Privacy notice

This notice describes how the current Living Tree Archive pilot handles information. Updated September 24, 2026.

Information you provide

We keep account identifiers and verified email addresses, profile information, archive invitations and roles, photographs, documents, stories, family relationships, captions, and review decisions. Quote requests include the contact and collection details you submit.

Personal uploads and family sharing

Personal uploads are associated with the uploading account. Submitting a copy for family review and publishing it to an approved family audience are separate actions. Family owners and reviewers can examine material submitted for their review. Access to family material depends on archive membership, role, publication status, and family-circle rules. Creating an account does not grant access to another person’s archive.

Services used to operate the archive

The site uses hosted infrastructure and storage, Clerk for family-account authentication, and connected archive services for some records and media. When you choose a third-party sign-in method or open an external source, that provider also handles information under its own policies.

Optional face matching

Personal face matching requires enabling it in the photo review workspace. Images and face data are processed by the connected recognition service to suggest matches. Suggestions are not verified identities; people must confirm them. Personal matching is separate from identification in the shared family archive.

The “disable” action for personal matching removes stored provider face identifiers and suggestions through the recognition service, while retaining confirmed names and original photographs. A failed removal is reported rather than represented as complete.

Preservation, corrections, and removal requests

The archive separates preserved originals from viewing copies and retains provenance and review records. Ask your family steward to review corrections, sharing changes, or removal requests. For an account or privacy request, contact the archive team using the request form and describe the request without including passwords or unnecessary sensitive information.

There is no automatic deletion schedule promised by this notice. A request concerning a personal upload may also involve a separately shared family copy, an original source record, or an external service; the archive team needs to review those separately. Owner exports include archive records and stored files, while some externally linked originals need separate preservation.

Care with living people

Share only information you are authorized to provide. Avoid adding sensitive information about living relatives unless it is necessary and you have permission. You can choose the sharing preference when submitting material.