Privacy Policy

1. Who is responsible

Find My Roots (FindMyRoots.online) was created by Mico Se'khu Hadjo Gentle on behalf of the Yamassee Tribe and is operated under tribal authority upon statutory Native land. Privacy questions may be sent to privacy@findmyroots.online.

2. What we collect

• Account data: email address, sign-in identifiers, and account settings.
• Research content you provide: names, dates, places, relationships, notes, uploaded documents, photographs and oral histories.
• Service data: search history, saved evidence, citations, research jobs and provenance logs.
• Technical data: device and browser information, IP address, and basic security and error logs.
• Billing data: handled by our payment processor. We do not store full card numbers.

3. Why we use it

To operate your account, run genealogy searches, store and display your evidence, prevent fraud and abuse, provide support, meet legal and tribal obligations, and improve reliability. We do not sell personal or family data, and we do not use your private archive to train third-party models.

4. Artificial intelligence

Interactive AI features are designed to run on your own device in your browser, or through an endpoint controlled by the service operator. Search and evidence functions work with AI disabled. AI is used to explain and organize evidence already retrieved — it never invents ancestors, records or citations.

5. Sharing

We share information only with:

• collaborators you personally invite to a case;
• infrastructure providers who host, secure and process data on our behalf under confidentiality obligations;
• public archives, when a search query is sent to them — never your private uploads;
• authorities where required by applicable tribal or other law.

6. Sensitive and cultural information

Records may reference race, tribal classification, health, religion or other sensitive matters. Historical classifications are preserved as evidence of how a record described a person, not as proof of identity, ethnicity or citizenship. Tribal and cultural material is treated as protected cultural patrimony of the Yamassee Tribe and is access-controlled.

7. Security

Data is encrypted in transit and at rest, access is restricted by row-level security so records are visible only to their owner and invited collaborators, and administrative access is limited and logged. No system is perfectly secure; we notify affected users of a material breach without undue delay.

8. Retention and deletion

We keep your content while your account is active. You may delete individual documents, cases or your whole account at any time; deleted content is removed from active systems promptly and from backups on our normal backup cycle. Limited records may be retained where required for legal, accounting or security purposes.

9. Your rights

Subject to applicable law you may request access to, correction of, export of, or deletion of your personal data, and may object to or restrict certain processing. Contact privacy@findmyroots.online and we will respond within a reasonable period.

10. Children

The service is not directed to children under 16. Living relatives, including minors, may appear in your private research; you are responsible for handling that information respectfully and lawfully.

11. International transfers

Data may be processed on infrastructure located outside your region. We use providers that apply recognized safeguards for such transfers.

12. Changes

Material changes to this policy will be posted here with a new effective date. Continued use after the change means you accept the updated policy.