Family Archive Metadata Schema
For the method in Archiving Family Photos and Stories Without Inventing History.
Not for
Entering AI-generated guesses as confirmed fact, or archiving identifiable children’s photos beyond a private family archive without a parent or guardian’s explicit agreement.
The metadata table
One row per item. Fill in what you can source; mark the rest unknown. Label an estimate only when you can record who made it, when, and its basis.
| Item ID | Type | Date (confirmed/estimate) | Source | People identified (confirmed/estimate/unknown) | Consent status | Retention / removal | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Master copy and backup record
- Original/master location:
- File hash or stable identifier:
- Backup location(s):
- Last restore check:
- Access owner: | | | | | | | | |
Consent log (per identifiable living person)
| Name | Items covered | Private-archive only? | OK to share more widely? | Date asked | Their words | Withdrawal requested? | Action taken (remove/redact/restrict) | Action date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ☐ | ☐ | ☐ | ||||||
| ☐ | ☐ | ☐ |
When consent is withdrawn
- Item removed from shared views, or person redacted, within an agreed timeframe
- Original media retained only if still needed and still permitted
- Metadata updated so the withdrawal is visible to other archive keepers
- Provider-held copies / AI tool uploads handled according to the verified deletion path; limits or exceptions recorded
Children’s data — stricter default
- Assumed private-family-archive-only unless a parent/guardian explicitly agreed otherwise
- Checked the AI tool’s data retention/training policy before uploading any identifiable child photo
- Original, unenhanced version kept alongside any AI-restored or colorized version
Claim review log
Review when new evidence appears, before wider sharing, or on a risk-based schedule. A relative’s recollection is testimony, not independent confirmation; preserve its speaker, date, and basis.
| Item ID | Claim | Status (unknown/estimate/testimony/verified/disputed) | Source or testimony basis | Date reviewed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Restoration / colorization tracking
| Item ID | Original kept? | AI-processed version labeled as such? | What was added/changed by the tool |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☐ | ☐ |
The three prompts to reuse
1. Transcribe with confidence tagged
Transcribe this recording [attach or paste the audio/transcript tool's
raw output]. Where the audio is unclear, mark that section as [unclear]
rather than guessing at words. Do not fill in gaps with plausible-
sounding text — an incomplete accurate transcript is more useful to me
than a complete but partly invented one.
2. Draft a consent question
Help me draft a short, plain-language consent question to ask a family
member about a specific set of photos or recordings they appear in —
covering whether they're comfortable being included in a private family
archive, and separately, whether they're comfortable with any of it
being shared more widely (e.g. with extended family, or publicly).
Keep it a genuine question, not a leading one.
3. Build the metadata table structure
Help me design a metadata table for a family archive with these
columns: Item ID, Type (photo/recording/document), Date (confirmed or
estimate — label clearly which), Source (whose collection, who provided
the information), People identified (with status: verified/estimate/
testimony/unknown/disputed), Consent status (per identifiable living
person), and Notes. Never treat a recollection as independent
confirmation; record its speaker, date, and basis. Use the fields I've described; don't add new metadata
categories without asking.
If a family disagreement surfaces
If accounts of the same event conflict across relatives, record both versions with their sources rather than picking one as the official account, and mark the item’s confidence status as “disputed.”