Common questions
The things people ask before signing up
Mostly about what the other parent can see, and what happens to your information later. Both are fair questions, so the answers are direct.
Getting started
Setting up a family, and what happens before your co-parent joins.
Can I start on my own, before my co-parent joins?
Yes. One parent creates the family, adds the children and gets the schedule in. Anything that needs both of you — agreeing a split, answering a schedule request — shows as waiting for your co-parent. Everything you have set up is there when they arrive.
What if my co-parent never joins?
It still works for you on your own — the calendar, the children’s details, your own notes and your side of the shared costs. It is obviously more useful once both of you are in it, since half the point is not having to relay things twice.
Do we both need iPhones?
No. Halven runs as a full web app with the same features, so either of you can work entirely from a browser. Premium is purchased through the iOS app, but once it is active it applies everywhere, for both of you.
How do we set up our custody schedule?
Pick a template during setup — alternating weeks, 2-2-3, 2-2-5-5, 3-4-4-3, every weekend — or build a custom repeating pattern with a parent assigned to each day. Exchange times are part of the pattern, so each handover appears as its own item on the calendar. Public holidays and school terms for New Zealand and Australia are built in.
Can grandparents or a step-parent have access?
Yes, on Premium, at no extra charge, for up to ten people. The parent who invites them chooses what they can see: the calendar, messaging with that parent only, or adding journal moments. They never see expenses, and they are clearly labelled wherever they appear.
Your co-parent
The questions that usually decide whether someone signs up.
Does my co-parent have to agree to use it?
They have to accept an invitation to join your family, and there is no way to add someone without them creating their own account. You do not need their agreement to start setting things up on your own side.
Can they see what I write before I send it?
No. Drafts are yours. So are tone check results and any rewrite suggestion — those are visible only to you, are never stored, and your co-parent is never told the tool ran. All they ever see is the message you chose to send.
Does one of us have more control than the other?
No. Both parents can do exactly the same things and there is no admin parent, deliberately. Anything that changes a shared arrangement — the split, the schedule, turning on call recording — is something one of you proposes and the other agrees to. Even paying for the subscription grants no extra powers; it shows as "Premium — paid by" a name, and that is the whole effect.
Can they see my private notes and files?
No. Private journal moments, private calendar events and your My Files space are yours alone. You can still include your private moments in your own summaries.
Will they know if I pull a summary of our messages?
Yes. Summaries are visible to both parents, showing what was included and the date range. That works both ways, and it means neither of you has to wonder what the other is doing.
What if they claim they never saw a message?
You can see when a message was first opened, so you are not left guessing. For the things that really matter — a proposed change to the split or the schedule — an email always goes out, even if push notifications are switched off entirely.
Your information
What stays put, how summaries work, and what happens if you stop paying.
Can anything be edited or deleted?
Most things you would want to change, you can. Calendar events are editable, and so is everything in the Info Bank — with the previous version kept, so you can see what a dose used to be. A cost added by mistake can be removed, and it stays visible with the reason so the balance still adds up. Messages and check-ins stay as they were written, mostly so neither of you has to re-read a thread wondering whether it changed.
What does a summary actually look like?
A PDF, opening with a page saying what is included and the period it covers. You choose what goes in: a message thread or date range, the list of costs and what has been settled, the calendar and swap history, check-ins, the call log, or your journal.
Can I share a summary with a lawyer or accountant?
Yes. Summaries are yours to download and send to whoever you like. If you are working with a mediator, a lawyer or a parenting coach on an ongoing basis, Premium also lets you give them read-only access to the parts they need for a set period, rather than emailing PDFs back and forth. Both parents are told when someone is given access.
Can I get a summary of just my side of a conversation?
No — a thread comes out as the conversation it was. Both of you can prepare exactly the same summary for the same period, which means neither of you ends up working from half the picture.
Privacy
Location, children’s data, and what leaving looks like.
Does Halven track my location?
No. Location is captured at the moment you tap a check-in, and at no other time. There is no background tracking, no continuous location permission and no location history — only the individual check-ins you chose to make.
Do you sell or share our data?
No. There is no advertising in Halven, no ad networks, no cross-app tracking and no data sold or shared with brokers. The business model is a subscription, which is the whole point of having one.
What happens if I delete my account?
Your name becomes "Former co-parent", your login is purged and your private files are deleted. The shared part — messages, the expense list, the calendar — stays for the parent still using it, since closing one account should not empty the other parent’s calendar or wipe out what they are still owed. If both of you want the whole family removed, it is, after a 30-day grace period and then a complete deletion.
What data do you hold about our children?
Only what runs the calendar and the Info Bank: name, date of birth, an optional photo, and whatever you choose to add. Children have no email addresses in the system and there is no child-facing analytics.
Plans and billing
Short version — one subscription, whole family, 30 days to try it.
Do we both have to subscribe?
No. One subscription covers the whole family. One parent subscribes and both parents get it, along with every grandparent, step-parent or carer attached to the family.
What is the difference between Basic and Premium?
Basic is everything you need to run the week — the shared calendar, custody patterns, swap requests, message threads, the shared list of costs and the Info Bank. Premium adds the tone tools, calls, journal moments and check-ins, PDF summaries, parenting-time reports, calendar sync, more storage, and accounts for grandparents and step-parents.
Is there a free trial?
Thirty days, on either plan. You are not charged until it ends and you can cancel any time before then.
Can we split the cost?
Yes. Whoever pays can propose sharing it through your shared costs, entering the amount they were actually charged. Once the other parent agrees, each renewal shows up as an ordinary shared cost at your agreed split. Either of you can stop the arrangement at any time.
Still unsure
Email support@gethalven.com and a person will answer. Or start a free trial and look around for a month — setting up the schedule takes a few minutes, and that is the part that pays off first.