Your preferred name
One human, one name. Whether you sign in with a code by email, with Apple or with Google, your family sees the name you chose — on every post, in every chat, on the tree.
Setting it
In the app, tap your photo at the top to open the menu, then Profile. The first field is Preferred name: type how your family knows you and save. From then on it is the name beside your posts and comments, in chat threads and group calls, on your node in the tree, and in the weekly family digest — including on things you shared before you set it.
What it outranks
Your preferred name wins over every other name Kunbaa could show: the name your sign-in provider passes along, the name on the tree card the family made for you, and any name saved with an old post. Leave it blank and Kunbaa falls back to your tree card. An email address is never shown as a name, on any surface.
One account, several ways in
Signing in with your email code one day and Google the next does not make two people. Both reach the same account, the same family and the same name. If you ever saw your own posts under two different names, that came from the days before preferred names; setting one now fixes the old posts too.
Your tree card is separate
The card on the family tree is the family record — given name, surname, dates, relationships — and it belongs to the tree, not to your sign-in. Your preferred name is the label written beside it. If the record itself is wrong, edit the card.
Questions families ask
Where do I set it?
In the app: tap your photo at the top to open the menu, then Profile, then Preferred name. Type how your family knows you and save. It shows everywhere from the next refresh.
What if I leave it blank?
Kunbaa uses your name from the family tree — the card the family made for you when you were invited, or the one you made yourself. Your email address is never shown as your name.
I signed in with Google once and with email another time. Why did my posts show two names?
Before preferred names, each sign-in could carry the name from that provider — Google's, or the one you typed. That is fixed: the two sign-ins are one account, and a preferred name outranks both. Set it once and every old post and message shows it too.
Does it change my name on the tree?
The tree card keeps its own full name — that is the family record, with given name, surname and dates — and your preferred name is what is written beside your posts, chats and the tree node. Edit the card itself if the record is wrong.
Can I use a nickname?
Yes. Nani, Bhaiya, Aunty Meena — whatever the family actually calls you. It is only ever shown inside your family space.
Why do my own posts say 'You'?
On your own screen, your posts and comments are labelled You so you can tell your contributions from everyone else's at a glance. Everyone else sees your preferred name.