Privacy Policy for Genealogy Assistant

Effective date: June 18, 2024
Last updated: October 23, 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 there is no tracking inside the extension. We do not sell your data.

Genealogy Assistant works inside the genealogy websites you already use, while you are signed in to them. It changes how their pages appear on your own device, and some features request your information from those websites, as described in section 4. It does not change anything on those websites that you could not change yourself.

2. Information We Collect

When you start the 30-day free trial or buy a plan, our subscription partner ExtensionPay collects the email address you enter on its own pages, and Stripe processes your payment. We never see or store your card details.

From ExtensionPay we receive your email address, the date your trial started and, if you buy a plan, the date you paid. We use them to send the trial emails described in section 4.

The extension itself does not collect analytics, usage statistics, automatic error reports, or technical data such as your IP address, browser type or operating system. Section 4 lists every kind of request the extension makes, and where it goes.

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 is stored on your device. This includes:

Your feature settings and preferences, such as which features are on and your chosen thresholds.
Family tree and GEDCOM data you import, and the list of your Ancestry trees and DNA tests that Quick Search keeps.
DNA match information the extension reads from the genealogy websites while you are signed in to them.
CSV files you download, which are saved directly to your own computer.

None of this is sent to us, except the settings included in an issue report you choose to send (section 4). Your trees, GEDCOM files and DNA data are stored only on this computer.

Your settings are saved in your browser’s sync storage. If you have turned on sync in your browser, the browser copies them to your other computers through your browser account.

4. Information That Leaves Your Device

The extension sends requests to only a few kinds of server: the genealogy websites you use, our own server, and ExtensionPay. Each one is described here.

The genealogy websites

Some features request your information directly from the genealogy websites, signed in as you, the same way the websites’ own pages do. The CSV downloads fetch your DNA matches, shared matches and trees this way.

Quick Search also checks Ancestry about every six hours, in the background, for changes to your tree list, your DNA tests and any trees you have added to it. It does this while Quick Search is on, which it is by default.

To stop the background check, turn off Update indexes automatically under Automatic Updates in Advanced Settings. Everything these requests bring back is saved on your device and is not sent to us.

Configuration updates

A few times a day the extension downloads a small configuration file from our server. It tells the extension about website changes and lets us turn a feature off if a site update breaks it. This is a one-way download, and no personal information is sent.

When you save a CSV file, the extension may also load a small helper page from our server so your browser can write a large file straight to disk. The file itself is created in your browser and is not sent to us.

As with any web request, our server may record standard technical information, such as your IP address and browser version, in its logs.

Subscription status

To confirm whether your trial or subscription is active, the extension checks your status with ExtensionPay when your browser starts and about every six hours after that.

Trial emails

When you start a free trial, our server uses the email address from ExtensionPay to send you a short series of emails. They include tips on using Genealogy Assistant, a reminder before your trial ends and, if you have not bought a plan, an offer after it ends. Some of these emails are promotional.

The emails are sent through our email provider, Mailgun. Each one contains a small image that tells us whether it was opened. Every email has an unsubscribe link, and unsubscribing stops all further trial emails.

We send these emails because you started a trial with us, which is an existing business relationship under Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL). The series ends about five weeks after your trial starts.

We keep a record of each trial user’s email address, trial start date, payment date and the emails sent to them. Our server keeps this record for 100 days after your trial starts, and a copy in a Google Sheet is not deleted.

Issue reports

You can report a problem by right-clicking a page on a supported website and choosing Report an issue on this page. A panel lists what the report includes. Nothing is sent until you enter your name and email address, which are required so we can reply, and click Send report.

A report sends these to our server:

The page’s address (URL), title and HTML code. The HTML covers the whole page, not only the part you can see.
A screenshot of the visible part of the page.
Your name, your email address and any description you write.
Your extension version, your browser’s user agent, and your feature and download settings.

Our server also records the IP address the report came from. The page can show personal information, such as the names of your DNA matches, so only send a report when you are comfortable sharing what is on the page.

