# Build it yourself · Part 1

## Chapter 11: If family or friends use it

> Markdown copy of https://kuuko.app/build/sharing/ for agents; the HTML page is the source. Part 1 of Kuuko's guide to building the core yourself. Text: CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commands and configs: CC0.

*Checked: 30 October 2026*

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### Why

Once someone else's phone uses your server, their lookups pass through a machine you run: which names their devices ask for, and from which address. You become responsible for what your server keeps, and they deserve to know what that is.

*We're not lawyers. This chapter is a starting point, not legal advice.*

### Steps

1. **Keep nothing you don't need.** Your resolver keeps no record of lookups (chapter 4), and your logs forget within a day (chapter 7). Run both chapters' checks again before you add anyone else.
2. **Tell them in plain words what your server sees and keeps.** A short note is enough:
   - It sees the names their devices look up, and the address they come from.
   - It keeps no record of who asked for what. Your logs forget within a day (chapter 7).
   - To answer faster, it remembers recently looked-up names and their answers in memory, for up to a day, without who asked. You as the operator could read that list.
   - It blocks what your lists block, and some sites may break.
3. **Give them a way back.** Show them where the profile is (Settings → General → VPN & Device Management) and how to remove it if something stops working while your server is down.
4. **Share your private path knowingly.** Everyone you set up uses the same private address from chapter 4. If someone shouldn't use it any more, change the path on your server and update the devices of everyone else.

### The rules, in short

- **Just you and your household:** the EU's data protection rules (GDPR) don't apply to processing done by a person in the course of a purely personal or household activity.
- **Friends, colleagues, or anyone beyond that:** that exemption may no longer cover you. Then you may have duties such as a privacy notice and a legal basis for what you process, and some countries have further rules for services offered to others. Check your country's rules before offering your server to people outside your household.

### How you know it worked

- Chapter 7's checks still pass: no lookup logs, logs forget within a day.
- Each person can tell you, in their own words, what your server sees and how to switch it off.

### Time and cost

- About 15 minutes per person (our estimate).
- No extra cost: the server from chapter 3 handles a household easily.

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Previous: [Chapter 10: Keep it running](https://kuuko.app/build/upkeep/) · Back to the start: [Build it yourself](https://kuuko.app/build/)

Text: CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commands and configs: CC0