MyHeritage - Terms and Conditions
These Terms and Conditions were last updated on April 8, 2024.
If you haven’t reviewed them since that date, please do so now.
Welcome to MyHeritage
MyHeritage is an online service that allows members to build their family trees; upload and enhance family photos, search historical records and newspapers, perform DNA testing and receive genetic genealogy and genetic health analysis (the "Service"). The Service is owned and operated by MyHeritage Ltd. (hereafter "MyHeritage", 'we', 'our' or 'us'). 'You' means an adult user, over the age of 13, of the Service (in some jurisdictions the minimum age may be higher, see section "Underage Users" below). Any use of the MyHeritage website (myheritage.com or myheritage.* on other top-level domains), the OldNews.com website or the MyHeritage and Reimagine mobile applications for iOS and Android (collectively, the "Website"), and the Service is subject to compliance with the Terms and Conditions in this document. Please read them carefully, because by using the Website you agree to be bound by them and to enter into an agreement with us based on them (this "Agreement"), whether or not you register as a member in MyHeritage ("Member"). The Website is part of a group of websites that we own and operate (the "MyHeritage Website Group") which also includes Geni.com.
This Agreement applies to any use of the Service, including but not limited to: a) submitting DNA samples, b) uploading DNA data files from other DNA services, c) receiving and interacting with genetic genealogy analysis (the "DNA Genealogy Services"); d) receiving and interacting with genetic health analysis (the "DNA Health Services"); and e) downloading your raw DNA data (collectively, the "DNA Services"). The Service includes the DNA Services.
This Agreement incorporates by reference additional policies and guidelines, including the DNA Informed Consent, and the Privacy Policy, which explains how we collect and use your personal data. Please read all of these documents carefully to understand your rights and responsibilities when using the Service.
If you do not agree with any provision in this Agreement, do not use the Service and the Website. We reserve the right to modify these Terms and Conditions from time to time, in our sole discretion, and such modification shall be effective immediately upon its posting on the Website. You agree to be bound to any changes to this Agreement if you continue to use the Service after any modification is posted.
The Service
MyHeritage Family Sites and Additional Services
Our content standards
This section explains our standards for user-provided content on the Website, the steps you can take to report content that you believe is illegal or in breach of our standards and the steps we take if we are made aware of such content.
MyHeritage allows you, as a Member, to post content into MyHeritage family sites and other parts of the Website, and to control and limit access to such content by other users on the MyHeritage Website Group. Please select carefully the information you post to the Website and refrain from posting any illegal or unsuitable content, as detailed below. We will not edit or monitor user-provided content, but we reserve the right to remove any user-provided content which comes to our attention and which, in our sole discretion, breaches this Agreement or any law or regulation.
You shall refrain from posting to the Website, or sending or making available through it, the following content, which is prohibited:
- Photographs, videos and other content which include nudity, sexuality, pornography, indecency, vulgarity, violence or any offensive subject matter.
- Any content which may violate the privacy or breach the confidentiality of other people, including your family members.
- Any personal information, including photos or email addresses, of living individuals (other than your own), if posted without their consent.
- Any information relating to minors or underage children, which identifies them, their personal details or contact information, without the consent of their parent or guardian.
- Any content which doesn’t belong to you or which you do not have a right to use.
- Any content that infringes the intellectual property or other rights of others, including copyrights and trademarks. You should not reproduce content that belongs to others, including photographs, without permission of its owner.
- Any content which is obscene, indecent, defamatory, derogatory, fraudulent, abusive, hateful, false, misleading, inaccurate, malicious, offensive, harassing, threatening, or could incite racial, religious or ethnic hatred.
- Any content that could cause anyone alarm, annoyance, anxiety, embarrassment, offence or distress.
- Any content that could prejudice any active legal proceedings of which you are aware; is unlawful or promotes unlawful activity.
- Any computer virus, trojan or other malicious code.
- Any content that violates our Privacy Policy.
- Any content that is in any other way unlawful.
- Any content that we reasonably deem to be inappropriate.
Reporting content
If you believe that any content available through the Website is unlawful or otherwise breaches our standards described above ('Improper Content'), please report it to privacy@myheritage.com along with your name (unless it’s exempt under applicable law).
When you report Improper Content, then by submitting your report you confirm your honest belief that the information and allegations in the report are accurate.
Our content moderation
In response to a report about Improper Content, we may take any of the following actions:
- remove content that we reasonably believe breaches our standards;
- suspend or terminate any person’s access to the Website or any part of it;
- take no action, If we reasonably believe the content does not breach our standards
We will notify you of the outcome of our review. If we decide to remove content we may, where relevant, also notify the person who uploaded that content, or any person whose access to the Website we suspend or terminate, as applicable.
If you don’t agree with our moderation decision, you can appeal the decision, by responding to the email informing you of our decision.
Disclosures
We may need to disclose information about a person posting illegal content, if required by law.
Your use of the Website or Service
When using the Website or Service, you must comply with our content standards (see above), and you must not:
- Impersonate anyone else, or use a false name.
- Hold yourself out as an employee or representative of MyHeritage Ltd. or its affiliates.
- Stalk or harass other users without their consent or after any has been withdrawn explicitly or implicitly.
- Send commercial emails, spam emails, unsolicited bulk emails or any other inappropriate email.
- Do anything that might damage our name or reputation.
- Restrict or inhibit any other person from using the Website.
- Exploit for commercial purposes any portion of the Website.
- Perform any activity that requires any form of payment from other people.
- Advertise or offer products or services.
- Post links to any websites outside the MyHeritage Website Group.
- Use someone else’s credit card or payment method without their permission.
- Conduct or participate in a legal or forensic investigation.
