Privacy And Security - banisterious/obsidian-charted-roots GitHub Wiki

Privacy & Security

Charted Roots handles sensitive genealogical data including names, dates, relationships, and family history. This guide covers how to protect your family's privacy and secure your data.

Table of Contents

Data Storage Overview

All data stays local. Charted Roots does not:

  • Transmit data over the network
  • Connect to external services
  • Upload information to cloud servers
  • Share data with third parties

Your family data is stored in your Obsidian vault as plain Markdown files with YAML frontmatter. This approach:

  • Follows Obsidian's local-first philosophy
  • Gives you full control over your data
  • Allows easy backup and migration
  • Works across all Obsidian platforms

What Data is Stored

Charted Roots creates and manages several types of files:

File Type Location Contains
Person notes Your configured folder Names, dates, relationships, cr_id
Place notes Your configured folder Location names, coordinates
Organization notes Your configured folder Org names, types, memberships
Canvas files Your choice Visual layouts, node references
Plugin settings .obsidian/plugins/canvas-roots/ Configuration only (no personal data)

Privacy Protection for Living Persons

Charted Roots includes built-in privacy protection for people who may still be living.

Enabling Privacy Protection

  1. Open Settings β†’ Charted Roots
  2. Scroll to the Privacy section
  3. Enable Privacy protection for living persons
  4. Configure the age threshold (default: 100 years)
  5. Choose a display format for protected persons

How Living Status is Determined

Living status is determined in two ways:

1. Manual Override (takes precedence)

You can explicitly mark someone as living or deceased using the cr_living frontmatter property:

cr_living: true   # Always treat as living (protected)
cr_living: false  # Always treat as deceased (not protected)

You can also set this via the Edit Person modal when privacy protection is enabledβ€”look for the "Living status override" dropdown.

2. Automatic Detection (when cr_living is not set)

A person is considered potentially living if:

  • They have no death date recorded, AND
  • They were born within the configured threshold (default: 100 years)

For example, with a 100-year threshold:

  • Born 1950, no death date β†’ Protected (potentially living)
  • Born 1900, no death date β†’ Not protected (over threshold)
  • Born 1980, died 2020 β†’ Not protected (has death date)

Use cases for manual override:

  • Person with unknown dates but known to be living
  • Person with death date not yet entered but known to be deceased
  • Override false positives from automatic detection

Display Formats

When privacy protection is enabled, protected persons can be displayed as:

Format Example Use Case
"Living" Living Clear indicator
"Private" Private Neutral language
Initials J.S. Preserves some identity
Hidden (blank) Maximum privacy

What Gets Protected

When privacy protection is enabled:

  • Exports: Name replaced with chosen format, dates hidden
  • Family structure: Relationships preserved (allows tree viewing)
  • Notes: Original files unchanged (protection applies to outputs only)

Privacy in Exports

GEDCOM Export

Privacy protection applies when exporting to GEDCOM format:

  1. In Control Center β†’ Import/Export tab
  2. Set format to "GEDCOM", direction to "Export"
  3. Privacy options appear in the export dialog
  4. Choose to exclude or anonymize living persons
  5. Export creates a privacy-respecting GEDCOM file

Example output for protected person:

0 @I123@ INDI
1 NAME Living //
1 BIRT
2 DATE

CSV Export

Same privacy options are available for CSV exports:

  • Protected persons can be excluded entirely
  • Or anonymized with name replaced by display format
  • Dates hidden for protected persons

GEDCOM X and Gramps XML

Privacy protection also works with:

  • GEDCOM X (JSON format for modern applications)
  • Gramps XML (for Gramps genealogy software)

Canvas Privacy Protection

When generating canvas or Excalidraw trees, you can apply privacy protection to living persons.

Enabling Canvas Privacy

  1. Open the Tree Wizard (Control Center β†’ Visual Trees β†’ New Tree)
  2. Select your root person and tree type
  3. Choose Canvas or Excalidraw as output format
  4. In the Canvas Options step, expand Privacy protection
  5. Enable Apply privacy protection to living persons
  6. Choose a format:
    • Text node: Shows obfuscated name as a text box (e.g., "Living", "Private", or initials)
    • File node: Keeps clickable file link but reveals identity

What Gets Protected

When privacy protection is enabled:

  • Text nodes: Replace the person's name with your chosen display format
  • Wikilinks included: Text nodes include [filename](/banisterious/obsidian-charted-roots/wiki/filename) for navigation back to the original note
  • Preview count: The wizard preview shows how many living persons will be protected

Important Limitations

Canvas privacy protection is designed for reducing casual visibility, not for secure data protection:

Limitation What This Means
File nodes reveal identity If using 'file' format, the filename is visible in canvas JSON
Wikilinks in text nodes Text nodes include [filename](/banisterious/obsidian-charted-roots/wiki/filename) for navigation, which reveals the original name
Canvas JSON is plain text Anyone viewing the .canvas file can see all data
Generation-time only Privacy is applied when the canvas is created
Edges preserved Relationship lines remain, showing family structure

Recommendations

For maximum privacy when generating canvases:

  • Use the hidden display format to exclude living persons entirely
  • Do not share generated canvas files containing living persons
  • Consider that anyone with file access can view the raw canvas JSON

Log Export Privacy

When troubleshooting issues, you may need to export logs and share them with developers or support. Charted Roots protects your family's privacy in log exports.

