Help
How to get around Oakhearth, answers to common questions, and a quick way to tell us when something isn't working or doesn't feel private enough. Messages go straight to the site's admins.
๐ Getting started
Four things to do firstFill in your profile
Add a photo, where you live and a few words about yourself so family can recognize you. Open Account โ Profile (top right) and press โ๏ธ Edit profile.
Tell us who you are in the tree
Link your account to yourself in the family tree. Then the site can show "your grandfather", your own ancestors on the Calendar, and only your part of the family if you like.
Explore the family
Open the Family Tree and click anyone to see their details, photos and stories. Or type a name in the search box at the top of any page.
Share something
Post a memory, add an event, or upload old photos. Even one story or one name on a photo helps everyone, and earns you badges.
๐งญ What's where
Everything in the menu on the leftโ Common questions
The words are too small. How do I make them bigger?
Press the โฟ Easy access button at the top of any page, then choose a Text size: Normal, Large or Extra large. It's remembered on your account. You can also set it in Settings โ Look & feel, along with dark mode.
How do I invite a relative to Oakhearth?
Press the ๐ Invite button at the top of any page, right beside Easy access. Here's how it works.
Who can see what I post?
Only family members with an approved account. Oakhearth is private: it isn't a public website, nothing is sold or shared with advertisers, and family information is never shown to search engines. Memories you mark ๐ Only me are seen by you alone. Read the whole privacy promise.
Can I put Oakhearth on my phone's home screen?
Yes! Then it opens like an app, with its own tree icon. The easiest way: press this button on the phone, tablet or computer you want it on.
Or do it yourself:
- iPhone or iPad: open the site in Safari, tap the Share button (a square with an arrow pointing up), then Add to Home Screen.
- Android: open the site in Chrome, tap the โฎ menu at the top right, then Add to Home screen (or Install app).
- Computer: in Chrome or Edge, click the small install icon at the right end of the address bar.
Can I get notifications on my phone, without an app?
Yes. Go to Settings โ Notifications, press ๐ Turn on notifications on this device, and tap Allow when your phone asks. You'll get a note for new messages and when someone tags you in a photo, memory, event or recording. In the same place you can also choose notes for new memories and events, new photos, and family tree changes. There's a Send a test notification button so you can check it works.
- iPhone or iPad (iOS 16.4 or newer): Apple only allows this once Oakhearth is on your Home Screen. Open the site in Safari, tap Share, then Add to Home Screen. Then open Oakhearth from its new icon and turn notifications on in Settings.
- Android and computers: it works right in Chrome, Edge or Firefox.
- Turned on but nothing arrives? Check that notifications are allowed for Oakhearth in your phone's own Settings, and that Focus or Do Not Disturb isn't on. Turn it on separately on each phone or computer you use. On a shared phone, signing out stops notifications for the person who was using it.
Notes are kept plain on purpose (for example โNew message from Annโ), so nothing private shows on a lock screen.
How do I hide my phone number, birthday or address?
Go to Settings โ My privacy and switch on the ones you want hidden. Admins can still see them, only to help with problems. You can also choose whether family can see when you're online.
Why can't I see some children in the tree?
To keep kids safe, anyone under 18 is only shown to their parents, grandparents and the site's admins. Members may add their own children to the tree; admins and moderators can add others.
I found a mistake in the family tree. What do I do?
Open the person's page and press โ๏ธ Fix it to correct it yourself. Not sure? Press ๐ฉ Flag it instead and explain what looks wrong. It goes on the Help Wanted page so someone can check it.
Someone I'm looking for isn't in the tree.
First try the search box at the top with just a last name. If you still can't find them, check Settings โ Whose family do I see?: if it's set to "My relatives" or "My direct line", other branches are hidden. Still missing? Use the form below to let us know.
How do I add photos or documents?
Photos and videos go in the Gallery. Records like birth certificates and census pages go in Documents & Records. Afterward, tag the people in them so they show up on each person's page.
What are the colored dots next to people's names?
That's their online status: ๐ข using the site now, ๐ก away, โช offline. You choose what others see in Settings โ My privacy, including never showing it.
I forgot my password.
On the sign-in page, press Forgot your password? and type your email address. You'll get an email with a link to choose a new password (check your spam folder if it doesn't arrive in a few minutes). Still stuck? Contact Jordan or another admin. Once you're signed in, you can change your password any time in Settings โ My account.
There's someone in an old photo nobody can name. What do I do?
Open the photo in the Gallery, press ๐ Tag a face, tap their face (or move the circle onto it with the arrow buttons) and press โ I don't know who this is: ask the family. The face goes on the Quest Board for the relatives most likely to know.
Think you know? Choose ๐ค I think so and pick the name. When another relative presses โ That's right, the name goes on the photo for everyone.
Names on photos are covering faces. Can I hide them?
Yes. Above every photo you can choose ๐ท๏ธ Names (beside each face), ๐ข Numbers (a small number next to each face, with the names in the list), or ๐ Hide names. Your choice is remembered. On small screens, crowded photos switch to numbers by themselves.
I have a recording of Grandma or Grandpa. How do I add it?
Open Family Voices and press ๐ Add a recording. Choose the file, say who you can hear and who it's about, and press Save recording. Sound files (MP3, M4A, WAVโฆ) and videos up to 500 MB work. It shows on each of their pages under ๐๏ธ Voices.
On a cassette or an old answering machine? A local photo shop or library can usually turn it into a file, or ask a younger relative to help with a phone app.
You can also type out what's said (now or later). That helps anyone who can't hear it well, and lets the family search for words in it.
Can I talk about a photo instead of typing?
Yes. Open the photo and press ๐ค Record a voice note. Press Start recording, say what you remember, and press Stop recording (nothing to hold down). Listen back, then save it. Your browser asks for the microphone the first time.
What are the Family Games?
Open Family Games in the menu. There are three: the โ Daily Family Question (everyone gets the same question each day, and you read the family's answers after you've shared yours), ๐ง Family Trivia (ten questions a day made from the family tree, no timer), and ๐ณ Grow the Tree (a living picture of the family that gets fuller as people add dates, places and parents). Nobody plays against anyone: the whole point is to help each other learn the family story.
Trivia has a wrong answer in it!
Thank you for spotting it. That means the family tree has a mistake. After you answer, press ๐ฉ This looks wrong and say what you think is correct. It goes to the family like any other flag, and the question fixes itself once the tree is fixed. Trivia only ever asks about relatives who have passed away.
Can I suggest a Daily Question?
Yes. At the bottom of the Daily Question page, type your question and press Suggest it. An admin or moderator looks it over and schedules it for an upcoming day, and your name appears on it. Warm, open-ended questions work best.
Can I get birthdays on my phone's calendar?
Yes. On Calendar & Timeline, open the ๐ Living family tab and press Add to my calendar. Open the file that downloads, and the birthdays and anniversaries repeat every year.
โฟ Easy access: using Oakhearth your way
Bigger buttons, a calm screen, voice control, keyboards and other helpful toolsEveryone uses their phone or computer a little differently. Oakhearth works with touch, a mouse, a keyboard, voice control and other accessibility tools. Every button has a name you can say, nothing needs to be held down or dragged, and no form rushes you.
โฟ The Easy access button
At the top of every page. Choose your Text size (Normal, Large or Extra large), turn on Bigger buttons (easier to see and press), Calm screen (nothing moves), ๐ค Speak instead of typing, and More time before you're signed out (1 or 4 hours, on your own device).
๐ฃ๏ธ Voice control
Say the words on a button to press it: โTap Playโ, โClick Name this faceโ, โTap Show namesโ. If two buttons look alike, say โShow numbersโ and then the number.
- iPhone or iPad: Settings โ Accessibility โ Voice Control.
- Android: install Google's Voice Access app, then turn it on in Settings โ Accessibility.