You must not copy or store electronically any part of the Website or its contents, or make available, distribute, or sell any part of the Website or its contents, or systematically download content and data from or through the Website to create or populate another database. Scraping, crawling or harvesting of any pages and any content from the Website is strictly prohibited. Running macros or scripts to automate activities on the Website, such as photo upload, photo colorization, color restoration, or any other photo enhancements, is strictly prohibited. Splitting videos into frames to colorize the frames on MyHeritage is strictly prohibited. Violation of any of these prohibitions may result in the immediate termination of your membership and may result in legal action against you.
Reselling any MyHeritage products (including, without limitation MyHeritage DNA kits) is strictly prohibited. Buying MyHeritage DNA kits and selling them to someone else is strictly prohibited.
Any activity on the Website, that is brought to our attention and is in violation of applicable law, as determined in our sole discretion, may be brought to the attention of the proper authorities.
Guidelines for MyHeritage members
A MyHeritage family site is a place where members share content with other members. This may create conflicts between members. The following guidelines apply to all MyHeritage members, including you:
- Members must obtain permission from living family members before posting information about them, and if they still do so without permission, it is the responsibility of the family site's owner – the Member who created the family site.
- If we receive a complaint about information posted on a family site about a person or close relative of a person, against this person's wish, we reserve the right to delete that information even if the owner of the family site wants to keep the information there. In case of a dispute with the Member who owns the site, we are allowed to ban this Member and remove them from the Website at our discretion. If the Member is a subscriber, we will refund their latest subscription payment.
- The right of a person to request not to be listed in a family site is stronger than the right of the owner of the family site to list that person in it.
- If you encounter personal information on the Website that was entered by another member that you want removed, email a request to privacy@myheritage.com. We will try to process your request within one week. We may attempt to first resolve the dispute amicably by contacting the member who entered the information or is responsible for it, and give them time to respond. We will cooperate with you to make sure that the information you want to remove is eventually removed. If necessary, we will also help you with removing such information from the index of search engines like Google, but note that removal of information from search engines is outside our control and responsibility.
- Copying information or photos from other family sites or from external websites without permission of their owners is prohibited and members who do this may be banned from the Website at our discretion.
- Inviting other people to be members in your family site, or approving their membership requests, will give them access to the family site and they might copy parts of it. If that happens, it is the responsibility of the member who made the invitation or approved the membership request, and not ours. If an invitation or membership request approval were made in error, the family site owner can remove that member from the family site to revoke their access.
- Family sites are open by default to visitors but details of living people in the family tree, except for their last name, are censored. For maximum privacy, family site owners can turn their sites private, turn the photo albums private and turn off Smart Matching™.
Smart Matching™ is a service that makes genealogical discoveries for you, by matching your family tree to other family trees, but this benefit comes with a drawback: owners of other family sites can see parts of your family tree that matched with theirs (except living people in your tree not found in their tree, who will remain censored). If this is a concern, turn off Smart Matching™ by clicking on "My privacy" in the account drop-down menu at the top right corner of the Website, clicking on the "Content" tab below the name of your tree, unchecking the "Enable Smart Matching™" options and clicking "Save". If you leave Smart Matching™ enabled for your family tree, you are taking responsibility that other members may see parts of your family tree.
We make available a number of services that are powered by third-party Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology providers, including OpenAI and Gemini. These services include:
* AI Record Finder™: a service based on AI that allows users to converse with an assistant in a chat interface to find records about ancestors and relatives.
* AI Biographer™: a service based on AI that allows users to create a biography of a deceased or notable person.
These services can be used, at your option, to search and summarize different sources of data, including data from MyHeritage (which includes information supplied by other MyHeritage members) and data provided to MyHeritage by third-parties, to benefit your family history research. If you choose to use these services you agree that the information you will enter during your searches, including personal information, will be shared with the AI technology provider(s) and processed to provide you with the service results. You further agree that you will not enter sensitive personal information (also known as ‘special category data’ including, for example, health data or genetic data) in the chat interface. AI Record Finder™ is not designed to prompt you to enter such information. As with any AI-based technology, the outputs of these services may contain mistakes.
We reserve the right, in our sole discretion, to remove any content posted by you, or any family site, or to restrict, suspend, or terminate your access to any part of the Website at any time, for any or no reason, with or without prior notice, and without any liability, financial or otherwise.
Once you post content to the Website, including family trees and photos, it may become searchable and accessible to other people on the Website or the MyHeritage Website Group, depending on permission settings in your control. Based on your permission settings, other users may be able to find, view, copy, download, store, and sometimes edit or delete content that you post. You agree that other users may access your family site and take the actions described above.
You may delete content that you previously posted on the Website; however, if others have downloaded or stored copies of the content, it may still be publicly viewable.
Other users may contact you through the Website regarding content you upload. We may send you an email notification when you have a new message on the Website. You can change your email settings in the "My Account" section if you prefer not to receive such notifications.
Recommender Systems
We utilize certain systems that may be considered as recommender systems, which include Record Matches, Smart Matches™, Instant Discoveries™ and Search Alerts. These systems are designed to filter MyHeritage and user content to suggest content that may be relevant to you. Record Matches recommend historical records that may be related to individuals in your family tree. Smart Matches™ finds matches between family trees. Instant Discoveries™ are bundles of family history information that you can add to your tree. A Search Alert is an email notification informing you that new records were found for a search you previously conducted on MyHeritage.
DNA Services
Your use of the DNA Services is subject to this Agreement and the MyHeritage Privacy Policy.
When you order a MyHeritage DNA kit and submit a DNA sample to us, we process it and generate DNA markers and haplogroups ("DNA Results"). You may also upload DNA Results to us in a DNA data file after testing with another DNA service provider. We perform genetic genealogy analysis of the DNA Results, and produce DNA Matches and Ethnicity Estimates (collectively, "DNA Genealogy Reports"). If you purchase a MyHeritage DNA health upgrade, of if you purchased a MyHeritage DNA Health test (no longer offered), we perform genetic health analysis of the DNA Results, and produce Genetic Risk Reports and Carrier Status Reports (collectively, "DNA Health Reports", and together with the DNA Genealogy Reports, "DNA Reports").
To use the DNA Services, you need to register as a Member on the Website, but you are not required to become a subscriber.
The DNA Genealogy Services are currently not available to residents of: Israel, Russia, Iran, Libya, Sudan, Somalia, North Korea, Lebanon and Syria ("Restricted Locations for DNA Genealogy"). The DNA Health Services are currently not available to residents of: Israel, Russia, France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Turkey, Spain, Norway, Iran, Libya, Sudan, Somalia, North Korea, Lebanon and Syria, and the states of Rhode Island, New Jersey and New York, ("Restricted Locations for DNA Health"). Residents of France and Israel are not permitted to purchase DNA test kits from MyHeritage. By authorizing the DNA Services, submitting a DNA sample for testing or uploading DNA Results to the Website, you represent that you are at least eighteen (18) years of age and are not a resident of the Restricted Locations for DNA Genealogy or the Restricted Locations for DNA Health, and you represent that you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by this Agreement and to the collection and use of your DNA sample and DNA Results and the provisioning by us of the applicable DNA Reports. In addition, you represent that any DNA sample you provide and any DNA Results you upload, are either your DNA or the DNA of a person for whom you are a legal guardian or have obtained legal authorization to provide their DNA to us.
Any use of the DNA Services for law enforcement purposes, forensic examinations, criminal investigations, "cold case" investigations, identification of unknown deceased people, location of relatives of deceased people using cadaver DNA, and/or all similar purposes, is strictly prohibited, unless a court order is obtained. It is our policy to resist law enforcement inquiries to protect the privacy of our customers. Uploading "ancient DNA" (DNA data obtained from archaeological excavations) or "artifact DNA" (DNA data extracted from physical objects) to the Website is strictly prohibited. Uploading DNA data that was created or manipulated manually, or with the help of DNA reconstruction tools such as Othram or Borland Genetics, or by combining DNA data from multiple individuals into a new DNA data file, to the Website is strictly prohibited.
By submitting DNA samples to us, you give us permission to extract the DNA from the samples, perform genetic analysis on the DNA, disclose the results by providing the DNA Reports to you and to others that you authorize, to store the samples for additional genetic testing in the future (subject to your explicit approval) and to allow you to download the DNA Results, in each case subject to this Agreement and the Privacy Policy. You acknowledge that if you download your DNA Results: 1) this will create a copy that is not protected by MyHeritage’s security and privacy settings; 2) such download and the storage of your DNA Results shall be made at your own risk; and 3) MyHeritage will not have any control over the downloaded DNA Results and shall not be liable to you or to any third party regarding such download or storage.
We do not claim any ownership rights in the DNA samples, the DNA Results or the genetic genealogy and genetic health information in the DNA Reports. All genetic genealogy and genetic health information derived from the DNA samples and the DNA Results, or appearing in the DNA Reports, belongs to the person from whom the DNA was collected, subject only to the rights granted to us in this Agreement. You acknowledge that by providing DNA samples or DNA Results to us, you grant, and you represent that you have the right to grant, to us the right to receive, use, display, and create derivative works of the DNA samples, the DNA Results and the DNA Reports solely through the DNA Services, for commercial and non-commercial purposes and MyHeritage's (and its successors') business, and that you acquire no rights in any research or commercial products that may be developed by us that may relate to your DNA.
We will, if requested by you, destroy the DNA sample provided by you. To request destruction of your DNA sample, contact us as indicated in the "Contact Us" section below. In addition, you can, at any time, delete your DNA Results and DNA Reports from the Website by using the delete function from the "Manage DNA kits" page, or request MyHeritage Customer Support to do this for you.
By submitting DNA samples or DNA Results to us, of yourself or any person from whom you obtained legal authorization as described in this section, you grant us a royalty-free, worldwide license to use your DNA samples, the DNA Results and the resulting DNA Reports to the minimum extent necessary to allow us to provide the Service to you. The license you grant to us is not perpetual: it is revocable as you are able at any time to delete your DNA Results and DNA Reports permanently from the Website and to have us destroy your DNA samples. You release us from any claims, liens, demands, actions or suits in connection with the DNA testing, DNA samples, DNA Results and/or DNA Reports, including, without limitation, errors, omissions, claims for defamation, invasion of privacy, right of publicity, emotional distress or economic loss -- even if you stop using the Website or the DNA Services.
By submitting a DNA sample to us, you agree that it will be stored in the United States and confirm that you aren’t subject to any export ban or restriction in the country of residence. You also agree that you have the authority, under the laws of the state or jurisdiction in which you reside, to provide the representations in this Agreement and you explicitly waive any laws or regulations relating to DNA samples, DNA Results and/or DNA Reports and their storage from the state or jurisdiction in which you reside.
We reserve the right, in our sole discretion, to reject or remove any DNA Reports and/or DNA Results submitted by you or provided by us following processing of your DNA sample, or to restrict, suspend, or terminate this Agreement or your access to any part of the DNA Services at any time, for any or no reason, with or without prior notice, and without liability, except that we will refund you if you purchased a MyHeritage DNA kit from us and we exercised this right.
Eligibility
Use of the DNA Services is void where prohibited. You may use the DNA Services only if you are eighteen (18) years of age or older and are legally capable of forming a binding contract with us. You must not use the DNA Services if your use violates any law or regulation in your jurisdiction of residence. By authorizing the DNA Services, you represent that (a) the DNA sample and/or the DNA Results submitted by you belong to you or, solely with respect to the DNA Genealogy Services, to someone for whom you have legal authorization to submit the sample and/or DNA Results; (b) you are eighteen (18) years of age or older; and (c) your use of the DNA Services does not violate any applicable law or regulation. If any minor uses the DNA Genealogy Services, the parent or guardian of that minor will be held responsible for the minor's actions. If, solely for purposes of the DNA Genealogy Services, you submit a DNA sample of a minor you must be the minor's parent or legal guardian and provide written confirmation of such in a format acceptable to us if we request it. If you have reason to believe you have an active infectious disease, condition or disorder please do not submit your sample to us until that disease, condition or disorder is no longer infectious or has been cured.
