Ancestry discloses that users in certain jurisdictions, particularly California residents and EU and UK users, have legal rights including access, correction, deletion, and opt-out of sale or sharing of personal information, and describes mechanisms for exercising these rights.
This analysis describes what Ancestry's agreement states, permits, or reserves. It does not constitute a legal determination about enforceability. Regulatory applicability and practical outcomes may vary by jurisdiction, enforcement context, and individual circumstances. Read our methodology
This provision establishes operationally distinct rights regimes for users based on geography, with California and EU or UK users having the most specific enumerated rights. The practical availability of these rights depends on Ancestry's implementation of compliant request and response mechanisms.
The updated Privacy Statement no longer displays a dedicated 'Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information' link in the footer, which was previously accessible to California residents under CCPA requirements. This link allowed users to exercise data-sharing opt-out rights. The footer now lists 'Consumer Health Privacy' as a separate item but does not explicitly direct users to their CCPA controls. California residents may need to locate their opt-out rights through alternative navigation paths on the Ancestry site.
View change record →The updated privacy policy removes the 'Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information' link from the footer navigation. This link previously provided direct access to Ancestry's data-sharing opt-out mechanism, which is a required disclosure under California's CCPA. While the removal does not eliminate the opt-out right itself, it may make the opt-out control less easily discoverable from the privacy policy page. Affected users may need to locate the opt-out mechanism through alternate navigation or search methods.
View change record →The updated Privacy Statement clarifies what uses of Ancestry services are permitted and prohibited, establishes that photo face-grouping in your gallery requires your express consent, and introduces SMS messaging as a communication channel for future opt-in communications. The statement now covers Ancestry, AncestryDNA, and Related Brands under a unified framework while noting that other services operated by the company use separate privacy statements. The removal of 'uploaded DNA data' from the account creation section reflects a narrowing of that specific provision's scope, though genetic information processing remains described elsewhere in the policy. You can review the full updated statement to understand how your personal information will be processed and manage your communication preferences when SMS opt-ins become available.
View change record →Generalized California-specific CCPA/CPRA rights into jurisdiction-dependent language; removed explicit mention of the right to know what is collected/disclosed, right to limit sensitive data use, and removal of specific toll-free number contact method.
View full change record →This clause establishes that California residents can opt out of the sale or sharing of their personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising, and that EU and UK users can exercise GDPR-based rights including deletion and data portability. Users outside these jurisdictions may have more limited rights under the general policy terms.
How other platforms handle this
You may contact our privacy team with any requests of disclosure, correction, or deletion of your personal information. You may also request suspension of use or suspension of sharing of your personal information with certain third parties.
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When you use them, we'll validate your request by verifying your identity (for example, by confirming that you're signed in to your Google Account).
"Depending on where you live, you may have certain rights with respect to your personal information, such as the right to request access, correction, or deletion of your personal information, or to opt out of the sale or sharing of your personal information. If you are a California resident, you have the right to opt out of the sale of your personal information and the right to opt out of the sharing of your personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising.Excerpt from Ancestry's Privacy Statement
REGULATORY LANDSCAPE: This provision engages the California Privacy Rights Act, enforced by the California Privacy Protection Agency and the California Attorney General; GDPR, enforced by EU member state data protection authorities and the UK ICO; …
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This provision establishes operationally distinct rights regimes for users based on geography, with California and EU or UK users having the most specific enumerated rights. The practical availability of these rights depends on Ancestry's implementation of compliant request and response mechanisms.
This clause establishes that California residents can opt out of the sale or sharing of their personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising, and that EU and UK users can exercise GDPR-based rights including deletion and data portability. Users outside these jurisdictions may have more limited rights under the general policy terms.
ConductAtlas has identified this type of provision across 290 platforms. See the full comparison.
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