Home/Private family photo sharing
Private family photo sharing — share the story, not the album.
The safest way to share family photos privately is to share them only with the people you choose, in a closed space with no public feed. Roon does that in a different way: you do not share the whole album. You share a finished story — a chapter, a thread, or a film — sent to exactly your people.
Roon is not an album. That is on purpose.
Roon is not a bulk album or a backup tool. If you need a place to dump thousands of photos for everyone to scroll, Roon is not that. Keep your storage for the files. Roon is the place where those files become a story worth sending.
Most private sharing apps are still albums. They add an invite, then copy the social feed: everyone uploads, everyone scrolls, and nothing is ever finished. A new baby photo sits between a screenshot and a duplicate. Roon skips the feed. Rooney does the work first, and then you share what Rooney made.
What you actually share
Rooney writes chapters. A chapter is a written piece of your family’s story, built from your photos, video, and words, with a name like “The Summer of Dinosaurs.” It has a beginning and an end. It can be read, not just scrolled.
Rooney also follows threads. A thread is the same person, place, or thing gathered across the years — every birthday cake, every photo at Grandma’s table, the dog in every year. When a chapter, a thread, or a film is ready, you send that. You never send the raw archive behind it.
Every item has an audience
- Just me — kept private, seen by no one else.
- The Den — shared with your family’s closed space inside Roon.
- Specific people — shared with only the people you name.
The Den is invite-only, never public. There is no feed for strangers and there are no followers. And sharing is not permanent: change an item’s audience and it is unshared instantly, for everyone.
You share the story, never the raw archive. Every item stays set to the audience you chose.
for grandparents
A link. No account. No app to learn.
Guests open a shared chapter or film from a link. A grandparent does not need to create an account, download an app, or join social media. They tap the link and they watch. That is the whole job on their side.
Your family’s data is never sold and never used to train models, and you can export everything free, at any time. One price covers the whole family — $99 a year — and people adding photos is never metered, so nobody has to hold back. If the story is the part you care about, compare it with what a family story is. See for yourself in the dashboard — it shows a family’s chapters, threads, and films the way your people would receive them.
plain answers
Questions, answered straight.
Is Roon a photo sharing app?
Not in the album sense. Roon is not a place to dump and scroll thousands of photos. It is a story you share: Rooney turns the photos and video your family already has into a chapter, a thread, or a film, and you send that finished piece to your people.
Do grandparents need an account or an app?
No. A grandparent opens a shared chapter or film from a link. No account, no app, and no social media are needed on their side.
Is anything public?
No. The Den — your family’s closed space inside Roon — is invite-only and never public. There is no feed for strangers and there are no followers.
Can I stop sharing something?
Yes, instantly. Every item has an audience: just me, the Den, or specific people. Change that setting and the item is unshared straight away.
What if I just want a big shared album?
Then use a tool built for that job. FamilyAlbum and Cluster do big, invite-only shared albums well. Roon is for the other job: sharing the story those photos tell, in a finished chapter, thread, or film.
We're building this with a small group of families first.
Roon isn't open to everyone yet. We're letting in a limited first group — people who'll help shape it, get in at founding pricing, and keep that price for as long as they stay. Add your email and we'll be in touch as spots open.
You're on the list.
We'll email you the moment a spot opens. Thank you for wanting this to exist.