Privacy Policy

Kathy Gillen Genealogy Research Services’ (KGGRS) Privacy Policy follows key principles of "good information handling".  The key aim is to ensure personal information is:

• Used fairly, lawfully and transparently
• Used for specific and explicit purposes
• Used in a way that is adequate, relevant, and limited to only what is necessary
• Accurate and, where necessary, kept up to date
• Kept for no longer than is necessary
• Handled in a way that ensures appropriate security, including protection against unlawful or unauthorised processing, access, loss, destruction or damage

Why do we collect information?

To communicate with our Families.

To conduct family history research, compile a Family Tree (“Tree”) and Profiles on individuals, both living and deceased, which are supported by documentary evidence, available online or collected from our Families.

What personal information is held for our Families?

• Full name
• Telephone number
• Email address
• Postal address

Personal information is treated as strictly confidential and will NOT be passed to any third party provider. 

To ensure that information is up to date, we will communicate with our Families annually to seek confirmation.  

How long do we retain information?

Genealogy services tend to continue over lengthy periods of time.  As such, our retention policy reflects this ongoing value by retaining our Families' information on our system until they inform us of their desire to delete their data.  

What type of Information will we collect from our Families for research purposes? 

Our aim is to collect all known information about the "base" person to be researched and their direct ancestors i.e. parents, grandparents, great-grandparents etc., and, to a lesser degree, their children, e.g.

• Full names, including middle names and maiden names
• Dates and places of birth, marriage, death
• Occupations
• Locations of residence
• Any other known information

This is to assist in the research process and ensure that the right individual/family is researched.  This is particularly relevant when a person has a popular christian/surname e.g. John Smith.

What type of documents will we collect from our Families?

• Birth, marriage, death records and certificates
• Newspaper cuttings
• Obituaries etc.

Plus:

• Family photos and other memorabilia

Digitised copies will be placed in the online Gallery in the Tree and linked to relevant individual’s Profile; originals will be returned to our Families. 

In addition to supporting known information about the family, a key benefit is that these items will be in a central archive, which is easily accessible by  family members both now and in the future. 

For additional security, only transcriptions of birth certificates will be included on Profiles for living individuals. 

What Genealogy website is used?

The Genealogy website we use for compiling and building the Tree is ancestry.co.uk (“Ancestry”).  

How is personal information on Ancestry protected?

Information about living individuals on Ancestry is automatically hidden, and is NOT included in searches by other members. 

It is also possible to control what members of Ancestry may see for deceased individuals.  This is by choosing the appropriate level of privacy for a Tree: Public or Private.

What is a Public Tree?

Public is when a Tree is publicly viewable, and allows other members to view the content in a Tree including Profiles, supporting documents, photos etc. on deceased individuals, but excluding living individuals and private notes.

A benefit of a Public Tree, is that it is possible for other members who are researching the same individual/family to analyse the information in a Tree before approaching us to engage.

Collaboration with other members will be on an anonymous basis, and our Families' information will not be divulged. 

What is a Private Tree?

Private means that, whilst the information in a Tree is indexed for searching purposes, and members of Ancestry can learn if a specific deceased individual is in a Tree, together with basic information e.g. their birth year and birthplace, they CANNOT view the contents of a Tree.

If another member would like more information, they will contact us through Ancestry, usually giving reasons for their interest in an individual/s i.e. they believe they share a common ancestor.  After assessing their request, and considering if it could be beneficial to our research, we will duly engage with the member.  On such occasions, we will NOT divulge our Families' name/contact details.

A benefit of engaging with other members is that these individuals may have helpful information to exchange, which may enhance the content of a Tree.

In the event of our Families' requesting direct contact with the member, or vice versa, we will obtain the member’s email address and pass it to our Families' so that they may progress matters should they wish to. 

What type of Tree is used for our Families?

We automatically opt for a Private Tree. This is for both privacy purposes, and to limit access to the images of supporting documents to immediate and, at the request of our Families', extended family members only. 

For additional privacy, we usually prevent the Tree from being found in the Ancestry search index. 

Can a Tree be changed from Private to Public?

Trees may be changed from Private to Public at any time, but will ONLY be done so with the express permission of our Families.  

