Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Contacts and Connection Types
What parts of my Profile can each Connection Type see?
One of our Members' favorite parts of CastleKeyp is that you can allow different types of people in your life into different parts of your Profile. We know that relationships aren't all or nothing - they are a matter of degrees. You set each of your Contacts' Connection Type when you first connect with them, controlling which parts of your Profile they can see. Quick Tip: No Contact or Connection Type can see the information in your Keyp, unless you specifically add them to a designated Group to allow it - see Groups FAQ for more information. There are four Connection Types for CastleKeyp Contacts: Family, Friends, Community and Orbit. Family - this Connection Type can see your entire Profile, including all Contact Information, Details, Likes, Dislikes & Allergies, Partner, Children & Grandchildren, Pets, Education & Affiliations and Employment Friend - this Connection Type can see your entire Profile, the same as "Family" Community - this Connection Type can see your Cornerstone and other contact information; your hometown; your Partner's name; your Children & Grandchildren's information; and Pets' names, breed, gender Quick Tip: This Connection Type is great for neighbors, parents at your Children's school, your local club, religious organizations - anywhere it helps to know the basics but not necessarily every last detail about you. Orbit - this Connection Type sees only your Cornerstone: your first and last name, home address, preferred phone number for calls, preferred phone number for texts, preferred email address and preferred contact method Quick Tip: This Connection Type is great for local service providers, such as a housekeeper, plumber or electrician, or anyone else that needs to come to your home or send you a bill, for example.
Will my Contacts know what Connection Type I have assigned them?
This is a great question – none of us wants to offend our connections if they think of us as “Friend” but we think of them as “Orbit.” The very quick answer is “no.” When you set a Connection Type for a Contact (Friend; Family; Community; Orbit), that Connection Type determines which pieces of your information that Contact can see. For example, if you set Sara as a “Friend” but she sets you as “Orbit,” then Sara will see all parts of your Profile, whereas you will see only her “Cornerstone” contact information. Every member on CastleKeyp is required to fill out their “Cornerstone” information, but every other part of the Profile is voluntary. So you would have no way of knowing whether Sara has filled out the rest of her Profile or only completed the required “Cornerstone” information. So you don’t need to worry and wonder – maybe Sara decided only to fill in her Cornerstone information. The same goes the other way – if you set Sara as “Orbit” and Sara sets you as “Friend,” you will see her whole Profile (lucky you), while she will see only your “Cornerstone.” But Sara doesn’t know whether you have filled out anything more than what is required. So the good news is, no one is offended, and every one of your CastleKeyp Contacts gets the Cornerstone information, which is already incredibly valuable: member-verified, up-to-date contact information including home address, phone number and email. You can maintain any relationship with just those valuable pieces of information. And if you use that information to reach out to Sara in real life, chances are she will set you as “Friend” before too long.
Can I edit my CastleKeyp Contacts' Profile information?
Because every Member manages their own Profile, you cannot modify it. And you probably wouldn't want to, since it will be the most accurate and up-to-date information you've ever had for your key people! You can, however, import your Phone Contacts into CastleKeyp, so that you have access to your whole contact list in CastleKeyp, even if your phone contacts aren't yet connected with you on CastleKeyp. Any edits you make in your phone contacts app will display in CastleKeyp. There is also some personalization you can do with your CastleKeyp Contacts: In your Contact's Profile, tap the "Three Dots" menu at the right under their name information, and you will see two customizable options: 1. Set an "alias" for your Contact - e.g. "Mom" or "Uncle Bill" - however you like to refer to that particular Contact, you can set that here, and it will display throughout CastleKeyp. No one else will see this "alias" except for you 2. View / Edit note - with this feature, you can keep private, custom notes about your Contact that only you can see. Note down things you want to remember but might not be in their Profile, such as how you met e.g. We find this particularly useful for new acquaintances, PTA members, neighbors, etc.
Groups
What are CastleKeyp's Pre-Set Groups?
