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FAQs

Smitty FAQ: How the AI Family Assistant Works

Everything you need to know about setup, privacy, pricing, school platforms, and how Smitty turns family logistics into calm morning texts.

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Getting Started with Smitty

How forwarding, setup, school platforms, and attachments work when you first start using Smitty.

How does Smitty work?

Smitty is an AI family assistant that turns school emails, sports schedules, camp confirmations, and family logistics into a clean daily update. You get a private forwarding address when you sign up, forward your family emails (or set them to auto-forward), and Smitty reads everything, pulls out the dates, action items, and details that matter, and emails you a calm morning update with what you need to know that day. You can also get an evening update with alerts for what is coming tomorrow, weekend previews on Friday, and week-ahead previews on Sunday if you want. Tell Smitty when you want to be notified and let us handle the rest!

What emails should I forward to Smitty?

Forward anything that adds to your family's mental load: school newsletters, class-parent emails, PTA flyers, sports schedules, camp confirmations, birthday party invites, doctor appointments, music lessons, picture day notices, permission slips, and volunteer signups. If it's coming at your family and someone has to remember it, send it to Smitty.

Can I auto-forward emails to Smitty?

Yes, and auto-forwarding is the goal. Manual forwarding works fine, but most families set up a forwarding rule once and never think about it again. Our setup guide covers Gmail, Outlook, iCloud, and Yahoo. Most families get to set-it-and-forget-it in about five minutes.

How long does Smitty take to set up?

Under ten minutes for most families. You'll add your kids and any co-parent, set your morning update time, copy your forwarding address, and decide what to auto-forward. Smitty starts working immediately and you'll usually see your first processed email show up within a minute of forwarding it.

Does Smitty work with ParentSquare?

Yes. ParentSquare sends email notifications for posts, announcements, and class updates. Forward those emails (or auto-forward them) and Smitty pulls out the dates, action items, and details that matter. Most ParentSquare families set up auto-forwarding once and never think about it again.

Does Smitty work with Seesaw?

Yes, with one extra step. Seesaw keeps most content inside the app rather than sending full details by email. To use Smitty with Seesaw, screenshot the post and send it to Smitty - it reads images and pulls out dates, names, and action items, just like it does with emails and PDFs.

Does Smitty work with ClassDojo?

Yes. ClassDojo, like Seesaw, keeps content inside the app. Screenshot the message or announcement and send it to Smitty. It reads the image, pulls out the details, and adds anything time-sensitive to your update and calendar.

Does Smitty work with Brightwheel?

Yes. For Brightwheel updates that arrive by email, forward them to Smitty. For in-app posts, screenshot and send. Smitty handles both.

Does Smitty work with Konstella or Bloomz?

Yes. Konstella, Bloomz, and most school newsletter platforms send email notifications. Auto-forward those to Smitty and you're set. If your school uses a platform we haven't listed, email us at hello@smittyhq.com - we're always adding sources.

Can Smitty read PDFs, flyers, and screenshots?

Yes. Smitty reads PDFs, flyers, screenshots, and photos of paper documents. The field trip permission slip buried in a PDF attachment, the flyer for picture day, the screenshot of a ClassDojo post - if it has dates, names, or action items in it, Smitty can pull them out.

Privacy and Data Security

What Smitty stores, how family data is protected, and what happens when you cancel.

Is my family's data private and secure with Smitty?

Yes. Your data is encrypted in transit and at rest. Every database query is scoped to one household, and we run automated audits to verify that. Your forwarded emails, attachments, and family details are visible only to the adults you've added to your household - not to other Smitty users, not to advertisers, not to anyone outside the small team that builds and supports the product. You can read more on our security page.

Does Smitty sell my data?

No. Smitty has never sold data, has no plans to sell data, and has no advertising or data-broker relationships in our business model. Your subscription is how we make money. That's the entire business.

Is Smitty safe for storing information about my kids?

Yes. Smitty is built for parents and guardians - kids don't have accounts, don't log in, and don't interact with the product directly. Any information about your children is provided by you and treated as sensitive household data: encrypted, isolated to your household, never sold, never used for AI training.

Is Smitty COPPA and FERPA aware?

