Privacy statement

Last updated 31 October 2026

Family history is personal. Families share names, dates, photographs, letters — and sometimes old hurts — with us. This page sets out, in plain words, what we collect, why we collect it, and what we will never do with it.

What we collect

Only what we need to make your book:

• Your intake answers. Your name, your relationship to the family, the people you want the book about, and whatever you know about them: names, dates, places, parents, children. "Not sure" is always an acceptable answer.
• Your contact details. Your email address, and a phone number if you choose to give one. We use email to send you project updates.
• Your shipping address, only if you order print. Name, address, and phone number for delivery of your printed books.
• An optional Ancestry.com link. If you (or a family member) have an Ancestry.com tree, you may share a tree link or public username, invite us as a viewer, or send us an export file (GEDCOM). This is entirely optional. We will never ask for your Ancestry password, and you should never send it to us.
• Anything you choose to upload. Drafts, family trees, photographs, letters, documents, and permission letters.
• Your consents. Your acknowledgment of our living-person notice, photo-rights confirmation, and any reuse permissions, with the date you gave them.
• Payment. Payments are handled by our payment provider. We see that you paid and how much; we do not store your full card number.

How we use it

To research, write, review, and deliver your family-history book — and for nothing else. That includes:

• researching the people and places you have asked about;
• sending you updates about your project and asking you questions when we need more information;
• sharing drafts with you for your review;
• delivering your final PDF and, if you ordered it, printing and shipping your books (we share your shipping details with our printer only for that purpose).

Living people

Family trees and family papers almost always include people who are still alive. We take that seriously:

• We use details about living people only to complete your project.
• We never publish information about a living person without consent.
• Your book is yours. We do not post it, sell it, or share it publicly.

What we never do

• We never sell your information or your family's information.
• We never ask for your Ancestry.com password (or any other account password).
• We never publish details about living people without consent.
• We never use your family materials to advertise, without asking you first.

How long we keep it

• While your project is active, we keep everything you have shared so we can do the work.
• After delivery, we keep a reasonable archive of your project — your book files and the sources behind them — so we can help if you need a reprint, a correction, or a later edition.
• You can ask us to delete your materials at any time by writing to us (below). We may need to keep basic payment records where the law requires.

Cookies and analytics

Our site may use a small number of cookies needed for the site and checkout to work. If we add analytics or advertising measurement, we will list it here in plain words and explain how to opt out.

Your choices

You may ask us to see, correct, or delete the information you have shared, or to stop sending you updates. Just write to us.

Contact

Questions about your privacy, or your family's information, come straight to us at Orcas Island Press: hello@orcasislandpress.com

Changes to this page

If we change this statement, we will update the date at the top of this page.