Privacy Policy

Who we are

Visit My Roots helps you plan trips using information from family trees you upload. Our infrastructure is designed so your account data and tree-derived content stay under your control, within the limits described below.

What we collect

• Account: email address and authentication data (passwords are hashed; we never see your plaintext password).
• GEDCOM-derived data: after you upload a GEDCOM file, we parse it on our servers. We retain structured data about deceased individuals (names, dates, places) needed for maps and guides. Raw GEDCOM uploads are stored in private storage for up to 30 days to support re-processing, root changes, and coordinate refresh — then deleted automatically unless you delete them sooner from your account.
• Trip and guide data: destinations, selected locations, trip-day layouts, guide status, and generated PDF storage paths as needed to provide the service.
• Billing: if you choose an optional paid plan (e.g. Explorer for enhanced export), Stripe processes payment data; we store subscription status and Stripe customer identifiers needed to manage billing. Core trip planning and field guides do not require a subscription.
• Compliance: records such as GDPR consent where applicable, and preferences like analytics opt-in stored on your account.

How we use information

We use data only to run and improve the product you signed up for, for example:

• authenticating you and protecting your account;
• building maps, trip plans, and AI-assisted guide content from your deceased ancestors’ records;
• delivering PDF guides and optional share links you choose to create;
• processing subscriptions and fraud prevention;
• meeting legal obligations and responding to valid requests.

Artificial intelligence

Some features send limited tree-derived content to a third-party AI provider, Anthropic (Claude), to generate field guide narratives and, if you choose to use it, to suggest corrections for unresolved places. You start guide generation yourself; place suggestions are optional and only run when you request them.

What we send: only information about deceased ancestors needed for the request — for example names, life dates, relationships to you, event places, and trip context. We do not send your full GEDCOM file, your account email, payment details, or records about living persons. Some heritage context blurbs use only a place and historical era, without ancestor names.

Model training: we do not use your tree data to train our own models. Anthropic processes API requests under its Commercial Terms, which state that Anthropic does not train its models on customer content submitted through the API. This is different from consumer Claude chat plans, where training preferences may apply. API inputs may be retained for a limited period (typically up to 30 days) for abuse monitoring and safety, then deleted per Anthropic's policies.

To stop future AI processing of your tree data, do not generate new guides or AI place suggestions, and you may delete your account at any time (see Retention and GDPR rights below).

Deceased persons and living relatives

Information about deceased persons is processed to generate your personal guides and maps. Under EU GDPR, personal data protection generally does not extend to deceased persons (see Recital 27). We still treat all tree-derived data as yours: we do not sell it, license it for ads, or build a public search index of ancestor names across users.

Living persons identified in your GEDCOM are excluded from stored structured data, guides, and external AI processing. Only deceased persons’ records are kept for product features.

Where data is processed

We host account, tree, and guide data with EU-based cloud infrastructure providers for authentication, database, and private file storage. Map and routing features may call Google services using coordinates and place names from your trip plan, not your full tree file. Other processors handle payments (Stripe), AI generation (Anthropic — see above), and transactional email. Each processes data only as needed for the feature you use.

Third-party services

We use trusted subprocessors to run the service, including cloud hosting (auth, database, storage), Stripe (payments), Anthropic (AI features described above), Google (maps and directions), and a transactional email provider. We do not sell personal information to anyone.

Retention

We keep data while your account is active and as needed for legal, security, or billing purposes. You may request deletion of your account; completing deletion removes your guides and tree-derived records subject to the flow described in our GDPR page.

Your GDPR rights

If EU/UK law applies, you have rights including access, rectification, erasure, restriction, objection (where applicable), and data portability. See GDPR — your rights for how to exercise them, including self-service options under Account settings.

Contact

Questions about this policy or privacy requests: andrewprimary@gmail.com.

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