- Windows 11: Settings โ Accessibility โ Speech โ Voice access.
- Mac: System Settings โ Accessibility โ Voice Control.
๐ Head or eye pointer
Move the pointer with your head or eyes and โclickโ by resting on a button. Turn on Bigger buttons in Easy access to make targets easier to hit.
- iPhone or iPad: Settings โ Accessibility โ Eye Tracking (newer models), or Head Tracking in Switch Control.
- Windows: Eye control works with a compatible eye tracker. Free head-pointer programs like Camera Mouse use an ordinary webcam.
๐ Switches and keyboards
Press Tab (or your โnextโ switch) to move from button to button; a thick orange outline shows where you are. The first stop on every page is Skip to the page, which jumps past the menu. In a photo, the arrow keys go to the next or previous photo.
๐ Tagging faces with buttons
Open a photo and press ๐ Tag a face. A yellow circle appears on the photo. Move it onto a face with the big Up, Down, Left and Right buttons (or the arrow keys), make it Bigger or Smaller, then press Name this face and say or type the name.
๐๏ธ Speaking instead of typing
Record a voice note on any photo, or a memory in Family Voices: one press to start, one press to stop. With ๐ค Speak instead of typing on, a ๐ค Speak button appears beside writing boxes. Your phone or computer's own dictation works everywhere too.
Something still hard to reach or press? Please tell us. We'll fix it.
๐ Inviting relatives
Share Oakhearth, and be thanked for itKnow a cousin, aunt or grandchild who isn't here yet? Press ๐ Invite at the top of any page (right beside โฟ Easy access).
๐ค Sending the invitation
You'll see a friendly message with your own personal link. Press Share, Text message or Email, or copy the message and paste it anywhere (WhatsApp, Messenger, a card). You can change the words first, but keep the link in. Together in person (at a reunion, say)? Press ๐ฑ Show QR code and they can scan it with their phone's camera.
๐ Still private
The link only opens the sign-up page. Nobody sees anything until they create an account and an admin approves them, the same as everyone else.
โ Who has joined
The Invite panel lists the relatives who used your link: โณ Waiting for approval until the admin approves them, then โ Joined. If a relative signs up without your link, the admin can still add them as usual.
๐ Family Welcomer badge
Each relative who joins through your link counts toward the ๐ Family Welcomer badge (Bronze at 1, then 3, 5, 10 and 20), with the titles Opener of Doors and Gatherer of Kin. It appears the next time you visit after they're approved.
๐ What's new in Version 1.30
October 2026๐ฒ A fresh look for Family Games
New pictures in the Oakhearth colors: an oak tree whose leaves light up as our family's facts get filled in, a gold quote for the Daily Question, and question cards for Trivia.
๐ Every button easy to read
We checked every page in light and dark mode and fixed buttons, counts and labels that were hard to read, like the game buttons and the document viewer's Close button.
Version 1.29
October 2026๐ A new name: Oakhearth
The Family Portal is now called Oakhearth. It's the same site at the same address, you sign in the same way, and nothing you've added has moved.
๐ฟ A new logo
An oak leaf, tilted as if it's falling, whose veins are branches of the family ending in a dot for each person. The gold stem carries over from the old logo. While a page gets ready, the leaf sways gently on its stem.
๐ฒ On your phone's home screen?
To get the new icon and name, remove the old icon from your home screen and add the site again.
Version 1.28
October 2026๐งญ A tidier menu
The side menu is sorted into four groups (Our family, Memories, Together and Research), with Help and Settings always at the bottom. Dashboard is now Home and Gallery is now Photos.
โจ A simpler top bar
Your first name opens a menu with Dark mode, Whose family do I see?, Easy access, Invite relatives, Settings, Help and Log out.
๐ฑ Tabs on phones
Big Home, Tree, Photos, Messages and Menu buttons stay along the bottom of the screen.
Version 1.27
October 2026โณ Faster, steadier pages
The site now keeps its own copies of its icons, lettering and building blocks, so pages load faster on slow phones. While a page gets ready, the family logo appears.
โ๏ธ A new welcome email
New members get a welcome email in the new look, and Oakhearth links you text to someone now show a preview with the logo.
โฟ Easier to read
Clearer page titles and search hints, dark text on every purple button in dark mode, and better labels for screen readers.
Version 1.26
October 2026โจ Clean, matching icons
Buttons, tabs, menus and headings now use simple line icons that match the new lettering and look the same on every device. Emoji in what you write are never changed.
๐งฉ One set of shapes
Every button is now a rounded pill, and cards, windows and menus share the same few corner sizes, so every page looks like it belongs.
๐ Softer purple in dark mode
In dark mode, purple buttons, tabs and banners are a soft lavender with dark text, so they're easier on the eyes at night.
Version 1.25
October 2026๐จ A fresh new look
A new logo (the Tree Monogram, an "F" whose branches end in family members), new lettering, and one brighter purple, Portal Violet, on every page. The app and home-screen icon are new too.
๐ Bigger, easier text
Regular text is now larger and clearer, in Plus Jakarta Sans. Life stories and memories use Lora, a warm book typeface.
๐ Matching colors everywhere
A warm off-white background with white cards in light mode, and soft plum tones in dark mode, the same on every page.
Version 1.24
October 2026โจ Share studio
Share a memory, an old photo and its story, a milestone, a gathering, a remembrance, an anniversary or family news. Pick a look for your card and who can see it.
๐ Family stories on the Dashboard
Stories show as big, readable cards, with ๐ฌ Message โฆ about this and gentle nudges for family days coming up.
Version 1.23
October 2026โ๏ธ Welcome emails
New members get an email the moment they're approved, telling them they can sign in.
๐ฑ Better on phones
The Calendar and Family Tree fit phones better, and every page that shows the tree loads about twice as fast.
Version 1.22
October 2026๐ท A fresh look for the Gallery
A photo-first header, a new ๐ฅ People tab with everyone pictured, and adding many photos at once.
๐ Album suggestions
Members suggest albums, with ideas worked out from the family. Admins make them with one tap.
Version 1.21
October 2026๐ Find your place first
New members connect themselves to at least one relative in the tree before using the site.
Version 1.20
October 2026๐ชช A new person card
A bigger photo in the family's own colors, how they're related to you, and research buttons for FamilySearch, Find a Grave, Ancestry and WikiTree.
โ๏ธ Who can edit whom
Members can edit their own family. Admins and moderators can edit anyone.
Version 1.19
October 2026๐บ๏ธ A map of the whole tree
A small map at the bottom right of the Tree shows where you are. Press it to fly anywhere.
๐ Tree explorer badges
Three new badges for tracing relations and exploring far back in the tree.
Version 1.18
October 2026๐ข Family journeys
A little ship on the tree wherever a parent and child were born on different sides of the ocean.
๐ท Keepsakes on every card
Each card shows how many photos, stories, recordings, records and recipes the family has shared about that person.
Version 1.17
October 2026๐ Color the tree
Color the cards on the family tree to see the family in a new light.
Version 1.16
October 2026โณ Travel through time
Play the years on the family tree and watch everyone be born, grow up and pass on.
Version 1.15
October 2026โง Descendants and Hourglass
Grow the Tree downward to children and grandchildren, or both ways at once.
๐ Better search
Finding someone opens the tree out to them and lights up their card.
Version 1.14
October 2026๐งต Show our relation
Tap anyone, then ๐งต Show our relation, and a thread traces exactly how you're connected.
๐ A sky behind the Tree
The Tree now has the same changing sky as your Family view.
Version 1.13
October 2026๐ณ Your family as a real tree
The Family Tree page opens on your own family, drawn as an illustrated tree.
Version 1.12
October 2026๐ฅ๏ธ A full-screen, moving tree
The family tree fills the screen, and branches grow out and fold back as you explore.
