Collections

Relationships

Connect people into a family tree and map how everyone fits together.

Why Relationships?

Tagging tells lovd who's in a photo. Relationships tell lovd how they're connected. Together they power the family tree, the relationship graph, and the "connection lines" that appear on your timeline linking parents to children, siblings, and partners.

You can set relationships between yourself and other users, between you and Lovd Ones you've created, and between two Lovd Ones in your family.

Adding a Relationship

Relationships are created from a person's card or from the relationship graph.

Open the People page

Go to the People section from the sidebar.

Find the person

Either scroll through the list or search by name.

Set their relationship to you

Use the relationship selector on their card and pick a type.

Done

The relationship is saved immediately, and the opposite side is set automatically (more on that below).

One relationship per pair. You can only have one relationship type between the same two people. If you pick a new type for someone you're already connected to, it replaces the previous one.

Auto-inverse

When you mark someone as your parent, lovd automatically marks you as their child — you don't have to set both sides. The same logic runs for every asymmetric pair (grandparent ↔ grandchild, aunt/uncle ↔ niece/nephew, and so on). Symmetric types like sibling, partner, or friend are recorded on both sides as the same type.

Relationship Requests

You can set a relationship directly on anyone you already share a collection or a post with, and on any Lovd One you own.

For other lovd users you haven't shared with yet, you need to send them a request first — they have to accept before the relationship is saved.

Pick the person

Search for them from the People page.

Select a relationship type

Pick the relationship you want to propose.

Send the request

They'll receive an email and an in-app notification.

Wait for acceptance

Once they accept, the relationship is created (both directions).

Either side can cancel or reject a request before it's accepted. Relationships involving Lovd Ones you own are created immediately — no request needed, because only you can see and edit your Lovd Ones.

Relationship Types

lovd supports a wide range of relationship categories, grouped so the picker is easy to navigate.

Immediate family

Parent, child, grandparent, grandchild, sibling.

Step, foster & guardian

Step-parent, step-child, foster parent, foster child, guardian, ward.

Extended family

Aunt/uncle, niece/nephew, cousin, parent-in-law, child-in-law, sibling-in-law.

Partners

Spouse, partner, ex-spouse, ex-partner.

Social & care

Friend, best friend, roommate, caregiver, godparent, godchild.

Pets

Pet owner and pet — a Lovd One can be a pet, and you can be their owner.

Pets in the family tree. For a pet's parents (the humans who raised them) or siblings (other pets in the household), use the same parent, child, or sibling types you'd use for a person. There's no need for pet-specific lineage categories.

The Relationship Graph

Once you've added a few relationships, the graph view on the People page draws them out.

Layered by generation when lovd can work it out — parents sit above children, grandparents above parents.
Filter by person to see only one family branch.
Click a node to open their profile, edit their relationship, or jump to the photos they're tagged in.
Lovd Ones and users sit alongside each other in the same graph, so you can mix both as you build out your family tree.

Relationships on the Timeline

When two people have both a birthday set, the timeline draws a connection line between them wherever a relationship exists. Walk the timeline and you can see parents lift up into children, siblings stack side by side, partners converge where they met.

Relationships without birthdays are still saved — they just don't appear on the timeline, because there's no anchor date. Adding a birthday to either person brings the connection in.

Deleting a Relationship

Either party can remove a relationship at any time.

Open the relationship

From the graph or from the other person's card.

Remove it

Use the remove action and confirm.

Deletion is bilateral. Removing a relationship from your side also removes it from theirs. They'll see it disappear from their graph without needing to do anything.

Edge Cases & FAQ

Can I set multiple relationship types between the same two people?

No — lovd enforces one relationship per pair. If you try to add a second, it replaces the existing one. This keeps the graph clean and avoids conflicts (e.g. "sibling" and "cousin" on the same pair).

What if the relationship isn't listed?

Pick the closest type. The list covers the most common family and social structures; we're adding more over time.

Relationships to deceased Lovd Ones

You can connect relatives, ancestors, and anyone else you've created as a Lovd One — with or without a date passed. Lifespans (1945 – 2023) appear on their nodes in the graph.

Can a relationship span multiple collections?

Relationships are global — they don't belong to a single collection. They surface everywhere that person does: the graph, the timeline, their card, their profile.

What if I set the wrong type by accident?

Just pick a new type on the relationship selector. It updates in place, and the inverse updates with it.

People & Lovd Ones

Add users and Lovd Ones, and tag them in photos.

Life Events

Record birthdays, birthplaces, and dates passed.

Understanding Permissions

Learn what each role can do in your collections.

Sharing Collections

Invite family and friends to view and contribute to your collections.