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Data sharing (family-module)

The family-module data-sharing page is the matrix that decides what each family-group level can see about you. Five levels run down one axis, seven category groups run across the other, and each cell is a toggle. The result: a fine-grained map of "what level-2 sees about me vs what level-4 sees about me" without having to set permissions one person at a time.

This page is the granular complement to the family-groups system. Family groups answer "who is in which level"; data sharing answers "what each level sees".

The matrix​

CategoryLevel 1 (Immediate)Level 2 (Close)Level 3 (Extended)Level 4 (Wider)Level 5 (Network)
Identity (name, photo, gender, DOB)✓✓✓✓✓
Contact (phones, emails, addresses)✓✓✓optional×
Family relations (who you're related to)✓✓✓optional×
Personal (bio, profile notes)✓✓optional××
Professional (job, work history)✓✓✓✓optional
Health (vitals, conditions, meds)✓optional×××
Location (current, journeys)✓optional×××

Defaults above are LifeWell's suggestion; every cell is a toggle you can flip. The default favours "share less" — increase only when you intentionally want a level to see more.

Per-category detail​

Identity​

Always visible to anyone you're connected to (you can't hide your name from your spouse). Includes:

  • Display name and nickname.
  • Profile photo.
  • Gender (if set).
  • Birth date (optional toggle to hide).

Contact​

  • Phone numbers (per-number visibility toggles).
  • Email addresses (per-email).
  • Postal addresses (per-address).
  • Social profiles and websites.

Per-method toggles let you share your mobile number with level-1 but not your work line; share your personal email with level-2 but not level-3.

Family relations​

Whether the other person can see your wider family tree.

  • Off: they see you alone.
  • On: they see the people you've connected to and how.

Sharing this with level-1 lets your spouse see your family tree. Sharing with level-3 lets your cousins navigate your tree to find connections.

Personal​

  • Bio (free text describing yourself).
  • Your self-profile notes.
  • (Optionally) the personal notes you've written about other people.

Professional​

  • Job title, company, profession.
  • Work history (chronological).
  • Education history.

Health​

The most sensitive category. By default only level 1 (immediate family) sees full health; level 2 sees a subset, levels 3+ see nothing.

Toggles within Health:

  • Vitals (BP, sugar, weight, BMI).
  • Conditions (allergies, asthma, etc.).
  • Medications (current meds, adherence).
  • Period & fertility (period log, cycle predictions).
  • Pregnancy (pregnancy mode state).
  • Mental health (mood journal, gratitude, etc.).

You can grant access category-by-category. Most users let spouse see vitals + meds but keep mental-health private.

Location​

  • Current location (only valuable if you have location-tracking enabled).
  • Recent journeys (the trips you've recorded).
  • Location history (the full snapshot timeline).

Most users keep location tightly scoped — level-1 only, and even there often opt-out unless you and your partner are actively coordinating.

How sharing actually works​

When a level-X connection of yours opens your profile:

  1. LifeWell pulls your data-sharing matrix.
  2. For each category, checks whether your level-X row has the toggle on.
  3. Renders only the fields whose toggle is on.

If you flip a toggle off, the change applies on the next render — the next time they open your profile, the data is hidden. No notification fires.

Level rating asymmetry​

Recall from Family groups: each side rates the other independently. Your matrix determines what you share with them; their matrix determines what they share with you.

So:

  • You rate cousin Sarah as level 2; you set Health → Vitals on for level 2. Sarah sees your vitals.
  • Sarah rates you as level 4; she sets Health → off for level 4. You see no health data for Sarah.

The asymmetry is the point — closeness isn't always mutual.

Per-person overrides​

For finer-than-level granularity, you can override the matrix for a specific person:

  • "I want Sarah to see my vitals even though her level normally wouldn't."
  • "I want my brother to not see my medications even though level-1 normally does."

Per-person overrides live in the person's profile under Sharing overrides. Use sparingly — too many overrides defeat the predictability of the level system.

Reset to defaults​

If your matrix gets confusing or you want a clean slate, there's a Reset to defaults button that restores LifeWell's default matrix. Existing per-person overrides aren't touched by this; they need separate clearing.

What this system is not​

  • Not a public-profile system. Sharing applies only to verified connections.
  • Not enforced by Firestore rules at every field. The matrix is the application's source of truth; field-level Firestore rules are coarser. Don't rely on this for keeping data from a determined attacker — the only way to truly protect a piece of data from a connection is to not store it.
  • Not viewable by the other person. Your connections don't see your sharing matrix; they just see what you're sharing.

Worked example​

You rate three people: spouse at level 1, brother at level 1, mother at level 2.

Your matrix:

  • Level 1: every cell on except "Mental health".
  • Level 2: identity, contact, professional, vitals — nothing else.

Spouse opens your profile: sees identity, contact, family relations, personal, professional, vitals, medications, conditions, current location, journeys — but not your mental-health log.

Brother opens your profile: same as spouse (both at level 1).

Mother opens your profile: sees identity, contact, professional, vitals — no medications, no conditions, no location, no journeys.

If you flip "Health → Conditions" off for level 1, spouse and brother stop seeing your conditions on next render. If you turn "Health → Medications" on for level 2, your mother starts seeing your medications.

Frequently asked​

Can I share specific fields rather than whole categories? The category granularity is the default level. Per-person overrides (linked in the person's profile) let you go finer. Per-field granularity within a category isn't currently exposed — request it via feedback if it's important to you.

Are sharing changes audited? There's a sharing audit log in your account that records every matrix change (timestamp + what changed). View it from the data-sharing page footer.

Can I "see what others see"? Yes — there's a Preview as level N option that simulates what a level-N connection would see when opening your profile. Useful for verifying your matrix is set correctly.

What happens to active connections when I lower their level's matrix? The changes apply on next render. Data they previously saw will simply stop appearing. No retroactive recall — they may have screenshotted or memorised information, of course.

Does this matrix affect partner sharing on baby profiles? No — baby partner-access (described under Baby overview) uses a separate per-baby permission model. The family-data-sharing matrix is for your own personal record visibility.

Last updated: 2026-05-11 Author: Ahsan Mahmood