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Updates archive — FamDesk

A short record of things we've recently made better in FamDesk.

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  1. An easier start, better AI conversations, and less chasing

    We've fixed a signup problem and made everyday work in FamDesk easier to follow—from keeping track of children, pets and people you care for to finding household information and getting things done.

    • Signup works without an invitation

      We fixed an issue that could stop new accounts from being created. If you tried signing up before and couldn't get in, please try again—you don't need an invitation.

    • Ask FamDesk follows the conversation better

      Ask FamDesk is better at following longer conversations, understanding everyday wording and responding when you correct something. It can use more of the current chat to help with follow-up questions, and corrections now stay in the conversation instead of being mistaken for feedback requests. AI is optional and can make mistakes; review its answers and any information before saving.

    • Start with the part of your household that helps you

      Choose a starting point for yourself, children, dependents, pets or My Desk, and add information at your own pace. Expanded fictional samples make it easier to explore care information, household notes and requests. Eligible existing sample households can add the new examples without overwriting their edits.

    • Clearer requests and optional email check-ins

      Each user can now choose optional request reminders and daily digest emails, with their own delivery time and time zone. These emails start turned off. We also fixed an assignment issue so a request stays with the intended person when another household member edits it.

    • More complete household exports

      Household exports now include manually entered medications, conditions and vaccinations, with a reusable save link to make downloading easier. Exports follow your access permissions; uploaded files are listed rather than bundled.

    • See the real app before creating an account

      The website now shows actual FamDesk screens with fictional details, a light or dark view, and walkthroughs for families with children, pets and dependents. Explore a school-form request, finding a vet contact, or keeping useful care details together—without signing up first.

    • Additional quality improvements

      We've also made smaller fixes to account recovery, invitation guidance, loading, notifications and error messages to make everyday use smoother.

    These changes help you get started, keep useful details together and share the follow-through. Set up only what helps your household; samples, AI, imports and invitations remain optional.

    Where to find it: Choose a starting point on the Dashboard; Ask FamDesk; My Desk; Settings → Request emails and Your data; the website walkthroughs.

    Explore the real app screens

  2. A quicker start for everyday requests

    Start a request with a template for an appointment, school form, errand, bill, or follow-up. Add a due date with Today, Tomorrow, or In a week, then review and save when you are ready.

    • A more welcoming sign-in

      Sign-in and sign-up now share the warm ivory styling of the welcome screen, with clearer fields and a more consistent layout on phones.

    Less retyping, with your existing draft and privacy choices kept intact.

    Where to find it: My Desk → New request; Sign in and Sign up

    Start a request

  3. See what needs your attention

    The new Needs my attention view brings together open requests assigned to you, overdue requests you can see, and requests marked Waiting on someone. Labels explain why each item is there, with overdue items shown first.

    • A clearer first step

      New households get guidance to create their first useful request and, if they want, invite family to join.

    • More help along the way

      More step-by-step walkthroughs cover everyday tasks. Search the Learning Center to find a tutorial, then skip or replay it whenever you need.

    • Keep your screen clear

      Ask FamDesk can now collapse to the right edge, keeping forms and buttons within reach.

    Spend less time sorting through requests and more time knowing what to do next.

    Where to find it: My Desk → Needs my attention; your dashboard; Tutorials & Learning Center

    Open My Desk

  4. Easier setup, guided imports, and help along the way

    We’ve been making FamDesk easier to get started with, more comfortable to use, and better at helping you bring your information together.

    • A more welcoming sign-in experience. Clear Sign in and Sign up choices, simpler layouts, and a coordinated look across account setup, agreement, and verification screens make getting into FamDesk easier to follow.

    • Bring information in with less typing. Drop in a supported file or photo, or use your camera. Check the readable text, answer the import assistant’s questions, and review its suggestions before choosing what to save.

    • Choose which information to keep. When imported information differs from an existing field, compare the values and choose the one you want. Recognized sample information is handled separately from your own details, so you can replace examples while keeping information you’ve already entered.

    • Explore at your own pace. Step-by-step tutorials introduce the dashboard, profiles, My Desk, Settings, Appearance, imports, and Health Records. Skip a tutorial when you need to, or return to Tutorials & Learning Center to restart it.

    • Help make imports better. Optional import feedback lets you report how an import went. These reports help identify improvements without including your documents, filenames, imported values, or conversations.

    • Clearer privacy choices. Updated Terms and Privacy information explain file and photo imports and optional feedback. Agreement acceptance and optional measurement remain separate choices.

    Find these improvements throughout FamDesk, especially in Settings → Import information, Settings → Appearance, and Tutorials & Learning Center.

    Where to find it: FamDesk profiles, My Desk and Settings

    Open FamDesk

  5. Guided imports and help when you need it

    Bring in a file or photo, or use your camera. Review the readable text, work through questions with the import assistant, and choose what to save. Existing information is compared before you decide which values to keep.

    Less retyping and clearer choices, with step-by-step tutorials you can skip or replay from the Learning Center.

    Where to find it: Settings → Import information; Tutorials & Learning Center

    Import information

  6. More organized, easier to use

    We’ve been making FamDesk easier to join and more useful for everyday household life, with continued attention to security and privacy.

    • A simpler signup experience helps you create your FamDesk account and get started. You choose whom to invite into your household.

    • A more useful My Desk. Assign requests to household members, follow replies and progress, and quickly find what’s waiting, overdue, or done. Keep everyday notes close by, too.

    • A refreshed layout. Clearer menus, tidier cards, and improved forms make household details easier to find and read on phones and larger screens.

    • Easier profile switching. Photo tabs help you move between children, dependents, and pets when you have more than one.

    • Your look, remembered. Appearance choices save with your account, and Settings remembers which sections you leave open or closed.

    • Smoother help and feedback. Reopen the assistant without losing your current conversation, and share feedback more easily.

    • Continued attention to security and privacy. This release includes refinements to help keep feedback submissions private, alongside ongoing security reviews.

    We’ve also made smaller fixes to sign-in, profile photos, and everyday forms. These improvements are available throughout My Desk, profiles, Settings, and the sign-in page. Get started.

    Where to find it: FamDesk profiles, My Desk and Settings

    Open FamDesk

  7. Easier account creation

    Clearer Sign in and Sign up choices help you get to the right place. Create your account, then invite the people you want to share your household with.

    Joining FamDesk should be as easy as signing up.

    Where to find it: Sign-in page

    Open your dashboard

  8. Less setup, more your style

    A roundup of what's new since the last update: getting information in, a fresh look for new households, and your information in one file.

    • Bring contacts in

      Add contacts from a contact file (.vcf) saved from iPhone, iCloud or Google Contacts, or from a Google or Outlook contacts spreadsheet. Choose who each one belongs to, read them over, then save what you want. Anything that can't come along — a second phone number, a photo — is listed as not imported, so nothing goes missing quietly.

    • Suggestions, if you want them

      With Ask FamDesk turned on for your household and for you, paste notes, an email or spreadsheet text and it can suggest contacts and links to add. Nothing is ticked for you: you choose who each item belongs to, tick what you want, and it saves only when you confirm.

    • A light start, a dark choice

      New households begin on the original light look — Sunny Sanctuary colors, a Clean background, Friendly Modern fonts, Spatial Canvas layout — whatever your device is set to. Prefer dark? Choose a dark palette: Midnight Ink with a Frosted Depth background and Playful Family fonts makes a good dark set. Anything you've already picked stays exactly as you left it.

    • Your information, in one file

      Settings → Your data now has Download household data: one file with everything you can see in this household, read with your own access. Uploaded files are listed in it but not bundled in.

    • A clearer look at famdesk.org

      The public site's gallery now shows real screens in light and dark, along with how you can make FamDesk your own — click any of them to see it bigger.

    Less retyping, fewer surprises about what was or wasn't imported, and a look that fits you from the very first visit.

    Where to find it: Settings → Import information, Appearance and Your data, plus famdesk.org

    Download household data

  9. Import contacts from your phone or email

    Import contacts from a contact file (.vcf) exported from iPhone, iCloud or Google Contacts, or from a Google or Outlook contacts spreadsheet. Choose who they belong to, review every contact, and pick what to add. Each contact uses one phone, email and address; any others — and photos, birthdays and similar extras — are listed as not imported.

    Bring in the doctors, teachers and sitters already in your address book without retyping. The file is read on your device and nothing you already have is changed.

    Where to find it: Settings → Import information

    Import information

  10. Import contacts and links from a spreadsheet

    Bring in contacts — like doctors, dentists or the school office — and saved links such as patient and parent portals from a CSV file. Download an example, choose who it's for, review every row, and pick what to add. If Ask FamDesk is turned on, you can also paste notes and let AI suggest what goes where — you review and tick each suggestion first.

    Get set up faster without retyping. Spreadsheet files stay on your device, likely duplicates are flagged, and nothing you already have is changed.

    Where to find it: Settings → Import information

    Import information

  11. Ask FamDesk, entirely optional

    Ask questions answered from your household's saved information — only when your household and you both turn it on, and everything starts off. You can also let it suggest edits to notes, follow-ups, replies, contacts and links: every suggestion shows a preview and is saved only when you choose “Save this change”, using your existing permissions. It never deletes anything.

    Get answers from information you've already saved, and help it improve with private corrections. Admins can share carefully reviewed, sanitized lessons from mistakes. This uses reviewed guidance, not automatic retraining of the AI.

    Where to find it: Ask FamDesk button and Settings → Ask FamDesk

    Review assistant settings

  12. Easier signup and invitations

    Signup is easier to follow, with clearer choices and simpler forms. Invitation and sign-in pages recover better when something goes wrong, and everything is easier to use on a phone.

    Joining FamDesk — or accepting an invitation — should take less effort.

    Where to find it: Sign-in and invitation pages

    Open your dashboard

  13. Make FamDesk feel like yours

    Choose from 16 color palettes, including five dark palettes, and seven background finishes.

    Find a look that feels comfortable for your household's everyday work.

    Where to find it: Settings → Appearance

    Explore appearance

  14. A clearer start for your household

    Account setup is simpler, household setup is clearer, and you can choose sample data or start blank. Recovery messages are easier to follow.

    Getting started should feel straightforward, whether you're exploring or joining family.

    Where to find it: Getting started and household setup

    Open your dashboard

  15. More helpful two-step guidance

    The sign-in code now clearly says it's for FamDesk, with clearer setup instructions when you use the same phone.

    Know which code to enter and how to finish setting up two-step sign-in.

    Where to find it: Two-step sign-in and Settings → Security

    View security settings