Yes. Smitty is designed with both COPPA and FERPA in mind. Kids don't have accounts and don't interact with the product directly, and your child's data is never sold, shared, or used for training. If your school district has specific data-handling requirements you want to confirm, email hello@smittyhq.com.

What happens to my data if I cancel Smitty?

When you cancel, we delete your account and all associated data within 30 days. If you want immediate deletion, email hello@smittyhq.com and we'll handle it within 5 business days.

Smitty & AI

How Smitty uses AI, which model powers it, and why we use it sparingly.

Is Smitty "an AI"?

Smitty is mostly traditional software (databases, calendars, APIs, and rules) with AI used only where it genuinely helps: reading messy school emails, PDFs, and flyers and pulling out the dates, names, and action items. Think of AI as one specialized tool in Smitty's toolbox, not the whole toolbox.

What AI does Smitty use, and what's its environmental footprint?

We use Claude Haiku, one of the smaller, more efficient models available, and we only call it when we truly need to (reading a new email, PDF, or screenshot). Everything else, including your calendar, reminders, updates, and settings, runs on traditional, low-energy code. Based on available estimates, Haiku consumes roughly 60 to 75% less energy per query than larger models like Claude Sonnet, and a small fraction of what the largest frontier models use. The net effect: a forwarded school email to Smitty uses a small fraction of the energy a typical AI chatbot session does. We chose Haiku deliberately. Bigger isn't always better when the job is "find the field trip date in this email."

How often does Smitty actually use AI?

Only when new information comes in that needs to be understood, like a forwarded email, a flyer, a screenshot, or an attachment. Once that information is extracted and stored, everything else (your morning update, calendar views, reminders, week-ahead summaries) runs on traditional, low-energy code. Opening the app, scrolling your calendar, or getting your daily text does not trigger AI calls.

Does Smitty's AI make decisions for my family?

No. Smitty extracts information (dates, names, action items) and surfaces it back to you. It doesn't RSVP for you, message your child's teacher, decide what's important, or take actions on your behalf without your input. You stay the parent. Smitty just makes sure nothing falls through the cracks.

Is my family's data used to train AI models?

No. Your forwarded emails, attachments, calendar, and family details are not used to train any AI model, ours or our providers'. We process Smitty's reasoning through enterprise AI APIs that operate under zero-retention contracts, meaning our AI providers are contractually prohibited from storing or training on your data. Smitty exists to serve your family, full stop.

Could I do this myself without AI?

Yes, and many parents do. It's exhausting. The mental load of reading every school email, decoding every flyer, and manually entering events into a shared calendar is exactly what burns parents out. Smitty uses just enough AI to remove that specific burden, and nothing more.

Will Smitty's AI ever get something wrong?

Occasionally, yes, especially with unusual formats or handwritten notes in photos. That's why every email Smitty processes appears in the Activity view on the web app, with the original source, what Smitty extracted, and what it added to your calendar. You can correct anything in one tap.

Daily Use

What Smitty sends, when it sends it, and how you control reminders after setup.

What if Smitty gets something wrong?

Smitty shows its work. Every email Smitty processes appears in the Activity view on the web app, with the original source, what Smitty extracted, and what it added to your calendar. You can correct anything in one tap. (For more on AI accuracy and where Smitty is most likely to need a second look, see Will Smitty's AI ever get something wrong?)

What's in the Smitty morning update?

The morning update is a single calm text delivered at the time you choose - most families pick between 5:30 and 7:00 AM. It covers everything that matters today: each kid's schedule, anything they need to bring, action items due today, and a heads-up on anything happening this evening.

What's in the Smitty evening update?

The evening update is tomorrow's prep - what's on the calendar, packing lists, forms to sign tonight, early-dismissal alerts. It also includes a short look at the week ahead and a list of anything Smitty added to your calendar that day that you might want to double-check.

Can I snooze or dismiss Smitty reminders?

Today every reminder can be acknowledged or dismissed. Once you've handled something, Smitty stops bringing it up. We are working on snooze now and will let you know when it is working.

Will Smitty text me in the middle of the night or during meetings?

No. Smitty respects quiet hours, which you set in Settings - most families pick something like 9 PM to 6 AM. Nothing comes through during quiet hours unless you've explicitly opted in to urgent alerts for time-sensitive items like a school closure.