Term
If we believe this Agreement or any portion of it have been breached, your DNA sample may not be processed, your DNA Results and DNA Reports may be deleted, and your membership may be terminated without notice. Even after membership is terminated, the terms set forth in this Agreement will remain in effect.
You may delete DNA Results and DNA Reports associated with your account at any time, for any reason.
Non-commercial Use by Members
The DNA Services are for the personal, private and informational use of members only and may not be used in connection with any commercial or research endeavors unless explicitly approved in writing by us in advance. Illegal and/or unauthorized use of the DNA Services, including collecting DNA Results or DNA Reports of others, is prohibited. We reserve the right to protect and enforce all rights associated with the DNA Services offered.
Proprietary Rights in Content
Except for content posted by you, or expressly permitted by the privacy settings of another member, you may not copy, display, modify, publish, distribute, license, or sell any content appearing on the Website or the DNA Services.
Responsibilities and Liabilities
You are solely responsible for the DNA samples and DNA Results you submit to us through the DNA Services and for your interactions with other users. MyHeritage does not control or endorse any actions resulting from your participation in the DNA Services and, therefore, MyHeritage specifically disclaims any liability with regard to any actions resulting from your participation in the DNA Services. We make no warranties, express or implied, as to the DNA Results and DNA Reports or to the accuracy, reliability, comprehensiveness, completeness, quality, security or fitness for purpose of the Website or the DNA Services.
By using the DNA Services, you acknowledge that you may learn information you do not anticipate from the DNA Reports. This information may evoke strong emotions and has the potential to alter your life and worldview. You may discover things about yourself that trouble you and that you may not have the ability to control or change (e.g., that your father is not genetically your father, or your ethnicity is not what you thought it is, or surprising facts related to your ancestry), or that you have a higher than average risk of developing a condition like Alzheimer’s disease). Once you obtain this information, the knowledge is irrevocable. You should not assume that any information we may be able to provide to you, will be welcome or positive. These outcomes could have social, legal, or economic implications.
You further acknowledge that your use of the DNA Services and receipt of the resulting DNA Reports may have serious implications not only for you, but also for your immediate or other family members, since they share some of your DNA. If you are in any way concerned about any such potential implications, DO NOT USE the DNA Services.
If you export your raw DNA data from MyHeritage and upload it to a third-party service for health analysis, you do so solely at your own risk. Some genetic information that MyHeritage has not validated may be exposed, and MyHeritage does not take responsibility for such information as the DNA data for some variants may be miscalled.
You agree to indemnify and hold MyHeritage, its employees, directors, subsidiaries, affiliates and any third party acting on our behalf, and their respective employees and officers, harmless from any loss, liability, claim, or demand, including reasonable attorneys' fees, made due to or arising out of your use of or access to the DNA Services and any implications of such use.
DNA Health Services
You may use the DNA Health Services only if you are eighteen (18) years of age or older.
Health Questionnaire
Before providing you with the DNA Health Reports, we will collect certain self-reported family health history information from you about you and your family members using a questionnaire (the Health Questionnaire Information and the Health Questionnaire, respectively). The Health Questionnaire Information will allow us to determine your eligibility to some of the DNA Health Reports and, if you are eligible to some of the DNA Health Reports, the Health Questionnaire Information will allow us to facilitate the provision and communication of the DNA Health Reports to you. Therefore, you must complete the Health Questionnaire in full.
Before providing information about others, you must obtain any necessary consent from anyone about whom you want to provide Health Questionnaire Information. Your Health Questionnaire Information will be kept and used by us in accordance with our Privacy Policy. You may delete or edit your Health Questionnaire Information by contacting our Customer Support. For more information, please see the Privacy Policy.
Genetics is Only Part of the Picture
The DNA Health Reports provide genetic risk information based on assessment of specific genetic variants but do not report on your entire genetic profile. The DNA Health Reports do not detect all genetic variants related to a given disease, and the absence of a variant tested does not rule out the presence of other genetic variants that may be related to the disease.
In addition, for most diseases, the genes we know about are only responsible for a portion of the overall risk. Other factors such as environment and lifestyle may affect the risk of developing a given disease and, depending on the condition, may be more important predictors. If your data indicates that you are not at elevated genetic risk for a disease or condition, you should not feel safe. The opposite is also true; if your data indicates you are at an elevated genetic risk for a disease or condition, it does not mean you will definitively develop such disease or condition. Any findings within the DNA Health Reports should be confirmed and supplemented by additional clinical testing.
Do Not Rely Solely on the DNA Health Reports
The DNA Health Services are not intended to independently diagnose, prevent or treat a disease or any condition, tell you anything about your current state of health in the absence of medical and clinical information, or be used to make medical decisions, including whether or not you should take a medication or how much of a medication to take. In addition, you might need to obtain further services from your physician, a genetic counselor, or other healthcare provider, to obtain more accurate results regarding the conditions or diseases indicated within your DNA Health Reports.
The DNA Health Services do not offer medical advice or care and are not intended to constitute the practice of medicine by MyHeritage or otherwise create a patient-healthcare provider relationship between MyHeritage and you. The DNA Health Services are purely for research, informational and educational purposes only. The use of any information provided as part of the DNA Health Services (including potentially actionable information we may identify for you, based on your DNA Health Reports and scientific literature or research) is solely at your own risk. You should not rely on the DNA Health Reports as a substitute for visits to a doctor or other healthcare professional, professional medical advice, diagnosis, advice or treatment by a personal physician or other qualified healthcare provider who can consider your health in the broader context of medical management. If you have any concerns or questions arising from your DNA Health Reports or regarding diagnosis, cure, treatment, mitigation, or prevention of any disease or other medical condition, or otherwise about your health, you should consult your doctor or other healthcare professional.
