Things that are, things that shouldn’t be, maybe things to come
So just four months after the last update to its terms and conditions, Ancestry yesterday released yet another set of amendments to the rules of its road.
For the most part, there’s nothing in the changes that most users will be surprised by. In terms of things that are there currently:
• The Terms and Conditions now include an explanation of what it calls recommender systems: Ancestry Hints, Ancestry Search and My Ancestry Feed. The new language basically says these will suggest content to users and may contain personalized advertising.1
• The Privacy Statement now includes express language reminding users that information provided in answering DNA-related surveys will be used to develop more features like traits reports.2
• The Privacy Statement also expressly states that content submitted by users will be combined with data in Ancestry’s databases to help other users, presumably through thinks like Ancestry Hints and the like.3
• And the Privacy Statement has language required by some U.S. states about opting out of targeting advertising, plus lots of language required in the U.S. and other countries about rights to protect personal data.4
As to things that shouldn’t be:
• The Terms and Conditions now expressly prohibit “allowing unauthorized third parties to access Services using your credentials” — meaning no sharing of log-in info.5
• Those rules also bar any use of Ancestry’s services “in connection with any judicial proceeding.”6
• And the terms set out general guidance for how to report violations of the rules to Ancestry and how Ancestry will handle those violations.7
What’s most intriguing about the new documents is a hint of what may be things to come. There are repeated references to the possibility of DNA data uploaded from other testing services.8 To date, Ancestry has not permitted DNA data uploads from other testing services. To get DNA data into the Ancestry system, we’ve had to take an Ancestry DNA test. It’s going to be interesting to see what this might mean long term.
And other than those changes the terms and privacy statement amendments are mostly editorial.
Cite/link to this post: Judy G. Russell, “Another Ancestry TOS update,” The Legal Genealogist (https://www.legalgenealogist.com/blog : posted 18 Jan 2024).
SOURCES
- ¶ 2.3, Ancestry Terms and Conditions, effective 17 January 2024, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/ : accessed 18 Jan 2024). ↩
- Ancestry Privacy Statement, effective 17 January 2024, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/ : accessed 18 Jan 2024). ↩
- Ibid. ↩
- Ibid. ↩
- ¶ 1.3, Ancestry Terms and Conditions. ↩
- Ibid. ↩
- Ibid., ¶¶ 3.3, 3.4, 5. ↩
- See e.g. the Genetic Information paragraph in the Ancestry Privacy Statement. ↩
Thank you for this update … I’ve noticed the banner across my Ancestry screen these past few days leaving me hoping that you would be so kind as to provide a post on the changes.
I am grateful!
With regard to prohibiting “logging someone into your account then walking away to let them get on with it” or giving them your log in details … I wonder if this might extend later to limiting the number of trees we can create? I have rather a lot of trees that I’ve created sometimes to help a friend, other times when I’ve taken an interest in a historical person.
what do you think ” in connection with any judicial proceeding” is referring to?
I suspect it’s aimed directly at any use of Ancestry data in law enforcement cases, even if it’s done by a user rather than directly by law enforcement.
That is why I asked. In the typical law enforcement case there is no judicial proceeding until after the genealogy investigation is completed. Once that occurs the horse is out of the barn, the lead results in a judicial proceeding.
That’s sophistry. Any use of the database related in any way to a criminal is intended for use in a judicial proceeding.
I’m not arguing with that. Just pointing out the confusion in their choice of words
Doesn’t prohibitions against use connected to judicial proceedings affect forensic genealogists? That’s a big industry to cut off.
If the prohibition against “unauthorized third parties” credential sharing is new language, I imagine it targets more than casual friends. DNA data aggregators allow you to manage your matches from multiple websites through a single interface. That hurts Ancestry’s business model and the bursts of high-speed data access drags down their servers.
Does the prohibition against using Ancestry’s services in connection with judicial proceedings mean that heir researchers couldn’t use Ancestry to establish next-of-kin for purposes of probate?
I would say it doesn’t, but that’s just my opinion and I’ve asked Ancestry to weigh in. The terms of service say specifically that Ancestry Content (defined as “photos, videos, documents, records, indexes of content, and other content provided to you by Ancestry”) may be used for “professional family history research.” At best that creates an ambiguity with the judicial proceeding language and under the law ambiguities are construed against the drafter (here, Ancestry). In context it’s pretty clear to me that Ancestry is really aiming at the DNA issues, but… it really needs to fix the language.
I always appreciate your analysis and commentary on the legal gobbledegook. Try as I may, the stuff just makes my eyes glaze over.
Thanks,
Susan W
It seems contradictory for Ancestry to accept third party uploads while prohibiting the use of their platform for “judicial purposes”. If this happens, how could they identify uploads that violate their terms of service? Have I heard this somewhere before?
I am wondering about your interpretation – no sharing of log in info. Is it “unauthorized” if someone else ASKED you to log into their account AND gave you their log-in info? It seems to me that you are then “authorized.”
You’ll have to resolve that with Ancestry.
Is it considered “unauthorized” if a person asked/requested you to log into their account? For example, you are helping them with their tree or DNA and they requested your help and gave you their login info. I would really like an answer to this specific question.
Again, if you want absolute clarity on this, you need to ask Ancestry.
Yikes!! I am very upset to annually pay so much for ancestry.com and now they’re going to subject me to ads!!! “The new language basically says these will suggest content to users and may contain personalized advertising.1”
I’d wait to see an ad before I bothered worrying about this, personally.
Many thanks for your always succinct review of TOS changes.