Version 1.11
October 2026๐ Every life told as a story
Each person's page now reads like a short book, in chapters, over a map of the family's places.
โ Back button
A Back button at the top left of every page takes you to the page you were just on.
Version 1.10
October 2026๐๏ธ Profiles that come alive
Profiles open with gentle motion, and you choose Lively, Gentle or Still. Plus more to earn.
Version 1.9
October 2026๐งฉ Make your profile your own
Arrange your profile's tiles anywhere, and edit your profile one short step at a time.
Version 1.8
October 2026๐ฟ A Dashboard that shows what's new
A simpler Dashboard with what's new for you, and a way to choose and order your own cards.
Version 1.6
October 2026๏ผ Add button
A green ๏ผ Add button at the top of every page for memories, life events, photos, recordings and recipes.
โจ Memory starters
Tap an idea to get the first words of a memory written for you.
Version 1.5
October 2026๐ Invite family
A new Invite button beside Easy access on every page. Send relatives a private invitation by text, email or share, and see when they join. Earn the ๐ Family Welcomer badge. How it works.
โฟ Text size moved
Text size is now inside โฟ Easy access, so there is one button for everything that makes the site easier to use.
Version 1.4
October 2026๐ฒ Family Games
A new page in the menu with three games you play together, with no timers and no leaderboards. Earn badges in the new Family Games group.
โ Daily Family Question
Everyone gets the same question each day. Share your answer to read what relatives said, build a streak, and suggest questions of your own. Earn Voice at the Table.
๐ง Family Trivia
Ten new questions every day, made from the family tree and only about relatives who have passed away. Big buttons, a ๐ก hint, and a link to each person's page. Earn Master of Family Lore.
๐ณ Grow the Tree
A living, glowing picture of the whole family. The more dates, places and parents we fill in, the fuller and brighter it grows. Water it, travel back in time, and see who's helping it bloom. Earn Green Thumb.
Version 1.3
October 2026๐ค Who's in this photo?
Names now sit beside each face instead of on top of it, numbered to match the list. Choose names, numbers or no names at all.
โ Unknown faces
Mark a face nobody can name, and the family is asked on the Quest Board. Guesses wait until a second relative says โThat's rightโ. Earn ๐ Mystery Solver.
๐๏ธ Family Voices
A new page for recordings: voicemails, cassettes and videos of the family talking, with who you can hear and what's said. Earn ๐๏ธ Voice Keeper.
๐ฃ๏ธ Voice notes on photos
Say what you remember about a photo instead of typing it. Earn ๐ฃ๏ธ Photo Narrator.
โฟ Easy access
Bigger buttons, a calm screen, more time before signing out, speaking instead of typing, and everything works with voice control, keyboards and other accessibility tools. How it works.
Version 1.0
October 2026๐ Calendar & Timeline
Birthdays, anniversaries and remembrance days for living family and those who've passed, plus charts of the family through history. Add birthdays to your phone's calendar.
๐ชฆ Find a Grave guide
Find headstones and burial places, and add them to the tree. Plus a new Other Resources page for Luxembourg records and reading old German handwriting.
๐ข Online status
See who's on the site right now, and choose what others see about you in Settings.
๐ฌ Help & privacy
This Help page, a way to report problems straight to the admins, a privacy promise, and โForgot your password?โ on the sign-in page.
๐ฒ On your home screen
Add Oakhearth to your phone or tablet and it opens like an app.
๐ Safer than ever
Tighter protection for everyone's information, especially children's, and a cleaner, easier menu.
โ๏ธ Tell us about a problem
Goes privately to the site's admins๐ Privacy matters most. If something private about you, or about a child, is showing where it shouldn't, choose Privacy concern. Admins see those first.
If it's about a photo or post, include whose page it's on, or paste the web address from the top of your browser.
What happens next?
Your note arrives in the admins' Messages, and the reply comes back to your Messages too (๐ฌ at the top of the page).
Rather talk to someone?
You can always message Jordan directly.