Certain things should be kept in the family – everybody knows that.

But on planet Facebook, that feat has turned virtually impossible. That’s why a pack of entrepreneurs in New York City have recently launched a site called Rootsy.

The new social networking site is for you and your family – and that’s it. That means, gory pics from the birthing room, embarrassing family reunion clips, details of junior’s first poop and other personal family moments now have a place to be shared safely – and where everybody watching is actually interested.

A co-founder of Rootsy, Cezary Pietrzak said, “People have their Facebook personality and are trying to create and image for themselves. We’re going for higher-value type of content.”

Roosty launched last week and its creators were eager to express that their intention with the site was to create a platform that would take care of one of the biggest problems with most current social networking sites: lack of privacy. With Rootsy, you can grow your own digital family tree, and then connect with only those people in your family.

The way it works is simple:

1. Add yourself to the family tree.

2. Add your spouse, brother, sister, mom, dad, son or daughter – each relative you add can then be invited to join your network by just entering their email address.

3. As each member joins, they too can invite others to get in on Rootsy – and you can watch your tree grow.

Whoever starts the digital tree is assigned the admin, however as time goes on and more family members join, Rootsy allows other people more capabilities for managing the tree, too.

The best part is, all users of Rootsy are sent notifications when major family events happen – and all of this data is absolutely private. You don’t have to worry about the site syncing your personal family info with other popular social networking sites like Facebook or Twitter. Barely any family these days is “traditional” but Rootsy’s covered most of the bases by building in most members that a person might want to add to his or her tree from same-sex spouses to in-laws to divorcees – and even second cousins. You cannot however include step children or your own ex-hubby (who’d want to?); you can, however add the exes of those members higher up in the tree.

As of yet, Rootsy doesn’t cost a thing. And if this new site sounds a bit like Ancestry.com, you’re not alone in thinking so. However, Pietrzak has noted that while for now Rootsy does not want to be the next Ancestry.com, if Rootsy members begin to show and interest in their own ancestry’s, the company may consider some kind of a collaboration. Rootsy however, seems more focused on fostering relationships and communication with immediate family members as opposed to researching the history of a family’s roots.

*cc image from flickr