Privacy Policy

Last updated 2026-10-24

This policy describes what happens to information when you use lineagesmith.com. The short version: there are no accounts and no uploads; the tools run on your own device; the only form is the optional poster waitlist described below; and if visit statistics or advertising are switched on, Google and other vendors will use cookies as described below.

Who is responsible

This website is operated by SKYSEED TECH LLC. For any privacy-related inquiries, please contact support@lineagesmith.com.

What we collect

Your tool settings

The tools run in your browser. What you type or choose in a tool is used on your device and is not sent to us. Some tools put their settings in the page address so that a link can recreate the result; if you share that link, the settings in it are shared too. Some tools remember a preference in your browser’s local storage; you can clear it in your browser’s site-data settings.

The “Recent” list under a tool keeps your last 10 settings on this site (the tool name, the time and the settings, never a picture you add) in your browser’s local storage, so you can open them again with one click. It stays on your device and is never sent to us; there is no account. You can remove one entry or clear the whole list from the list itself, or clear it with your browser’s site-data settings.

Visit statistics (only if switched on)

We may use Google Analytics to count visits and see which pages are useful. If we do, Google Analytics sets cookies in your browser and receives your IP address, the page address, your browser and device type, and the pages you view. Google describes its handling of this data at How Google uses information from sites or apps that use our services. While it is not switched on, no analytics cookies are set.

Accounts, forms and email

There are no accounts, comment sections or contact forms. The one web form is the optional poster waitlist described next. If you email us, we receive the address and the message you send and use them only to reply and to keep a record of corrections.

Poster waitlist

On the Family Tree Poster and GEDCOM to PDF pages (and their German, Japanese and Polish versions) there is an optional box to join the waitlist for a print-ready poster edition. Using it is not required for anything on the site, and it is not an order: no payment is taken and no price has been set.

What we collect: the email address you enter, the page you used it on (its address, which also shows the language of the page), the date and time, and the country your connection comes from (worked out roughly from your IP address by our hosting provider; we do not store the IP address with your entry).
What we use it for: only to send you one email when the poster edition launches, and to count how many people are interested. We do not send a newsletter, show ads in it, or use the address for anything else. We do not sell or share the list with anyone.
Where it is kept: in a private Cloudflare Workers KV store (Cloudflare hosts this site). The form sets no cookie and uses no third-party script.
How long we keep it: until you unsubscribe, until we have sent the launch email, and in any case no longer than 24 months after you joined; after that we delete it.
Unsubscribing and deleting your entry: email support@lineagesmith.com with the word “unsubscribe” (from that address, or telling us the address) and we will delete it.

To limit abuse, the form counts how many times each IP address submits it per minute; that counter is deleted automatically after two minutes.

Server logs

The web server our host operates records standard technical data for each request (IP address, time, page requested, browser name) for security and to keep the site running.

Advertising (applies when advertising is enabled)

The site may show ads served by Google AdSense. When advertising is enabled:

Third-party vendors, including Google, use cookies to serve ads based on a user’s prior visits to this website or other websites.
Google’s use of advertising cookies enables it and its partners to serve ads to users based on their visit to this site and/or other sites on the Internet.
You may opt out of personalised advertising by visiting Ads Settings. You can also opt out of some third-party vendors’ use of cookies for personalised advertising by visiting www.aboutads.info.
Google and its partners may use cookies, device identifiers, your IP address and the page address to deliver, limit the frequency of, measure and protect against fraud in ads. See How Google uses information from sites or apps that use our services and Google’s Privacy Policy.
If you are in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom or Switzerland, a consent message from a Google-certified consent management platform will ask for your choice before personalised ads or non-essential cookies are used. You can change your choice at any time through the privacy and cookie settings link on the site when it is available. If you do not consent, ads, if shown, are not personalised.
If you are in a US state with a privacy law that gives you the right to opt out of the sale or sharing of personal information or of targeted advertising, a US state privacy message will offer that choice where required.

Ads are always labelled “Advertisement” and never cover a tool or appear in anything you print or download. While advertising is not enabled, none of this applies and no advertising cookies are set by the site.

If you are in the EEA or the UK, we process visit-statistics and advertising cookie data on the basis of your consent where the law requires it (cookies and similar technologies), and process email you send us on the basis of our legitimate interest in answering you. You have the right to access, correct, delete, restrict or object to the processing of personal data about you, to withdraw consent at any time, to data portability where it applies, and to complain to your data protection authority (in the UK, the Information Commissioner’s Office). Because we do not hold accounts, we can usually only identify data you have emailed us; cookie data held by Google is managed through the links above.

US state privacy rights (CCPA and similar laws)

Residents of California and some other US states may have the right to know what personal information is collected, to request deletion, to correct it, and to opt out of the sale or sharing of personal information for targeted advertising. We do not sell personal information in exchange for money. When advertising is enabled, ad cookies may count as “sharing” under some state laws; the US state privacy message and the opt-out links above give you that choice. We do not discriminate against anyone for exercising these rights.

The Lineagesmith app (iPhone, iPad, Mac and Android)

The Lineagesmith app is operated by SKYSEED TECH LLC, like this website. For any privacy-related inquiries, please contact support@lineagesmith.com.

Your family tree stays on your device. The people, dates, places, notes and photos you add or import (GEDCOM files, also when you open them from Files or Mail) are read, edited and written by code inside the app on your device. They are not sent to us or to anyone else. The app works without an internet connection.

What the app stores on your device: your family trees and their saved versions, your settings (language, appearance, name order, reminder time) and your purchase status. This data stays in the app’s private storage. Deleting the app removes it. Depending on your device settings it can be included in your own iCloud, Google or computer backup, which is handled by Apple or Google, not by us. Files you export or share (GEDCOM, PDF, images) go only where you send them.

Reminders. Anniversary and memorial reminders are local notifications created on your device. No server is involved.

No account, no analytics, no advertising, no tracking. The app has no user account, contains no analytics, crash-reporting or advertising code and does not track you across apps or websites.

Purchases. Lineagesmith Pro is sold as an auto-renewing yearly subscription or a one-time lifetime purchase through the Apple App Store or Google Play. The store processes the payment and tells the app on your device whether Pro is active; we do not receive your payment details. The store’s privacy policy applies to the purchase. You manage or cancel a subscription in your Apple Account or Google Play settings.

Links and email. Links in the app (this privacy policy, the terms of use, our website) open in your browser. If you write to support@lineagesmith.com, we use your message only to answer you. Please do not send real family files; a test file with made-up data is enough.

Children. The app is a general family-history tool and is not directed at children under 13.

Children

The site is used by students and teachers, but it is not directed at children under 13 and does not knowingly collect personal information from them. The tools work without anyone giving us any information.

Retention and security

Server logs are kept for a limited period for security. Email is kept only as long as needed to handle your message. The site is served over HTTPS.

Changes

We will change this page if what the site does changes, for example when advertising or visit statistics are switched on, and update the date below the title.

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