Genetic Research is not Comprehensive and Constantly Progresses
Many of the genetic discoveries that may come up in the DNA Health Reports have not been clinically validated, and the technology we use (same as used by the research community), to date has not been widely used for clinical testing. Also, because of technical variations in our testing device, some DNA Health Reports or some variations in a specific DNA Health Report may not be available to you. The presented risk per variant might be calculated based on ethnic groups that are not relevant for your own ethnicity and therefore do not accurately reflect the risk for you. In the future, the scientific community may show previous research to be incomplete or inaccurate and future scientific research may change the interpretation of your DNA Results.
Other companies offering a genetic risk test may be detecting different genetic variants for the same disease, so you may get different results using a test from a different company. We might also use different mathematical tools and statistical frameworks to assess the presence of a variation and/or your risk level. We reserve the right to update your DNA Health Reports based on new information, data, or scientific findings. We also reserve the right to notify you, once your DNA Health Report changes.
Some people may feel anxious about getting genetic health results. This is normal. If you feel very anxious, you should speak to your doctor or other healthcare professional prior to providing your DNA sample for the DNA Health Services. We encourage you to talk to a genetic counselor, a health professional with special training in genetic conditions and/or board-certified clinical medical geneticist prior to providing your DNA sample for the DNA Health Services to learn more so you can make an informed decision about whether DNA testing is right for you.
DNA Results and/or DNA Health Reports that you choose to share with your physician or other healthcare provider may become part of your medical record and through that route be accessible to other healthcare providers and/or insurance companies in the future. If you are asked by an insurance company whether you have learned about health conditions through genetic information and you do not disclose this to them, this may be considered as fraud.
While our laboratory is licensed in Texas as a clinical laboratory, not all jurisdictions require our DNA Health Services to be subject to license. Therefore, we are not universally licensed by all state, federal, or international authorities for genetic testing conducted for health and disease-related purposes. In addition, there are certain jurisdictions in which we do not offer our DNA Health Services because we do not have required licenses.
For processing orders from customers residing in the United States, we require a physician order to process and release DNA Health Reports to the customers. We work with an independent network of fully licensed, board certified physicians and genetic counselors, PWNHealth, LLC (www.pwnhealth.com) ("PWNHealth"), to provide physician oversight of the MyHeritage DNA Health test. For the purpose of PWNHealth's review by a physician and genetic counselor, your personal information, including the Health Questionnaire Information, the DNA Results and the DNA Health Reports will be confidentially shared with PWNHealth. The fee for the PWNHealth service is collected by MyHeritage on behalf of PWNHealth and included in the total price of the DNA Health Services.
The MyHeritage DNA Health test has not been cleared or approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The FDA does not require this test to go through premarket FDA review.
Limited Use License
You are hereby granted a license to use the Service and the Website solely for personal use, and subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement (the "License"). The Service does not allow any commercial use. We reserve the right to cancel any or all of the Service at any time. Violation of this License may result in the immediate termination of your membership, deletion of your account and in legal action against you.
MyHeritage matching integration with partners
MyHeritage has made available its matching technology for integration by partners such as RootsMagic, Family Historian, and Coret Genealogie. The information passed to us for matching from our partners' software and websites is never used by us for any purpose other than matching, and is never displayed publicly, sold or licensed by us to any third parties. We do not receive a license to such information and such information is not collected by us, and it is deleted automatically after matches are calculated. Users of our partners may receive Smart Matches (family tree matches) with our users, but such matches are not bi-directional: our users will not receive Smart Matches with the users of our partners, and will not be able to see their data.
Copyrights
By posting content on the Website (except with respect to the DNA Services), you grant us a non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide, license to host, display, process, transfer and distribute such content.
All content on the Website, except for user-submitted content, DNA Results, DNA samples and the genetic information in the DNA Reports, is owned by us or by third parties who granted us a limited license in respect of such content (in the cases where such license was necessary). Content posted on family sites is owned by the person who created the content, is under the control of the respective family site manager, and is hosted by us under this Agreement.
The trademarks, trade names, service marks, logos, and other source-identifying features of newspaper content displayed on OldNews.com are proprietary to their respective owners, and our use thereof does not imply any affiliation with or endorsement by such owners.
MyHeritage is protected by copyright pursuant to U.S. and Israeli copyright laws, international conventions, and other applicable copyright laws.
You may not modify the code powering our Website, our Service and our software in any way. You will not undertake or authorize any reproduction, modification, creation of derivative works, reverse engineering, decompiling, disassembling or hacking of any of parts of our Website, Service or software.
Digital Millennium Copyright Act ("DMCA")
It is our policy to respond to notices of alleged copyright infringement that comply with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 ("DMCA"). The DMCA provides remedies for copyright owners who believe that material appearing over the Internet infringes their rights under United States copyright law. To learn more about the DMCA, see www.copyright.gov/legislation/dmca.pdf
If you are a copyright owner or an agent thereof, and you believe in good faith that any content hosted on the Website infringes your copyrights, then you may submit a notification pursuant to the DMCA to our Designated Copyright Agent, by email to: copyright@myheritage.com and optionally also by mail to: Copyright Agent for Notice, Attention: Legal Department, MyHeritage, PO Box 50, Terminal Park, Or Yehuda 6037606, Israel.
Notices must meet the then-current statutory requirements imposed by the DMCA, and should include the following information:
- A physical or electronic signature of a person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed by the material(s).
- Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed, or, if multiple copyrighted works at the Website are covered by a single notification, a representative list of such works.
