shared or taken over between users. The related releases, roles and permissions are recorded.

When an account is deleted, shared data of other users must not be deleted by accident. A separate deletion, transfer or anonymisation logic will be implemented before launch.

18. Memorial pages / digital memorial

rootmio plans memorial profiles for deceased people. Depending on use, name, life dates, biographical texts, stories, photos, videos and other memory content may be stored there.

Each memorial page considers visibility, access rights and any publication settings. Content that relates to living people remains subject to their privacy rights as well.

19. Free use, membership and service rights

rootmio distinguishes free functions and a planned paid membership. In future, membership status, term, usage rights and any booked extras will be stored.

Ending, pausing or ending a membership ends or pauses paid rights, but does not delete the user account automatically. Sign-in remains possible so users can manage settings, export data, reactivate membership or delete their account.

20. Payments and payment providers

No payment function is active at present. Before paid memberships or one-time payments are enabled, this policy will be updated with the payment provider actually used, the payment and transaction data processed, recipients, legal bases and retention periods.

rootmio is not intended to store full bank or card data itself if those data are processed by a specialised payment provider.

21. Email notifications

rootmio sends transactional emails where this is required for account and security functions, in particular email confirmation and password reset. Later, security-related, account-related or expressly requested notifications may be added.

Promotional newsletters or marketing emails will only be introduced if the required conditions are met and this policy is updated.

22. Multiple languages

rootmio is intended to be multilingual. The chosen language can be stored in the account or on the device so that content can be shown in the desired language.

23. Recipients and processors

Personal data are given only to those who need them for the respective purpose. This may include hosting, email, storage, backup and later payment providers, if they are actually used.

External providers are bound, where required, by data-processing contracts or other legally required privacy instruments.

24. Transfers to third countries

If providers outside the European Economic Area are used later, the required information and safeguards will be added to this policy before they are used.

25. Retention periods

Personal data are generally stored only as long as needed for the purpose or as required by law.

• email confirmation tokens: until use or expiry, currently at most 24 hours
• password-reset tokens: until use or expiry, currently at most 1 hour
• security/rate-limit data: only for the needed security period
• user account and related data: generally until the account is deleted, unless other legal or legitimate retention reasons apply
• contract, invoice and payment data: after payments are enabled, according to the applicable legal retention duties

26. Inactive accounts

For later production use it is planned to mark accounts for deletion after 12 months without an active membership and without relevant account activity. About 30 days before the planned deletion a warning email with the planned deletion date is to be sent.

A running and paid membership counts as active account use even without a recent sign-in; the account is then not deleted for inactivity.

If a membership ends, a payment is paused or a payment fails, sign-in remains possible. Paid functions may be paused, but the user can still manage the account, reactivate membership, export data or delete the account.

If the user signs in again within the 30-day warning period, resumes membership or otherwise uses the account in a relevant way, automatic deletion is cancelled. Data that must be kept by law are excluded from this cleanup.

27. Account deletion

Users can delete their account in the protected account area. For safety, rootmio requires a further confirmation and may also ask for the current password.

For accounts with shared family information, existing contract data or other dependent records, it is checked before final deletion which data must be deleted, anonymised, transferred or kept for legal reasons.

28. Data export and portability

Before the public launch, a function or process will be provided to export the user’s own account data and – where technically and legally planned – their own family and family-tree data.

29. Backups and recovery

Technical backups may be created to protect against data loss. Backups are used only to recover after technical faults, data loss or security incidents and are not used as a parallel production archive.

Concrete backup cycles, retention periods and any provider used for this will be set before launch and this policy will be updated.

30. Legal bases

Depending on the processing, rootmio relies in particular on:

• Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR for creating and running a user account or membership and providing requested functions
• Art. 6(1)(c) GDPR where the law requires processing or retention
• Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR for necessary security, abuse, stability and fraud-prevention measures, unless overriding interests of the data subject prevail
• Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR where a function is based on consent, for example voluntary searchability, certain profile-photo releases or voluntary contact releases

31. Rights of data subjects

Data subjects have, within the legal conditions, in particular the right to:

• access
• rectification
• erasure
• restriction of processing
• data portability
• objection to certain processing
• withdrawal of consent with effect for the future

Requests can be sent to wuauw@arcor.de.

32. Right to complain

Data subjects have the right to complain to a data-protection supervisory authority.

The State Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information Baden-Württemberg
Heilbronner Straße 35
70191 Stuttgart
Email: poststelle@lfdi.bwl.de

33. Data security

rootmio uses or will use technical and organisational measures before launch to protect personal data against loss, unauthorised access, change and disclosure. These include encrypted connections, password hashing, session and CSRF protection, access controls, rate limits and separate private configuration files.

34. Changes to this privacy policy

This privacy policy will be updated when new functions are enabled, providers change, payment or storage providers are added, or legal or actual processing changes.

As of 18 October 2026 · Development and placeholder version. Review legally and factually before the public launch.