Automatic Obfuscation

By default, log exports automatically replace personal information with placeholder tokens:

Data Type Replacement Example
Names [NAME-1], [NAME-2] "John Smith" β†’ [NAME-1]
Dates [DATE] "1985-03-15" β†’ [DATE]
Years [YEAR] "1952" β†’ [YEAR]
File paths /[FILE].md "/People/John.md" β†’ /[FILE].md
Record IDs [ID] UUIDs are replaced

Configuring Log Privacy

  1. Open Settings β†’ Charted Roots
  2. Expand the Logging section
  3. Toggle Obfuscate log exports (enabled by default)

Exporting Logs

  1. Open Settings β†’ Charted Roots β†’ Logging
  2. Click Export to save logs to your vault
  3. Logs are saved to the configured log folder (default: .canvas-roots/logs)
  4. If obfuscation is enabled, personal data is replaced before saving

When to Disable Obfuscation

You may want to disable obfuscation if:

  • You're debugging your own data privately
  • You need to see exact names/dates to trace an issue
  • You're sharing logs with trusted family members who already have access

Tip: Keep obfuscation enabled when sharing logs publicly (GitHub issues, forums, etc.)

Securing Your Vault

Since Charted Roots stores data locally, vault security is your responsibility.

Recommended Practices

Device Security:

  • Use strong passwords for your OS accounts
  • Enable full-disk encryption
  • Lock your device when away
  • Keep Obsidian and plugins updated

Vault Protection:

  • Store your vault on encrypted storage
  • Use Obsidian Sync's encryption if cloud syncing
  • Consider a separate vault for sensitive genealogical data

Cloud Sync Caution:

  • Understand that sync services (Dropbox, iCloud, etc.) store copies
  • Enable 2FA on all cloud accounts
  • Consider local-only vaults for highly sensitive data

Git/Version Control:

  • Never commit genealogical data to public repositories
  • Use private repositories only if necessary
  • Add person notes folders to .gitignore if using git

Backup Best Practices

  1. Maintain encrypted backups of your vault
  2. Test backup restoration periodically
  3. Store backups in a secure location
  4. Treat backups with same security as primary vault

Sharing Family Trees Safely

Before Sharing

Consider these questions:

  • Does the tree include living relatives?
  • Have you enabled privacy protection?
  • Are there sensitive details (adoptions, paternity issues)?
  • Does the recipient need full details or just structure?

Safe Sharing Workflow

  1. Enable privacy protection in settings
  2. Export with privacy options enabled
  3. Review the export before sharing
  4. Consider creating separate "public" and "private" exports

Sharing Screenshots

When taking screenshots of canvases:

  • Generate with privacy enabled: Use the privacy protection option in the tree wizard to create canvases with obfuscated names
  • Review for sensitive information before sharing
  • Consider cropping or blurring any remaining identifiable details
  • Note: Privacy protection only applies to newly generated canvases, not existing ones

Compliance Considerations

GDPR (EU)

If your family tree includes EU residents:

  • Living EU residents have privacy rights
  • Enable privacy protection for exports shared outside your family
  • Consider consent when recording living relatives' data

General Best Practices

  • Only record information you need
  • Get consent before adding living relatives
  • Handle adoptions, paternity, and medical info with care
  • Respect cultural norms around family information
  • Be mindful of historical injustices in records

Quick Reference

Task How To
Enable privacy protection Settings β†’ Charted Roots β†’ Privacy section
Set age threshold Settings β†’ Configure threshold (default 100)
Mark someone as living Add cr_living: true to frontmatter, or use Edit Person modal
Export with privacy Control Center β†’ Export β†’ Enable privacy options
Exclude living from export Choose "Exclude living persons" in export dialog
Generate canvas with privacy Tree Wizard β†’ Canvas Options β†’ Enable privacy protection
Toggle log obfuscation Settings β†’ Charted Roots β†’ Logging β†’ Obfuscate log exports
Export logs Settings β†’ Charted Roots β†’ Logging β†’ Export button

See Also