2026-10-23

Privacy, with room to breathe.

Kinly is developed by John Barney. This policy describes the iPhone and iPad app and this support website.

Local calendars and optional iCloud sharing

The app stores the family names, repeating schedules, activities, appointments, sleep settings, exceptions, lists, list items, quantities, assignments, due dates, notes and preferences you enter in protected local app storage. It calculates shared availability on your device. We do not operate a separate schedule server, collect app analytics, use advertising SDKs or track you. Optional household sharing uploads the whole calendar to Apple’s CloudKit using your iCloud account. Names, schedules, activities, appointments, sleep settings, lists and notes are accessible to every invited participant. Each participant uses their own Apple Account; iCloud identity information is used for invitations and access management. The calendar is private to invited participants, not publicly available through a link.

List and attachment access

All family lists, including those attached to calendar items, use the same household access permissions as the calendar. Every invited member can read every list and its notes. View-only members cannot check off or edit items. Assigning an item to a person does not limit its audience. There is no separate per-list privacy setting. Lists stay local when household sharing is not enabled. Deleting a calendar item unlinks its lists without deleting them; delete the list separately when it is no longer needed.

Choose from Contacts

Contacts are optional. Kinly receives only the contact you select. A selected name is saved with the schedule; an email chosen for an invitation is sent to Apple to grant access. Your address book is not uploaded.

Device backup and deletion

Your Apple device backup may include app data according to your backup settings. For a shared calendar, the owner can use Stop sharing & keep a local copy to remove the cloud calendar and end everyone’s access. Guests can leave without deleting the owner’s data. Owners may remove individual participants through sharing controls. Removing access cannot recall copies already exported or saved by participants. Uninstalling alone does not delete the cloud calendar. Find my shared calendars reconnects existing calendars after reinstalling. For personal data, Settings → Reset saved data removes active schedules, activities, exceptions and lists. If a saved file cannot be read, the app keeps a recovery copy before resetting. Removing the app removes its local files. Apple manages device backups separately. Resetting or uninstalling does not cancel subscriptions.

Shared change history and update alerts

Changes to shared calendar items and lists also save the editor’s chosen display name, Apple-provided record creator identifier, time and a description of what changed in the calendar’s private CloudKit share. This history is visible to invited participants and includes details such as family names, event titles, list/item titles, completion, quantities, assignments, due dates and old/new times. Exception and list-item note text is not copied into change descriptions; the shared household itself still contains notes. Recent updates retains up to 100 entries locally; cloud history remains with the shared calendar until the owner stops sharing. Display names are chosen by each person and are not verified real-world identities.

Schedule-change alerts are opt-in per device and separate from event reminders. Enabled update alerts show names and changes by default; you may turn off details or mute them in Settings → Calendar & list updates. Names, appointment and list details may appear on the lock screen when details are enabled. Muting does not delete history and previously received updates are not replayed when unmuted. The app does not send an alert for your own edits. iOS may delay background delivery; opening the app catches up. Alert and mute preferences remain local.

Optional reminders

Notification permission and reminder preferences are chosen on each device. Upcoming reminders are scheduled locally from the latest downloaded calendar. Silent iCloud notifications can prompt calendar refreshes, but background delivery is not guaranteed. Alerts hide event names unless you choose to show them. Reminder choices are not shared with other household members.

You decide what to share as an image

The app can create a calendar image of your shared windows. Names are excluded by default and can be included. Shift details and notes are not included. Nothing is sent until you choose a destination in the iOS share sheet. Recipients may save or forward images; deleting your schedules does not remove copies already shared.

Optional App Store reviews

The app may ask for a review using Apple’s standard prompt after meaningful use across several days. Small timing counters and prompt-attempt history stay on your device and contain no calendar content or account identifiers; they are not uploaded to the developer. Apple decides whether to display a prompt. You can also open the App Store review page from Settings. We do not know whether you submit a rating or review. Reviews submitted to Apple are handled by Apple under its policies.