- Identification of the material that is claimed to be infringing or to be the subject of infringing activity and that is to be removed or access to which is to be disabled, and information reasonably sufficient to permit MyHeritage to locate the material (providing URLs is the best way to help us locate content quickly).
- Contact information to allow MyHeritage to contact the complaining party, such as email address, mailing address and telephone number.
- A statement that the complaining party has a good faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law.
- A statement that the information in the notification is accurate, and under penalty of perjury, that the complaining party is authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.
If you are unsure whether you hold rights to a particular work or if the material you are reporting is in fact infringing, please consult an attorney or another adviser, as MyHeritage cannot provide legal advice. Note that there can be penalties for false claims under the DMCA.
Marketing of our services
By signing up to the Website, you agree that we may use your contact information to offer you MyHeritage products or services which may complement the product or service you originally signed up to use. Such promotional offers may be made via email, telephone or direct mail.
If you do not want to receive marketing offers via emails, you may opt out at any time by using the unsubscribe link listed in the email or by setting your Email Preferences. See the Email Preferences section in our Privacy Policy.
If you do not want to receive marketing offers via telephone or direct mail, please contact us at privacy@myheritage.com or request this whenever you speak with any representative of MyHeritage.
Fees and Payments
Subscriptions
MyHeritage offers the following paid subscription plans in addition to the basic free (Basic) site plan: Premium, PremiumPlus, Data, Complete, Omni, Photo/Reimagine, and OldNews.com Pro.
Due to US regulations, paid subscription plans and other purchases are currently not available to residents of the following locations: Iran, Libya, Sudan, Somalia, North Korea, Russia, Lebanon and Syria.
All subscriptions renew automatically to ensure an uninterrupted service. This means that once you become a subscriber, your subscription will be automatically renewed and your billing choice will be charged based on the subscription duration, unless you opt out or cancel by following the instructions below.
1. Opting Out of Renewal
You may opt out of renewing any of your subscriptions by logging in and utilizing the My Purchases page (choose the relevant plan and click "Stop annual renewal") or by calling MyHeritage at +1-844-994-1888 (toll-free number in the USA; see Contact Us page for additional phone numbers in other countries). If you do not let us know that you want to discontinue your subscription at least one day prior to the end of the current subscription period, payment for the next renewal period of the subscription will be charged.
2. Free Trial
Free trial subscriptions will be billed only at the end of the free trial period.
You may cancel a free trial at any time during the free trial period from the My Purchases page and incur no charge. On that page, choose the relevant plan, and click "Stop free trial".
To start a free trial, your payment details will be required. By providing your payment details and accepting the Terms and Conditions, you agree that MyHeritage may automatically begin charging you for the paid subscription after the free trial ends, on a recurring annual basis. For a free trial that is longer than 7 days, Visa and MasterCard cardholders will be notified by email 7 days before the free trial ends.
3. Refund Policy
MyHeritage values the satisfaction of its customers and offers a thirty (30) day money back guarantee. If you are not satisfied with your purchased subscription plan you may request a full refund by contacting Customer Support within thirty (30) days of being charged.
The money back guarantee applies to MyHeritage subscription plans, and not to MyHeritage DNA kits and other shipped products.
All refunds will be reimbursed to the original credit card with which the purchase was made. After a payment is refunded, it may take several business days until the funds appear in your account.
4. Prices Subject to Change
Prices may be changed by MyHeritage from time to time. For the current prices, see price list. Prices may be subject to additional taxes and customs charges, depending on the country in which you reside.
Following each payment, MyHeritage will send you an email with the details of the purchase and the amount charged.
5. Renewal of subscriptions with Price Lock
Subscriptions that were purchased with a Price Lock guarantee ("Price-Locked Subscriptions") will renew at the same price at which they were originally purchased. If you have a Price-Locked Subscription, then as long as you keep it, you will always be charged the same locked price at renewal anniversaries. If you discontinue a Price-Locked Subscription by stopping its renewal, and allow it to expire, you are not guaranteed to be able to purchase it again at the same price in the future.
Payment for DNA Services
You will be required to register with MyHeritage when you order a MyHeritage DNA kit, unless you already registered before. Registration is free. You will need to retain your login details in order to access your DNA Reports on the Website.
1. Replacements
If you experience any of the following:
- The DNA kit has not reached your shipping destination within 45 days of purchase.
- The DNA sample has not reached our lab within 45 days from the day you sent it.
- You received a damaged DNA kit.
please contact us using our Help Center and we will mail you a replacement DNA kit at no cost.
2. Cancellations and Refunds
You can cancel your order of the DNA kit prior to the DNA sample being received at our lab, and receive a refund. To cancel the order and claim your refund, contact us using our Help Center. The refund will include the DNA kit cost, but not the shipping cost, customs fees or import taxes. All refunds will be reimbursed to the original credit card with which the purchase was made. Please allow several business days for the funds to appear in your account.
We will not issue refunds for DNA kits that are already being processed in our lab or were already processed. Once a DNA sample has been sent to our lab and checked in, the full cost of the DNA kit is non-refundable.
Expected DNA lab processing times are estimated; there may be delays in lab processing during peak periods in the year.
3. DNA Re-test Following Lab Processing Failure
The laboratory may be unable to process some DNA samples. If processing your DNA sample fails, we will mail you a new DNA kit at no cost so you can provide us with a new DNA sample. The DNA kit will be sent to the shipping address you provided.
4. Prices Subject to Change
Prices may be changed by MyHeritage at any time.
