Privacy and cookie policy

How this site handles privacy

AncestorAdvisor is designed to collect as little personal data as practical. The site has no account system, newsletter form, advertising cookies or behavioural advertising. Optional Google Analytics is available only after a visitor actively accepts it.

Data collected when you use the site

Like most websites, the hosting provider may create security and server logs containing an IP address, browser information, requested page, timestamp and technical status. These logs are used for security, reliability and diagnosing faults. They are not used by AncestorAdvisor to build advertising profiles.

Browser-based newspaper research tools

Our free newspaper research tools run locally in your browser. Citation fields, names and pasted transcriptions are not uploaded, stored in a database or saved to browser storage by the tools. Results stay visible on the page; a copy button writes to your clipboard only when you choose it. Refreshing or closing the page clears the working data. Browser-managed form history and your device clipboard are outside the tools' control, so take care on shared devices.

Optional analytics is disabled throughout the newspaper tools directory, even if you accepted analytics elsewhere on this website. Tool pages do not load Google Analytics or call archive, OCR or AI services. Ordinary hosting access logs still apply to requests for the pages and static assets. The tools do not add your entries to page addresses or public share links.

What happens when you contact us

If you email us, the message, address and information you provide are processed to answer the enquiry, manage corrections or keep an appropriate business record. Do not send sensitive personal records or information about living people unless it is necessary and lawful.

Google Analytics and your consent

With consent, AncestorAdvisor uses Google Analytics 4 to understand page views, broad usage patterns and engagement with the site. Enhanced measurement may record events such as scrolling, outbound-link clicks, site searches, file downloads and interactions with embedded media or forms where those features exist. Google may process technical information including an approximate location derived from an IP address, device and browser information, page addresses and event timestamps.

Google Signals is disabled, no Google Ads account is linked, and the website configuration disables advertising personalisation signals. Analytics event data is configured for two months of retention and user data for fourteen months. Aggregated reporting may persist beyond those periods.

Consent, cookies and local storage

Before consent, the website does not load Google Analytics or send requests to Google Analytics or Google Tag Manager. Your choice is stored in local storage under aa_analytics_consent. If you accept, Google Analytics may set first-party cookies beginning _ga. If you reject, no analytics cookies are set. You can reopen Cookie settings from the footer and withdraw consent at any time. Withdrawal removes accessible analytics cookies and reloads the page without Analytics.

The hosting infrastructure may use strictly necessary technical mechanisms for security or delivery. These are separate from optional analytics.

Who sees your information and how long we keep it

Information is not sold. It may be processed by hosting, email or security providers only as needed to operate the site, or disclosed where legally required. Correspondence is retained only as long as reasonably needed for the enquiry, legal obligations and site records.

Your privacy choices

Depending on your location, you may have rights concerning access, correction, deletion, restriction or objection. Contact us using the details below. Identity verification may be required before acting on a request.

Privacy contact: hello@ancestoradvisor.com

Last updated: 29 August 2026.