Subscriptions through Apple

Apple processes subscriptions and payment information. The app uses StoreKit to verify signed transactions, current access and trial eligibility. We do not receive payment-card details. Product retrieval, purchase and restore operations contact Apple. Apple may provide the developer with standard sales reports and diagnostics under Apple’s policies and your device settings.

This website and support

This site is hosted on GitHub Pages. We do not add cookies, advertising or analytics. GitHub may process connection information, such as IP addresses, under its privacy statement. GitHub Issues is used for support and is public. Posts are handled under GitHub’s policies. Please use fictional schedule details and do not post personal or sensitive information. The developer uses support posts to respond and improve the app.

Contact and changes

Questions about this policy can be raised in the support repository without posting private data. Policy changes will be dated on this page.

Private draft recovery

Unfinished forms and conflict recovery copies are stored with file protection on your device and tied to the original calendar. They are not shared until you explicitly save changes. New change records store structured fields for display in the reader’s language; private note text is excluded from update descriptions. Reminder and comparison preferences remain personal to each device.

Owner-approved Private Space

Private Space is available only to the owner and explicitly approved Apple Accounts. Private plans, standalone and linked lists, activity confirmations and change history use a separate restricted iCloud share. Family editing access does not grant private access. Private alerts show generic wording only. Private caches and recovery copies are encrypted on this device and excluded from device backups. Shared private areas require an online access check and a biometric or private PIN unlock. Devices using the same Apple Account share that account’s permissions.

The owner approves private View only or Can edit access separately after the person joins the family calendar. A private invitation must be accepted before access begins. New approval includes the existing private plans, lists and history. Removing family access through Kinly removes private access first. For changes made outside Kinly, the owner’s app reconciles the separate shares when it next connects. Previously exported images cannot be recalled.

In Private Space, choose Find time for us. Choose exactly two adult schedules and every child whose availability matters. Confirm activities where neither adult is needed, then add drop-off and pickup allowances. Both adults must be free while every selected child is occupied for the whole window. Sleep does not count as independent care. Recheck plans when schedules change.

Stopping sharing retains an encrypted private recovery copy on the owner’s device. Open Private Space → Private Space settings → Private recovery copies to restore into an empty private area or delete a copy. The original Apple Account is required for a cloud recovery copy. Reset saved data removes the current local private area; recovery copies have separate delete controls. Private plans and lists are never included in ordinary family exports.

Open Lists → Private Space or Together → Private Space to create a standalone shopping, packing, chore, project or to-do list. No event or time-finder setup is required. Only owner-approved Apple Accounts can see these lists. Everyone approved for this Private Space can see its plans, lists and history; there is no separate audience for each list. A child cannot see a Christmas list unless their Apple Account is approved for Private Space.

Event locations and Apple Maps

Add an optional place or address to an event. Tap Open in Apple Maps to search for that location. Kinly sends only the saved location text after you tap; it does not track your location or search while you type. Private locations require an unlocked Private Space and a confirmation before leaving Kinly. Maps has its own history and privacy controls.

Private plans, drafts and notifications

Create a private plan for any date with New private plan. Schedules are optional; creating a plan does not require a child schedule or time-finder setup. Find time for us separately compares two adults and, optionally, children whose independent activities you have confirmed.

Changed private forms offer Keep editing, Save draft and Discard. Drafts stay encrypted on this device, tied to the calendar and account. Unlock Private Space to resume them. Saving rechecks access and protects changes made by another member. Private lists support Undo, several items at once, fresh copies, pins and task filters.

Notifications on this device separates reminders from change alerts. Assigning a task does not notify anyone automatically. Personal task reminders arrive at 9 AM on their due date. Private alerts hide names, times and notes. Muting change alerts does not mute reminders or replay old updates when you unmute.

An optional place search sends your typed query to Apple Maps only after you choose Search. Private location lookup asks for confirmation first. Recent places remain within their family or private context. Kinly does not request your current location. Returning from Maps requires a private unlock.