Does Smitty work over text?

SMS is coming soon, so WhatsApp is currently the default. If you don't have WhatsApp, you can still get all the email updates and access to the online calendar to reduce the mental load of managing your family's schedules. Once we have confirmed text is working, you can switch to SMS in Settings and choose what you want to be texted about.

Family Setup

How households, co-parents, kids, caregivers, and calendars fit together in Smitty.

Can both parents use Smitty?

Yes. Smitty Family ($19.99/month) includes up to two parents on one household, with a shared inbox and calendar feed. Both parents get the updates and reminders they want, both can see and correct what Smitty has processed, and you're working from the same source of truth.

Is there a family calendar app for divorced or co-parenting families?

Today, Smitty Family supports two parents in one household. For families coordinating across two households with different custody schedules, we're building custody-aware scheduling as part of Smitty Premium - each parent will see the right view of the week based on who has the kids when. Email us at hello@smittyhq.com to get early access.

How many kids can I add to Smitty?

As many as you need. Smitty was originally built for a family with four kids, so large families aren't an edge case - they're the design center.

Can grandparents or nannies get the Smitty update?

Caregiver support is on our roadmap. Today, the update goes to the adults on your household account. If extending to caregivers would change your life, tell us at hello@smittyhq.com - that feedback drives what we build next.

Does Smitty sync with or replace Google Calendar and Apple Calendar?

It's up to you. Smitty has its own calendar at smittyhq.com so you can view everything in one place. A shared calendar doesn't reduce the mental load - someone still has to read every email, decide what matters, type it in, and remember to look at it later. Smitty does the reading, the deciding, and the remembering. If synching with a calendar would be helpful, let us know at hello@smittyhq.com.

Pricing

Trial length, monthly plans, cancellation, and why Smitty is subscription-only.

How much does Smitty cost?

Smitty has two plans: Smitty Lite is $12.99/month for one parent, and Smitty Family is $19.99/month for up to two parents on one household. Annual plans save you about two months a year compared to monthly.

Is there a free trial of Smitty?

Yes. Smitty offers a 60-day free trial with no credit card required. Sign up, forward as many emails as you want, and see what a calm morning text feels like before you decide.

What happens after my Smitty free trial ends?

We'll send a heads-up before the trial ends. If you want to continue, add a payment method and pick a plan. If you don't, your account pauses and we delete your data within 30 days. No surprise charges.

Can I cancel Smitty anytime?

Yes. One click in Settings. No retention calls, no 'are you sure' loops, no hidden cancellation flow.

Why doesn't Smitty have a free tier?

A free product has to make money somewhere - usually through ads, data, or premium upsell tactics that degrade the free experience. Charging a small monthly fee keeps our incentives aligned with yours: build something worth paying for, keep your data private, and don't waste your time.

Comparisons

How Smitty differs from calendars and what it means to reduce family mental load.

How is Smitty different from Cozi?

Cozi is a shared family calendar - a place you go to look things up. Smitty is a family operations assistant - it does the looking up for you and texts you what matters. Cozi expects you to read every email and enter events yourself; Smitty reads the emails and extracts the events. Cozi is ad-supported; Smitty is subscription-only, with no ads, no data sales, and no AI training on your family.

What is a family operations assistant?

A family operations assistant is a service that handles the invisible work of running a household - reading emails, tracking schedules, surfacing deadlines, and reminding the right person at the right time. Unlike a shared family calendar, it does that work for you. Smitty is a family operations assistant built around text messages.

Is there an app that reads my school emails for me?

Yes - Smitty does exactly that. Forward your school emails (or set up auto-forwarding), and Smitty reads every newsletter, class-parent email, PTA flyer, permission slip, and schedule change. It pulls out the dates, action items, and details that matter, then texts you a calm morning update with what you need to know that day.

How do I reduce the mental load of parenting?

The mental load of parenting is the invisible work of remembering, planning, and routing information for everyone in the family. You can reduce it by externalizing the inputs (stop trying to remember things in your head), automating the routing (use a tool that reads and sorts the inputs for you), and getting reminders in context (a timely text the morning of, rather than a list you have to check). Smitty is built around all three.

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