Disclaimers, Limitation on Liability, and Indemnity
Disclaimers
a. To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, in no event shall MyHeritage, its officers, representatives, employees, licensors and affiliates be responsible for any incorrect or inaccurate information in connection with the Service, whether caused by Website members, users, our corporate partners, advertisers or by any of the equipment or programming utilized in the operation of the Website or the Service. MyHeritage shall not be responsible for any implications of the DNA Reports or DNA Results, whether or not they are correct or incorrect.
b. MyHeritage and its licensors and affiliates are not responsible for the conduct, whether online or offline, of any website member or user. To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, in no event shall we be responsible for any loss or damage, including lost data, lost information, personal injury or death, or privacy implication resulting from anyone’s use of the Website or the Service, any information posted on the Website or transmitted to members or other users, or any interactions between members or other users of the Website, whether online or offline.
c. The information, products, and services included within the Service and the Website may include inaccuracies or typographical errors.
d. MyHeritage assumes no responsibility for any error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay, , communication line failure, theft or destruction or unauthorized access or alteration of user or member information. MyHeritage is not responsible for any problems or technical malfunction of any communication networks, online computer systems, servers, computer equipment, software, e-mail systems, technical problems, traffic congestion on the internet, or any combination thereof. MyHeritage and its licensors and affiliates are not responsible for any injury or damage to any computer equipment belonging to any Website member or user, or any other person related to or resulting from use of the Website, viewing, or downloading any materials from the Website, or otherwise in connection with the Service.
e. OldNews.com and the Website contain newspapers for historical research. Because these newspapers along with the pictures and articles included within them (the "Newspaper Content") originate from around the world and from different periods in time, the Newspaper Content may contain information that you may consider as sexist, pornographic, indecent, vulgar, disturbing, racist, misleading, fraudulent, or otherwise offensive. MyHeritage does not endorse any such Newspaper Content and assumes no responsibility over such Newspaper Content. You agree that your use of the OldNews.com website and of the Website is at your own risk. You understand and agree that MyHeritage makes no warranty or representation regarding the accuracy, completeness, reliability, or usefulness of the Newspaper Content.
f. The Website and the Service are provided "as-is" and "as available" and, except as otherwise prohibited by applicable law, MyHeritage expressly disclaims any warranty of any kind, expressed or implied, including, without limitation, any warranty of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, title and non-infringement and satisfactory quality, or that the Website will be available at any particular time or location, uninterrupted or secure; that any defects or errors will be corrected; or that the Website is free of viruses or other harmful components. We do not guarantee any specific results from use of the Service. The Website may contain links to third-party websites that are not owned or controlled by us. We have no control over, and assume no responsibility for, the content, policies, or practices of any third-party websites or services. You expressly relieve us from any and all liability arising from your use of any third-party website or services. We do not warrant, endorse, guarantee, or assume responsibility for any specific course of action, resources, tests, physician or other healthcare providers, drugs, medical devices or other procedures or opinions, or any product or service advertised or offered by a third party through the Service or any hyperlinked website, or featured in any banner or other advertising, or other information that may be mentioned on the Website. We will not be a party to or in any way monitor any transaction between you and third-party providers of products or services. We and our third-party suppliers make no representations concerning the suitability, reliability or accuracy of the content provided by the Website for any purpose. In no case will we or our third-party providers be liable for any direct, indirect, punitive, special or other damages including, without limitation, lost profits, loss of data or any other damage in contract, tort, equity or any other legal theory, even if advised of the possibility thereof.
g. MyHeritage may in its sole discretion, review, remove, or edit the DNA Reports and DNA Results.
Limitation on Liability
In no event shall MyHeritage or its third-party suppliers be liable to you or any third party for any indirect, consequential, exemplary, incidental, special or punitive damages, including damages arising from your use of the Service or inability to use the Service or any portion of it, even if we have been advised of the possibility of such damages. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein, our (or our third-party suppliers') liability to you or any third party for any cause whatsoever and regardless of the form of the action, will at all times be limited to the amount you paid to us for the Service during the term of membership (if any).
We assume no liability resulting from any (i) errors, mistakes, or inaccuracies of content; (ii) personal injury or property damage, of any nature whatsoever, resulting from your access to and use of the Service; (iii) any unauthorized access to or use of our servers and/or any and all information stored therein; (iv) any interruption or cessation of transmission to or from the Service; (v) any bugs, viruses, trojan horses, or the like, which may be transmitted through the Service; and/or (vi) any loss or damage of any kind incurred as a result of your use of the Service, whether based on warranty, contract, tort, or any other legal theory. The foregoing limitations of liability shall apply to the fullest extent permitted by law in the applicable jurisdiction.
Because some states/jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion or limitation of liability for consequential or incidental damages, this limitation may not apply in part to you. IF YOU ARE DISSATISFIED WITH ANY PORTION OF THIS SERVICE, OR WITH ANY OF THE TERMS OF THIS AGREEMENT, YOUR SOLE AND EXCLUSIVE REMEDY IS TO DISCONTINUE USING THE SERVICE.
Indemnity
You agree to indemnify and hold MyHeritage, its subsidiaries, employees, directors, licensors, managers, affiliates and any third party acting on our behalf, and their respective officers, and employees, harmless from any loss, liability, claim, or demand, including reasonable attorneys' fees, made by any third party due to or arising out of your use of or access to the Service, your violation of this Agreement and/or any breach of your representations set forth above or if any information that you post on the Website or otherwise submit to us or through the Service causes us to be liable to any third party.
Statute of Limitations with respect to the DNA Services
You agree that, regardless of any statute or law to the contrary and to the extent allowed by applicable law, any claim or cause of action, arising out of or related to use of the DNA Services or this section, must be filed within one year after such claim or cause of action arose, or be forever barred.
Additional Member Terms
1. Registration and Security
A. As part of the registration process, you will submit your email address and full name, and select a password. You are required to pick a password for the Website that is unique, i.e. that you are not using on any other service. You must provide us with your real full name, email address and birth year. Failure to do so constitutes a breach of this Agreement. You must not (i) submit a name or email address of another person with the intent to impersonate that person; (ii) use the name or email address of any person other than yourself without their authorization; (iii) enter an untrue birth year or birth date for yourself; or (iv) use a name or email address that we, in our sole discretion, deem improper or offensive.
