This Privacy Policy explains how Sandes Ancestry collects, uses, protects, and discloses information relating to family members and site users.
1. Information We Collect
We collect information primarily related to genealogical research and the operation of the website.
A. Genealogical Data
This data includes biographical details necessary for constructing the family tree.
- For Deceased Individuals: Full names, dates and places of birth, marriage, and death, relationships to other family members, key life events, and source citations (references).
- For Living Individuals: Full names, date of birth (or year of birth), and relationships to other family members. We collect only the minimum data required for accurate genealogical linkage.
B. User Data
This data is collected from site visitors who register to access protected content.
- Registration Data: Your name, email address, and a chosen password (stored encrypted).
- Correspondence Data: Information you provide when contacting us via email (e.g., updates, corrections, contributions).
- Log Data: Information automatically recorded by our server when you visit the site (e.g., IP address, browser type, pages viewed, time of visit).
2. How We Use the Information
- To Conduct Research: To accurately map and maintain the Sandes family tree and link individuals.
- To Operate and Secure the Website: To provide access to content and to maintain the security and integrity of our systems.
- To Protect Privacy: To enforce the privacy restrictions outlined in Section 3, ensuring living individuals' data is only accessible to authorized users.
- To Communicate: To respond to your requests, queries, and contributions.
3. Protection of Living Individuals (Privacy Policy Enforcement)
The protection of the privacy of living family members is our highest priority.
- General Visitors: If you are not logged into an authenticated user account, all pages and data pertaining to living family members are hidden from view.
- Authenticated Users: Access to information about living family members is restricted to registered and logged-in users who have been verified as belonging to the Sandes family or being married to a Sandes family member.
- Data Minimization: We strive to keep information about living individuals to a minimum. Sensitive personal information (e.g., current address, phone numbers, detailed professional information) is not published on this website.
4. Data Sources and Contributions
The genealogical data on this site comes from:
- Public Records: Including census records, parish registers, civil registration, and wills.
- Family Contributions: Information, records, and photos provided directly by family members via email. By contributing information, you warrant that you have the right to share it and are happy for it to be included under the terms of this policy.
5. Disclosure of Information
Sandes ancestry does not sell, rent, or trade any personal information or genealogical data with third parties.
We may disclose information only if required to do so by law or in the good faith belief that such action is necessary to comply with legal processes or protect the rights and property of Sandes Ancestry or the family members.
6. Your Rights and Contact
As a user or family member, you have the right to:
- Access: Request copies of the information we hold about you.
- Correction: Request that any information we hold about you that is inaccurate be corrected.
- Deletion: Request the removal of your personal information, particularly if you are a living individual, subject to our need to retain essential data for genealogical continuity.
- Opt-out of Visibility: If you are a living family member and do not wish your name to appear on the website, even to authenticated users, please contact us to request exclusion.
If you have any questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy or the data we hold, please contact Michael Sandes at the email address provided on the homepage.