A report never includes your payment details, or the trees, GEDCOM files and DNA data that the extension stores on your computer.

Here is how a report is used:

We use the report to find and fix the problem, and your email address only to reply to you about it. We do not add it to a mailing list, and we do not share it.
When the report arrives, our server emails you a confirmation and sends a copy to our support inbox, [email protected], through Mailgun.
These emails contain your email address, the page title, your description and your extension version. They do not contain the page’s HTML or the screenshot.
The extension remembers your name and email address on your computer, so your next report is filled in for you.

How long a report is kept is covered in section 8.

5. Third-Party Services

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

We use Mailgun to send the trial emails and the issue report emails, and Google Sheets to keep the record of trial users. Mailgun and Google handle this information under the Mailgun Privacy Policy and the Google 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. Its small Mac app checks our download server for updates.

6. How We Use and Share Your Information

We use the limited information described above only to provide the extension, manage trials and subscriptions, send the trial emails, and respond to issue reports and support requests.

We share information only with the service providers named above (ExtensionPay, Stripe, Mailgun and Google) 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, share it with advertising networks, or use it to train AI models.

ExtensionPay, Stripe, Mailgun and Google are based in the United States, so the information they handle for us may be stored and processed outside Canada and be subject to the laws of other countries.

7. Data Security

We apply reasonable measures to protect the limited information we handle, and the 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 on our server include your name, email address and IP address. They are kept only as long as needed to resolve the issue, and are deleted after 30 days at the latest.
The confirmation email stays in your inbox. The copy in our support inbox is deleted within 7 days of the issue being resolved.
The record of trial users and the emails sent to them is kept on our server for 100 days after the trial starts. The copy in our Google Sheet is not deleted.
Subscription and payment records are kept by ExtensionPay and Stripe, and email delivery records by Mailgun, under their own retention policies.

You can ask to see the information we hold about you, or to correct it, by emailing [email protected]. We can also delete your issue reports sooner. To stop the trial emails, use the unsubscribe link in any of them. We keep the record of your trial and any purchase as part of our business records.

9. Permissions

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

Access to specific genealogy websites lets it add its features to the pages you are viewing and request your information from those websites. The websites are listed at the end of this policy.
Active tab lets Quick Search open over the page you are on when you press Alt + Q, on any website. It also lets an issue report take its screenshot.
Scripting lets it add its features to the supported websites and open Quick Search.
Storage saves your settings and imported data on your device. Unlimited storage lets large trees and Quick Search lists be saved without the browser’s usual size limit.
Alarms schedule the configuration download, the subscription check and the Quick Search background check.
Context menus provide the right-click Report an issue on this page option.

10. What websites does Genealogy Assistant interact with?

Genealogy Assistant adds its features only to the genealogy and archive websites listed at the end of this policy. It does not run on the web at large.

Quick Search is the one exception. Press Alt + Q (Option + Q on a Mac) and it opens over whatever page you are on. In Chrome, Edge and Firefox you can also type ga and a space in the address bar to search from there. On a website that is not listed, it runs only when you open it.

11. Users in the European Union and United Kingdom

If you are in the European Union or the United Kingdom, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the UK GDPR give you rights over your personal data. We use your information on these legal bases: to perform our contract with you (your trial and plan), our legitimate interests (sending the trial emails and fixing the issues you report), and your consent when you choose to send an issue report.

You can ask us to access, correct or erase your personal data, to restrict or object to how we use it, or to receive a copy you can take elsewhere, by emailing [email protected]. We will reply within one month. We keep the record of your trial and any purchase where we need it for our business records. You can also complain to the data protection authority where you live.

Your information is handled in Canada and, through the providers named in section 5, in the United States.

12. 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.

13. 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 at the top.

14. Contact Us

Dan Maloney is responsible for privacy at Genea Research. If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or our data practices, email us at [email protected]. Our website is www.genea.ca.

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

Websites Genealogy Assistant works on

Genealogy Assistant adds its features to the following genealogy and archive websites:

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