CastleKeyp has nine Pre-Set Groups, which are viewable on the "All Groups" screen. All of them are colored in light gold, except for the My Keyp Group, which is light red for security (see below). Four of these pre-set Groups are based on Connection Type (because members are populated automatically based on Connection Type assigned). They are: Family - this Group's members are determined by Connection Type: it includes any Contact you have set as "Family." You cannot manually add members to this Group. They can see your whole Profile, but not your Keyp. Friends - this Group's members are determined by Connection Type: it includes any Contact you have set as "Friend." You cannot manually add members to this Group. They can see your whole Profile, but not your Keyp. Community - this Group's members are determined by Connection Type: it includes any Contact you have set as "Community." You cannot manually add members to this Group. They can see your Cornerstone contact information; and information about your Children/Grandchildren and Pets, but not your Education and Employment information. Orbit - this Group's members are determined by Connection Type: it includes any Contact you have set as "Orbit." You cannot manually add members to this Group. They can see only your Cornerstone contact information. There is one Pre-Set Group for Holiday Cards, which works like a Custom Group in that you can add or remove members at any time, but you cannot change the title or icon: Holiday Cards - Both CastleKeyp Contacts and Phone Contacts can be added or removed at any time from this Group. We included this Group to help streamline that wonderful process at the end of the year when you need to gather everyone you want to share your holiday or new year's card with. Then, from either the mobile app or the web app, you will be able to export all members of this Group to a .CSV file to allow for easy label-making or for uploading to your favorite card creation site. The other four Pre-Set Groups also work the same way as Custom Groups in that you can add or remove members at any time. However these four Groups have additional powers - adding Contacts to these Groups gives those Contacts permission to see certain parts of your Keyp: Clothing Sizes - Me: Contacts added to this Group can see your own Clothing Sizes in your Closet, except for intimates (Unders; Bras / Camisoles if applicable). We recommend adding to this Group only those Contacts you feel comfortable sharing this information with, such as close friends, family members. It will be a big help to them with gift-giving! Clothing Sizes - Partner: Contacts added to this Group can see your Partner's Clothing Sizes in your Closet, except for intimates (Unders; Bras / Camisoles if applicable). We recommend adding to this Group only those Contacts you feel comfortable sharing this information with, such as close friends, family members. It will be a big help to them with gift-giving! Clothing Sizes - Children: Contacts added to this Group can see your Children's Clothing Sizes in your Closet. We recommend adding to this Group only those Contacts you feel comfortable sharing this information with, such as close friends, family members, your children's friends' parents. It will be a big help to them with gift-giving and hand-me-downs! My Keyp: Contacts added to this Group can see your entire Keyp, including your Desk (EXCEPT for Private Notes); your Closet (all Clothing Sizes INCLUDING Intimates (Unders; Bras / Camisoles if applicable); and your Safe. It's incredibly useful for married couples, or for caregivers to an elderly parent, for example, to be able to see each other's Keyp for things like Social Security Numbers, insurance information, shopping lists. We strongly recommend that you only add your Partner, or a close relative that you trust fully, to this Group. Given the sensitive nature of the information that members of this Group can see, CastleKeyp will check with you any time you try to add a Group member to the My Keyp Group, to confirm you want to allow this access. In addition, any Contact added to this Group will be required to verify their identity on their own app (biometrics or their own password) to view your Safe, just as you are required to do when you view your Safe.
What can I do with a Group?
Your Groups are a great way to organize your Contacts, associating Contacts with activities in your life, such as sending Holiday Cards (CastleKeyp Pre-Set Group); sharing your children's Clothing Sizes with family for easier gifting (CastleKeyp Pre-Set Group); or messaging your Basketball Team (example of user-created Custom Group). Once you have your Group's members added, you can use the buttons at the top right of the screen to send an email or text message to all members of the Group at once (i.e. if you want to schedule the next Wine Club, just tap on the email action button!). You can also select certain members of the Group and perform an action on them. For example, if you have 26 members in your PTA group, but you only want to contact the parents of two of your children's friends to set up a playdate, simply long press on the Contacts' background bar to see a checkmark appear over their image, and then tap the appropriate action button at the top right of the screen (email or text). As a reminder, your Contacts don't know what Custom Groups you have created and they don't know what Groups you have put them in. Groups are a tool for you - to help you simplify your life. No more wondering which of the six email addresses that pop up when you start writing an email are correct for your friend Kim, or still having Elizabeth's old phone number show up in your phone contacts, even though you've tried multiple times to delete it. CastleKeyp has your Contacts' best contact information and a quick way for you to reach them using Groups. Save so much time and mental hassle!
Can my Contacts see my Groups? Can they see which Groups I have put them in?
Good question. The short answer is “no.” All of your Groups are “for your eyes only” – for you to organize your Contacts in ways that are helpful to you, and then offer quick methods of contacting those Groups, through Group email or Group text. For example, you may have six friends in your book club, and you organize your next book selection and meeting details over email. With your CastleKeyp Group “Book Club,” you can group those six friends together once in CastleKeyp and then email together for the rest of time. (And you'll know that it's going to their latest email address / phone number, even as the years pass, even if they change their email address or move or get a new phone number, because they keep their own information updated - you don't have to.) You can assign your Contacts to as many of your Groups as you want - so one Friend may be in Book Club and Wine Club and Holiday Cards (lucky them)! But of course, they'll never know what you've decided to assign them to - that's up to you and entirely for your eyes only.
Do Groups affect the Connection Type I have set for my Contacts?