Should a Family change their mind, a Tree can be made Private again at anytime.

Will our Families have access to their Tree?

When the research project has been completed, our Families will be given an internet link to Ancestry, allowing "Guest" rights to view the contents of the Tree, including information on living individuals.  Access will be on an ongoing basis. Upon request,  this may be enhanced to "Contributor" rights, granting our Families the facility to add suitable family photos, memorabilia and stories, in writing or by audio, in compliance with our "Procedure for Media Gallery".  A copy will be provided in advance. 

We will be pleased to provide links to the Tree to other family members, at the request of our Families, who may choose whether they have access to information for living individuals, and whether they have "Guest" or "Contributor" rights. 

Kindly note that under NO circumstances will links to the Tree be provided to any third parties without our Families' express permission.

Will there be communication with third parties?

As part of the research process, we will actively communicate with third parties to obtain additional information or assistance.  Examples are: other Ancestry members, specialist groups on social media, genealogy groups in a specific location and, if an Ancestry DNA test has been taken, DNA "Matches" i.e. someone, a relative, with whom the Family member shares DNA/ancestors. 

Kindly note, Family members' names WILL be visible to DNA "Matches" on Ancestry. A Family member's contact details will NOT be divulged to "Matches" without express permission.

Will other Genealogy websites be used for research purposes?

Whilst the Tree will be compiled in Ancestry, in our quest to obtain as much information as possible about the people we are researching, we use a range of other Genealogy websites e.g. Findmypast, FamilySearch etc. and other websites e.g. Google, ScotlandsPeople, Roots Ireland, British Newspaper Archive, National Archives etc.  

Will other Software Packages be used?

Periodically, information may be downloaded to other software packages, e.g. spreadsheets for analysis purposes.  

Will there be a back up of a Tree?

At the end of a project, copies of the Tree will be downloaded to a GEDCOM file (data only) and "Family Tree Maker" (data and images).  The purpose of back ups is to create and store copies of the data that can be recovered in the event of a primary data failure. 

What training will be undertaken by KGGRS Researchers?

Awareness of our Privacy Policy, and the actions to be taken should there be a breach of our policies, is part of the induction and annual training for all of our Researchers. 

Will our relationship with our Families' be publicised for promotional purposes?

The fact that we have provided services to a named Family will ONLY be made public with their express permission. 

Will information from a Tree be used for promotional purposes?

There will be occasions when we allow potential Families to view Summary Reports and Profiles compiled for existing Families for demonstration purposes. This information will NOT identify a Family's name.  Under NO circumstances will the Profiles be for living individuals.

What if our Families' have a concern or complaint?

We value our Families and in the event that they have a concern or complaint, we would ask that you kindly contact Kathy Gillen, Founder, on kathy@kathygillen.co.uk who will be pleased to resolve matters.

We would, however, highlight that our Families also have the right to complain directly to the Office of the Information Commissioner at enquiries@oicjersey.org or by post to:

The Office of the Jersey Information Commissioner,

2nd Floor,

5 Castle Street,

St Helier, 

Jersey, 

JE2 3BT

 What happens to a Tree if a relationship ceases with our Families ?

A Tree will remain in Ancestry, and our Families', and and their family members, will continue to have "Guest" rights - kindly note "Contributor" rights will be removed - unless our Families expressly requests a Tree be deleted.  This action is irreversible and all information and supporting documents will be deleted.

What happens when someone passes away?

Upon appropriate notification by the Executors or Administrators, we will remove the person's name from our "Sharing" list for the relevant Tree and send a link to the Tree to requested person/s. 

Has KGGRS got long term succession plans in place?

In the event of Kathy Gillen's retirement or passing, robust succession arrangements are in place to ensure long term continuity of our service. 

Changes to this Policy

This policy is reviewed periodically and revisions made where necessary. This will be without notice. 

Our Families are requested to review our Policy on a regular basis to ensure that they are aware of the latest version.

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June 2024

Kathy Gillen Genealogy Research Services is registered with the Jersey Office of the Information Commissioner, Registration No: 70898.

Relevant legislation: The Data Protection (Jersey) Law 2018