B. You must be 13 years or older to use the Service, unless the laws of your location or place or residence require a higher minimum age (see section "Underage Users" below). Registering to the Website shall be deemed as confirmation that you are over the Minimum Age. If you are over the Minimum Age but under the age of 18, you will be requested to submit written consent from a parent or legal guardian to use the Service (for more information, see section "Minors" below).
C. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your password and for all activity on the Website made using your password. Giving your password to others for accessing to the Website is strictly prohibited and shall constitute a breach of this Agreement. We will not require you to reveal your password to any of our representatives. You shall notify us by email at privacy@myheritage.com of any suspected or known unauthorized use of your account, or any suspected or known breach of security. Any fraudulent, abusive, or otherwise illegal activity may be grounds for termination of your membership, at our sole discretion, and you may be reported to the appropriate law enforcement agencies.
2. Modifications to this Agreement and the Service
We retain the right, at our sole discretion, to modify this Agreement or the Service at any time. Changes in Service will be posted on the Website. If any portion of this Agreement or any change of this Agreement or of the Service is unacceptable to you or will cause you to no longer be in compliance with this Agreement, you should discontinue use of the Service. Continued use of the Service now or following changes in this Agreement means that you have accepted and are bound by the changes. It is important that you check the current version of the Agreement from time to time and ensure you are updated as to any changes.
Whenever this Agreement is modified in substance, the label updated will be displayed prominently next to the link "Service Terms" that leads to this Agreement, in the footer of the pages of the Website. The updated label will be removed after 30 days or when you visit the updated Terms and Conditions to read them, whichever comes sooner.
3. Underage Users
Except with respect to DNA Services where the minimum age is 18 (see sub-section "Eligibility" under section "DNA Services" above) we require individuals to be at least 13 years old before they can create an account on MyHeritage, but in some jurisdictions, the minimum age limit is higher (the "Minimum Age").
In observance of laws in Spain, Israel, Canada and South Korea, we require individuals living there to be at least 14 years old before they can create an account and use the Service, and in California at least 16 years old (except for the DNA Services where the minimum age is always 18). Providing false information to create an account violates this Agreement. If your underage child (child under the Minimum Age) has created an account on MyHeritage, you can show them how to delete their account by having them log into their account, select "Account settings" from the Account menu in the top-right corner, then click "Delete my account". To report an account registered for an underage child to us, email the details to us at privacy@myheritage.com. We will promptly delete the account of any child under the Minimum Age that is reported to us.
4. Minors
Except with respect to DNA Services where the minimum age is 18, if you are above the Minimum Age but under the age of 18, you can use the Service. provided that you obtained the consent of your parent or guardian for the use of the Service ("Parental Consent") "). Minors must not use the Service without Parental Consent until they reach the age of 18 or above.
The Website will display a mandatory parent/guardian consent form when a user determined to be a minor signs up or logs into the Website. In the consent form, a parent or guardian is required to enter their full name and email address and to check boxes that declare that they are a parent or guardian of the minor, accept this Agreement and the privacy policy of the Service, and take responsibility for the use of the Service by the minor. If the consent form is displayed, the Service cannot be used until it is filled out. When the consent form is filled out and submitted, the Service will document the details of the Parental Consent and will not make any further use of the details of the parent or guardian filled in the consent form.
Disputes and Governing Law
This Agreement and any dispute regarding the Service shall be exclusively governed by the laws of the State of Israel, without regard to conflict of law provisions, and you agree that any legal proceeding about the execution, performance and/or enforcement of this Agreement shall be brought exclusively to the courts located in Tel Aviv, Israel. You agree that the Service shall be deemed passive and will not give rise to personal jurisdiction over MyHeritage, either specific or general, in jurisdictions other than Israel. In the unlikely event that we have not been able to resolve a dispute we have with you after attempting to do so informally, all claims must be brought in each party's individual capacity and not as a representative plaintiff or class member in any purported class or representative proceeding. You agree that, by entering into this Agreement, each of you and us waives the right to participate in a class action claim.
Entire Agreement
This Agreement, together with the Privacy Policy, the DNA Informed Consent (the "Informed Consent") and any other legal notices or terms published by MyHeritage on the Website (as applicable), shall constitute the entire agreement between you and MyHeritage concerning the Website and the Service. Our Failure to exercise or enforce any right or provision of this Agreement and/or the Informed Consent shall not be deemed as a waiver of such right or provision. The section titles in this Agreement are for convenience only and have no legal or contractual effect. This Agreement and the Informed Consent operate to the fullest extent permissible by law. If any provision of this Agreement or the Informed Consent is unlawful, void or unenforceable, that provision is deemed severable and does not affect the validity and enforceability of any remaining provisions. This Agreement, and any rights and licenses granted hereunder, may not be transferred or assigned by you, but may be assigned by us without restriction. Any attempted transfer or assignment in violation hereof shall be void.
Contact Us
You can contact us if you have any questions or concerns about this Agreement, the Website, the Service or any related topic, by visiting our Help Center, or writing to the address below:
Customer Support
MyHeritage Ltd.
PO Box 50, Terminal Park, Or Yehuda 6037606, Israel
https://www.myheritage.com
Digital Services Act
For the purpose of Article 24(2) of the European Digital Services Act ("DSA"), during the last six months, the average monthly active recipients of our Service in the European Union amounted to a few million. This amount is significantly lower than the threshold of 45 million average monthly active users required to classify the service as a "Very Large Online Platform" (VLOP) under Article 24(2) of the DSA.
MyHeritage has appointed Mr. Evgeny Inberg as its representative in the EU in connection with the DSA. He can be emailed at eurepresentative@myheritage.com.