Terms of use

Effective 27 September 2026

These terms govern your use of Watkins Genetic Studies (Genetics) (“the site”, “we”, “us”), part of the Watkins network of sites. By creating an account, importing a tree or otherwise using the site, you agree to these terms and to our privacy policy and disclaimers. If you do not agree, do not use the site.

1. What the site is

The site lets you bring in family trees you keep elsewhere, such as FamilySearch, WikiTree or any program that exports GEDCOM, and view, share and explore them, including in charts and 3D. It is a place to represent and study trees, not an official records archive, and it is not a substitute for the sites and records the information came from.

2. Accounts

• You must be at least 13 years old to create an account. If you are under 18, you need the permission of a parent or guardian.
• Give accurate account details and keep your password (or your Watkins network sign-in) secure. You are responsible for what happens under your account.
• We may suspend or close accounts that break these terms or put other people or the site at risk.

3. Your content

• You keep ownership of the trees, notes, sources and other material you add or import (“your content”).
• You give us a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free licence to store, copy, process and display your content only as needed to run the site and according to the visibility you choose (private, shared by link, or public), and, if the tree’s owner chooses, in the site-wide master tree.
• You confirm you have the right to add your content. Material imported from other sites remains subject to those sites’ own terms and licences; follow them.
• You can delete your content or your trees at any time. Copies may remain in backups for a limited period (see the privacy policy).

4. Information about other people

Family trees are about other people. When you add information about someone:

• Get permission before adding details about living people, and add only what is needed. The site hides living people from non-members, but you remain responsible for what you upload.
• Do not upload government identification numbers (such as Social Security numbers), financial information, medical or health records, raw DNA data, or other sensitive personal information about anyone.
• Respect requests from relatives to correct or remove information about themselves or their close family.

5. Acceptable use

Do not use the site to:

• break the law, infringe anyone’s rights, or upload content you have no right to share;
• harass, stalk, defame or expose anyone, or impersonate another person;
• scrape, bulk-download or copy other members’ private content, or try to get around privacy settings or security;
• upload malware, overload the site, or interfere with its operation.

6. Accuracy of genealogical information

Family history is built from records, recollections and other people’s research, and it is often incomplete or wrong. Information on the site, including relationships, dates, places and anything suggested by our tools, is provided for personal and research interest only. It is not proof of identity, parentage, paternity, marriage, inheritance, citizenship, tribal or other membership, or any legal right, and must not be relied on for legal, financial, medical or official purposes. Check original records.

7. Not medical or genetic advice

Despite its name, the site does not provide medical, genetic, diagnostic or health advice and does not process DNA samples. Nothing on the site should be used to make health decisions. Talk to a qualified professional, such as a doctor or genetic counsellor, about health questions. See health and genetic information.

8. Other sites and services

The site links to and imports from other services, such as FamilySearch, WikiTree and the Watkins network sign-in. We do not control those services and are not responsible for their content, availability or practices. Your use of them is governed by their own terms.

9. Removal requests and copyright

If you believe something on the site is about you and should be removed, is inaccurate, or infringes your copyright, email doug@watkins.org with the page address and what you are asking for. We may remove or restrict content at our discretion while we look into it.

10. Disclaimer of warranties

The site is provided “as is” and “as available”, without warranties of any kind, whether express or implied, including warranties of accuracy, merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, non-infringement, or that the site will be uninterrupted, secure or error-free. Keep your own copies of your trees; export them as GEDCOM from time to time.

11. Limitation of liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law, we and the people who run the site will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential or punitive damages, or for any loss of data, profits, goodwill or reputation, arising from your use of, or inability to use, the site or any content on it, even if we were told such loss was possible. Our total liability for any claim relating to the site is limited to the greater of the amount you paid us for the site in the twelve months before the claim, or US $50. Some places do not allow these limits, so they may not all apply to you.

12. Indemnification

You agree to defend, indemnify and hold harmless the site and the people who run it from any claims, damages, losses, liabilities, costs and expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising from your content, your use of the site, your breach of these terms, or your violation of anyone else’s rights, including privacy rights of people you add to a tree.

13. Ending your use

You can stop using the site and delete your account at any time. We may suspend or end access to the site, or to any account, if these terms are broken or if we need to for legal, security or operational reasons. Sections 6, 7 and 10–14 continue to apply after your use ends.

14. Changes and general terms

We may update these terms. If a change is significant, we will say so on the site or by email before it takes effect; continuing to use the site afterwards means you accept the new terms. These terms are governed by the laws applicable where the site’s operator is based, without regard to conflict-of-law rules. If any part of these terms is found unenforceable, the rest stays in effect. Not enforcing a term is not a waiver of it.

15. Contact

Questions about these terms: doug@watkins.org.