The short answer is "no." Any Contacts you add to your Groups will retain the Connection Type (and related permissions) you set for them when you connected. (See "What Parts of My Profile Can Each Connection Type See?") For example, your Child's soccer coach might not be a close friend, but it's helpful for that person to know basic information about your Child and names of you and your Partner, so you set them as a Community Connection Type. Then you can add them to the "Clothing Sizes - Children" Group so that they can see little Alex's sizes for ordering team uniforms.
Password and GateKey
Why can't I reset my Password?
This is due to end-to-end encryption. CastleKeyp does not have the keys to decrypt your data (these include your Password and your GateKey), so we can't change your Password because we never know it. Any mobile or web application that has a way to reset your password (i.e. because you forgot it), it has access to your data. CastleKeyp is end-to-end encrypted: we cannot see your data (or sell it, or give it away by mistake to a bad actor). As a result, we do not have the ability to reset your password – you control your data and your Password; we store it for you securely and can never see what it is. Not being able to reset your Password is actually a benefit that you get with an end-to-end encrypted system. End-to-end encryption ensures that access to your information is limited to you and those you choose to share it with. The bottom line is that any mobile or web application with the ability to help you change your password has a backdoor to your data. CastleKeyp does not. Here’s an analogy that might be helpful: Typical mobile/web application = HOTEL CastleKeyp (end-to-end encrypted mobile/web application) = your personal SAFE In a HOTEL, reception always has access to your room, and you can always request a new key if you lose yours. (And they can always enter your room and look around if they deem it appropriate/necessary….) For your personal SAFE, you, and ONLY YOU, have the key. If you lose that key, you can’t access the safe (and neither can anyone else). But, you say, aren’t there physical safe-crackers that could get a physical safe open by brute force? Is there that possibility in the digital world? To the first question – maybe – there always seem to be in the movies… To the second question, in digital terms, a brute force attack would have to decrypt anything inside CastleKeyp’s digital safe – and all that information would be totally scrambled, encrypted gibberish (thanks to your password and GateKey working together). We estimate it would take a supercomputer at least 4,000 years to try all possible combinations of your password and GateKey, and that’s assuming you use only the minimum required 8 characters for your password. Bump that up to 9 characters, and you’re at 150,000+ years to try all combinations. Ten characters, and we are over 5.5 million years…you get the idea! In a final wonky security note, it's important to understand that 98% of hacks are unsophisticated, relying not on supercomputers but on human beings using phishing, social engineering and guesswork - even hacks of major corporations, utilities and the US government. It’s not comforting when you think about it, but it does underscore just how safe CastleKeyp really is. A final final note on this - we know that you might be used to being able to reset a password when you forget it – we do it all the time, too. Since CastleKeyp can't offer that feature, that’s why we really encourage you to write down your password and store it safely along with your GateKey, which we also do not have access to. We really don’t want you to lose them, for your sake! But worst case scenario, if you do lose your password, you can always open a new CastleKeyp account and make your connections and store your data again (no charge). Let's hope it doesn't come to that, but no matter what, your information (on both accounts) would remain safe.
Do I really need to save my Password and GateKey on a piece of paper somewhere safe?
YES - please do. We strongly recommend that you write down your password and GateKey on a physical piece of paper and put it somewhere safe, where you can easily find it if needed, such as with your passport, in a safe, in your locked desk drawer – anywhere you already store secure information. Do this and you will have perfect peace of mind that you will always be able to access your CastleKeyp information, even if you were to lose all of your mobile devices and your computer was suddenly taken by aliens. It’s so easy to do – one quick minute, and you’ll breathe easy forever.
End-to-End Encryption (E2EE)
What is end-to-end encryption?
Your information on CastleKeyp is end-to-end encrypted, which means only you, and the people you choose, can see the information you store in CastleKeyp. Not even CastleKeyp can see it. And neither can hackers. You may have heard of end-to-end encryption associated with messaging apps such as Signal or WhatsApp (though the message has gotten a little murky with WhatsApp - Signal is the gold standard, and CastleKeyp adheres to that). The principle is the same, but with CastleKeyp, rather than securely messaging someone to ask for information, you simply access the information stored securely in the database. For a general overview of end-to-end encryption, check out the short video in the About section. For more on CastleKeyp's security, see our Security page.
Is there any data in my CastleKeyp account that is not end-to-end encrypted?
