Privacy Policy

Privacy Policy for Genealogy Assistant

Effective Date: June 18th 2024
Last Updated: September 12th 2026

1. Introduction

Genealogy Assistant is a browser extension published by Genea Research, a Canadian company (referred to in this policy as “we,” “our,” and “us”). This Privacy Policy explains what information the extension handles and how your privacy is protected when you use it. The short version: Genealogy Assistant runs on your own computer, your family history data stays on your device, and we do not track you.

The extension complies with the terms of service of the sites it works with. It does not modify data beyond what any person using the site could do, and it only changes how pages appear on your own device, similar to a screen reader.

2. Information We Collect

2.1 Information you provide. When you start a free trial or subscribe to the paid version, our subscription partner ExtensionPay collects the email address and payment details you enter on its own hosted checkout pages. We never see or store your card details. See “Third-Party Services” below.

2.2 Information collected automatically. The extension does not collect analytics, usage statistics, error reports, or technical data such as your IP address, browser type, or operating system, and there is no tracking of any kind inside the extension. Apart from the configuration download and subscription check described in section 4, nothing leaves your device unless you choose to send it.

3. Local Processing and Storage

Genealogy Assistant is not a cloud service. Every feature runs on your own computer, and the family history information it works with stays on your device. This includes:

Your feature settings and preferences, such as which features are enabled and your chosen thresholds.
Family tree and GEDCOM data you import, and any Ancestry tree you index for use with the extension.
DNA match information the extension reads from the pages you are already viewing while logged in to those sites.
CSV files you export, which are saved directly to your own computer.

This information is stored in your browser or on your own disk and is never sent to us or to any external server, except in the specific cases described in the next section.

4. Information That Leaves Your Device

The extension communicates with only a small number of servers, and only as described here.

Configuration updates. A few times a day the extension downloads a small configuration file from our server. This tells the extension about site changes and lets us switch a feature off if a site update breaks it. This is a one way download. No personal information is sent. As with any web request, our server may record standard technical information such as your IP address and browser version in its logs.

Issue reports. If you choose to report an issue by right-clicking a page, the extension shows you exactly what will be sent and asks you to confirm before anything leaves your device. When you confirm, it sends a snapshot of the current page (its address, its HTML, and a screenshot of what is visible), along with the extension version, your browser’s user agent, and your feature settings, to our server so we can diagnose the problem. It also sends the email address you enter, an optional name, and any description you write. We use your email address only to reply to you about the issue you reported. We do not add it to any mailing list and we do not share it. This snapshot can include personal information shown on the page at that moment, so only send it when you are comfortable sharing what is on screen. Nothing is sent unless you click to send it. Your payment details and your imported tree, GEDCOM, and DNA data are deliberately excluded from the report.

Subscription status. To confirm whether your trial or subscription is active, the extension checks your status with ExtensionPay, as described below.

5. Third-Party Services

We use ExtensionPay to manage the 30 day free trial and paid subscriptions. When you sign up or subscribe, your email address and payment are handled on ExtensionPay‘s own hosted pages, and payment is processed by Stripe. Your use of those services is governed by their privacy practices, including the Stripe Privacy Policy.

We do not use any analytics or advertising services inside the extension. Our website at genea.ca uses standard website analytics, which is separate from the extension. The browser stores you install from (the Chrome Web Store, Microsoft Edge Add-ons, and Firefox Add-ons) may collect their own installation and usage data under their own policies. The Safari version is installed by direct download from genea.ca, so no extension store is involved.

6. How We Use and Share Your Information

We use the limited information described above only to provide the extension, manage trials and subscriptions, and respond to support requests you send us. We share information only with the service providers named above (ExtensionPay and Stripe) for those purposes. We may disclose information if required to do so under the laws of the Province of Ontario, Canada. We do not sell your data, use it for advertising, or use it to train AI models.

7. Data Security

We apply reasonable measures to protect the limited information we handle, and the few network requests the extension makes use encrypted HTTPS connections. Because your family history data stays on your own device, its security also depends on the security of your computer and browser. No system can be guaranteed completely secure.

8. Data Retention

Your settings and imported data remain on your device until you remove them or uninstall the extension. Issue reports, including the name and email address you supply with them, are kept only as long as needed to resolve the issue you reported, and are deleted after 30 days at the latest. Subscription and payment records are retained by ExtensionPay and Stripe under their own retention policies.

9. Permissions

The extension asks for the browser permissions it needs to work:

Access to specific genealogy websites: so it can add its features to the pages you are viewing. It only runs on the sites listed below, not on the web at large.
Active tab and scripting: to add features to the page you are currently on and, when you request it, to capture the screenshot for an issue report.
Storage: to save your settings and imported data on your device.
Alarms: to schedule the periodic configuration download.
Tab groups: used by some DNA match features that open and organize tabs.
Context menus: to provide the right-click option for reporting an issue.

10. What websites does Genealogy Assistant interact with?

The extension only runs on the following genealogy and archive sites:

Ancestry (including the .ca, .co.uk, .com.au, .de, .fr, .it, .mx, .ie, .se, .pl, and .nl sites)
MyHeritage (including its regional sites)

Family trees, DNA and community

Record collections

Civil registration and vital records

Archives and libraries

Newspapers

Cemeteries and memorials

Reference

11. Children’s Privacy

Genealogy Assistant is intended for adult family history researchers and is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect any information from children.

12. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in the extension or for legal or operational reasons. We will post any changes on this page and update the “Last Updated” date above.

13. Contact Us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us at:

Email: [email protected]
Website: https://www.genea.ca

By using the extension, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy.