01Getting started
Relate 360 connects your family across generations. You can join in seconds with Apple, or sign up with an email address.
Create your account
- Sign in with Apple — the fastest way in. Tap Continue with Apple and your account is created and ready; there's nothing else to fill in.
- Or use email — enter your email, a password, and your date of birth. Your birth date sets whether the account is an adult or a young person's account — it's used for safety, never shown publicly.
You don't need a FamilySearch account to use Relate 360. It's an optional way to import an existing tree or pull in ancestor photos — nothing more.
Find your way around
- Home — your feed of family activity and circle recommendations.
- Living tree — your family tree, going up (ancestors) and down (descendants).
- Circles — the groups you're part of, and ones to discover.
- Relate (top-right) — search people and see how you're connected.
02Your family tree
The Living tree is yours to build by hand — parents, children, spouses, and the people who link them together. FamilySearch is welcome but never required.
Add family
- Add a parent, child, or spouse — open a person, choose Add family, and pick the relationship. Enter a first and last name (put middle names or a suffix in the last-name field).
- Link someone already here — if the person is already in Relate 360, search and link them instead of creating a duplicate.
- Search your tree — the search bar looks within your family, so results are people you're actually related to. Tap any result to open their circle.
Your tree renders fully whether it's hand-built, imported, or a mix. If you do link FamilySearch, it stays an optional "import & enrich" step — your own edits to a person's photo or details are yours to keep.
03Circles
A circle is a private space for a family, a household, or a shared interest — where you post, chat, and keep memories together. Every person in your tree can have one.
Three kinds of circle
Invite & join
- Open a circle and choose Invite to add people by name or email.
- To join a public circle, tap Join. For invite-only circles, you'll accept an invitation.
- Favorite a circle to pin it to the top of your list.
Some circles aren't taking members yet — most often a circle owned by a young family member whose guardian hasn't been set up. This is a safety feature, not an error on your end. The young person's guardian can open it up once they're verified.
04Chat & sharing
Every circle has its own conversation. Share photos and videos, keep the day's news in one place, and pick up where you left off.
- Photos & video — share straight into a circle chat. Media is encrypted in storage and delivered only to circle members.
- One place per family — the conversation lives with the circle, so it's always where you expect it.
To protect younger members, images are checked before they're shared. If something can't be sent, you'll see a short "This image can't be shared" message. It's rare, and it's there to keep everyone safe.
05For parents & guardians
Relate 360 is built so that a young person's experience is shaped by a real, verified guardian. This section covers how that works — and why a few things are gated until a guardian is in place.
Become a verified guardian
- Link to your child in the family tree, then start guardian verification from their profile.
- Verify — confirm your relationship. Once verified, you become the person who curates your child's circles, contacts, and approvals.
Set up a child account
When you add a child who will use the app, you'll set a Handle and a PIN for them — that's how they sign in. Their birth date puts the account under guardian oversight automatically.
Curate with allow & block lists
- Allowlist — people and circles your child may connect with.
- Blocklist — people your child should never be contacted by.
- Monitor — keep an eye on your child's circle activity from your own account.
Until a young person has a verified guardian, their circles won't accept new members — so no one can be added to a child's space without a responsible adult in the loop. Once you're verified, you decide who's in. If you ran into a "can't join" or "guardian required" message, this is the reason: link and verify, and it opens up.
06Safety & privacy
Safety isn't a setting you turn on — it's built into the paths that matter, especially for minors.
- Content checks — images shared by or to young members are screened, on the device and on our servers, before they're delivered.
- Guardian-gated connections — a minor's contacts and circle memberships are curated by their verified guardian.
- Your data — your birth date and personal details are used for safety and personalization, not shown publicly. You control the visibility of the people and circles you create.
- Reporting — if you see something wrong, use the report option on the content or person; guardians are notified on the paths that concern a child.
07Frequently asked questions
Do I need a FamilySearch account?
No. Relate 360 works fully without it. FamilySearch is an optional way to import an existing tree or pull in ancestor photos — you can build and view your entire tree by hand, with no FamilySearch link at all.
How does "Sign in with Apple" work?
Tap Continue with Apple and you're in — your account is created automatically and takes you straight into the app. There's no separate form to fill out.
What's the difference between public, invite-only, and private circles?
Public circles anyone can find and join. Invite-only circles don't appear in discovery and people join only when you invite them. Private circles are just you and the members you add.
Why can't anyone join a circle my child created?
A young person's circle won't take new members until that young person has a verified guardian. It's a safety measure — it makes sure a responsible adult is in the loop before anyone is added to a child's space.
If you're the parent, link to your child in the tree and complete guardian verification. Once you're verified, the circle can accept members and you decide who's in.
I was invited to a circle but got a "guardian required" message. Why?
That circle is owned by a young family member who doesn't yet have a verified guardian, so it isn't accepting members right now. It's nothing to do with your account. Once their guardian is set up, the invitation will work.
How do I become my child's guardian?
Link to your child in the family tree, then start guardian verification from their profile and confirm your relationship. Verifying makes you the person who curates their circles, contacts, and approvals.
How do I control who my child can talk to?
From your guardian account, use the allowlist (people and circles they may connect with) and the blocklist (people they should never be contacted by). You can also monitor your child's circle activity.
Why was a photo I tried to share blocked?
Images are screened before they're shared to protect younger members. If one can't be sent you'll see a brief "This image can't be shared" note. It's uncommon, and it's a safety check rather than a problem with your account.
Why was my photo held for review?
To keep the community safe, uploaded images are automatically screened for things like nudity and violence. Automated screening isn't perfect — sometimes ordinary images (say, a sports photo or a busy crowd) get flagged even though they're perfectly fine. When that happens the image is sent to a person to take a look. It's not an automatic judgment about you or your content, and most held images clear review quickly.
If you think something was held in error, reach out from Settings → Support and a person will re-check it.
How does content moderation work here?
Automated screening is a first pass that surfaces anything that might need a closer look. For sensitive categories like violence, a person makes the final call on whatever the system flags — so safe content is occasionally sent for review out of caution. We'd rather double-check than miss something.
My family search shows people who aren't my relatives. Is that a bug?
The in-tree search is meant to return only people in your own family. If you see unrelated names, or tapping a result doesn't open, update to the latest version of the app — recent updates fixed this so search stays scoped to your tree.
Can I remove my account and data?
Yes — account deletion is available in Settings. If you'd like a copy of your data or have a privacy request, contact support and we'll help.
Get help
If you or a young person needs support right now, reach out — these lines are free, confidential, and available around the clock.
For questions about the app, tap Help & Support in Settings, or reach the team from the support link inside the app.