There only three pieces of your data that are NOT end-to-end encrypted on CastleKeyp, and these are only used to enable CastleKeyp to provide you with an account (your email address, which is stored in an encrypted database) and to enable friends to find and identify you to request connection (name/photo and general location). Those are the three pieces of data that are not end-to-end encrypted (of course, they are still encrypted and carefully protected on our servers, but if malicious actors were able to hack CastleKeyp's database, this is all they would find on you): 1. Name/Photo: First Name, Maiden Name (if you provide it), Last Name and Profile Photo, if you upload one 2. General Location: State (if applicable), Country 3. Email address: the email you use as your username to create a CastleKeyp account That's it. That's all. Compare that with any other online service you use, and you'll start to get a sense of just how secure and safe CastleKeyp is.
General
Can people I don't know see my Profile?
No. We value your privacy, so nearly every piece of information that you store in CastleKeyp is end-to-end encrypted, meaning it can only be seen by someone you have specifically permissioned to see it. As a result, a CastleKeyp member who is not connected to you will not be able to see your profile. If they come across your listing through the search function (e.g. they search for "Jane Smith," which happens to be your name), all they will see is the following very limited information: your profile photo (if provided) and first, maiden (if provided) and last names; and your state/country. Before they can see anything else about you, they have to request to connect with you, and you have to accept them as a connection. We recommend that you only connect with someone you know for sure is who you think they are - even check it directly with them beforehand. Protect your private information - it's priceless!
I want to get CastleKeyp accounts for my parents, but they aren't the most tech-savvy. Can I buy one for them?
What a thoughtful child you are, and how nice would it be for your parents! They could keep track of their loved ones - be reminded about birthdays, be able to text or call with no confusion, have the right clothing sizes for their growing grandchildren, store their important information, all in one place. You can help your parents set up their own accounts, and when the time comes to subscribe, you can choose to pay for their account by putting it on your on credit card (payment method doesn't have to be in the member's name). However, you will need to access it through their unique Subscription email or through the web app, with them logged in. It's not too hard, but email us at feedback@castlekeyp.com with any questions. By the way, while we have made CastleKeyp as user-friendly as possible, just knowing our own parents, chances are they would need your help with sign-up and onboarding.
Can I share status updates on CastleKeyp?
While CastleKeyp doesn’t have a “Status Update” section, we very much believe in keeping in touch with people you care about in a direct way. For example, when you use our “Groups” feature, you can email or text a whole group of friends at once with the same message or photo, using your own email and text from your phone in the mobile app. That way you can share anything you like with your Groups, and you will know it’s getting to their best contact information. We like to think it's more personal and impactful than general status updates left for anyone to see. Another option - you can use the "Additional Information" field in your Profile if there is more about you that you want people to know - this will be visible only to CastleKeyp Contacts you set as "Friends" or "Family."
How can I delete my account?
First of all, we hope you won't want to! CastleKeyp is designed to keyp your life in order and deepen your relationships. Everyone deserves that! But if you really must go, and would like to permanently delete your account and all of its encrypted data, please email us at feedback@castlekeyp.com with your request. You will need to provide your username (the email address you signed up with) and a written request to permanently delete your account. DO NOT INCLUDE YOUR PASSWORD AND GATEKEY. Those should never be emailed or shared with anyone - those are for your eyes only. Note that once your account is deleted, all of your stored data and connections on CastleKeyp will be lost, and if you want to use CastleKeyp again in the future, you will have to create a new account and re-enter all of your information and re-establish all connections. You can always choose to FREEZE your account instead, in case you want to access it again in the future. See the Manage My Membership page by signing into the web app and going to the Settings page.
Glossary
GateKey - your unique, known-only-to-you 25-character security code that, together with your password, allows you to access your CastleKeyp. You must not lose your GateKey! CastleKeyp doesn't know it and can't give it to you if you lose it! See "Recovery Pack" entry - please keep a written record of your GateKey somewhere safe! My Keyp - your private information, including My Desk, for Private Notes (only you can see these) and Lists; My Closet, for keeping track of Clothing Sizes for you and your family; and My Safe, for storing all kinds of information, including bank accounts, insurance information, home & utilities - really any piece of information that you need to help manage your life. Imagine you go to a new dentist for your child: you'll need their social security number; your dental insurance information; the social security number of your Partner if they hold the insurance.....and that's just one small life example. Have all of that information, all in one place, in My Keyp. Then add your Partner to your "My Keyp" Group, and they can see all of that information as well and fill out the form next time... My Profile - your personal profile, with information about your home address, contact details, family, background, etc. Password - your password, chosen by you, which allows you to access your CastleKeyp. (You cannot reset your password in CastleKeyp - so don't lose or forget your password! Please write it down!) Recovery Pack - your username, password and GateKey together are the three pieces of information required to access your CastleKeyp. Your Recovery Pack is generated at sign-up and available anytime in Settings > Security. Print out the Recovery Pack, write down your password, and store the document somewhere safe, such as with your passport or in a locked desk drawer or home safe, so that you can breathe easy that you will never lose access to your CastleKeyp account!