Privacy Policy

1. Who We Are

GedCom ReportWriter AI is operated by JavaBeanAI. References to "we," "us," or "our" in this policy refer to JavaBeanAI. If you have questions about this policy, contact us at support.gedcom@javabeanai.com.

We build tools that help genealogists transform GEDCOM family tree files into professional reports enhanced with AI-written biographies and media analysis.

2. Age Requirement

Our service is intended for users who are 18 years of age or older. We do not knowingly collect personal information from individuals under 18. If you believe a minor has created an account, please contact us immediately at support.gedcom@javabeanai.com and we will promptly close the account and delete any associated data.

3. Information We Collect

3.1 Account Information

When you create an account via Clerk (our authentication provider), we receive and store:

• Your name and email address (as provided to Clerk)
• A unique identifier assigned by Clerk
• Your account creation date and the date you accepted our Terms of Service

3.2 Genealogical Data

The core data you upload and create within the service includes:

• GEDCOM files — structured genealogy files containing names, dates, places, family relationships, and source citations for individuals in your family tree
• Media files — photographs and document scans you upload and associate with individuals in your tree
• Annotations — biographies, notes, and other content you create or that is AI-generated and saved within the app

Your genealogical data may contain sensitive information including dates of birth and death, places of residence, family relationships, and information about living persons. We treat this data with appropriate care and limit access to you and to the systems described in this policy.

3.3 Usage and AI Interaction Data

• AI chat conversations and queries you initiate within the app
• AI-generated content created in response to your requests
• Usage metrics including AI token consumption and file storage usage (used for operational cost tracking and capacity planning)

3.4 Technical Data

• Log data (server request logs for debugging and security purposes)
• Session cookies set by our authentication provider (Clerk)

4. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect to:

• Provide and operate the GedCom ReportWriter AI service
• Generate AI-powered biographies, transcripts, and analyses from your genealogical data
• Produce reports based on your data and preferences
• Authenticate your identity and secure your account
• Monitor and improve service performance and reliability
• Respond to support requests
• Comply with legal obligations

We do not sell your personal data or your genealogical data to third parties. We do not use your family tree data to train AI models without your explicit consent.

5. Third-Party Services and Data Processors

We use the following third-party services to operate the app. Each acts as a data processor on our behalf and is subject to contractual obligations to protect your data.

6. Data Retention

We retain your data for as long as your account is active. Specifically:

• Active accounts: All data is retained while your account exists
• Immediate deletion requests: All data is permanently deleted from our systems (database and file storage) within 24 hours of your request
• Scheduled deletion (30-day): Your account is locked immediately upon scheduling; all data is permanently deleted after the 30-day period expires
• AI chat history: Retained with your account data and deleted when your account is deleted
• Share links: Temporary public share links for PDFs expire after 7 days by default

Certain anonymized, aggregated usage statistics (e.g., total API call counts with no user identifiers) may be retained for operational analysis after account deletion.

7. Beta Status and Data Continuity

It is our strong intention to preserve all data created during the beta period when the service transitions to general availability. We are committed to making this transition as seamless as possible for our early users.

However, as this is a beta service, we cannot provide an absolute guarantee against data loss. Unforeseen technical issues, infrastructure changes, or service discontinuation could result in partial or complete data loss. We strongly recommend that you:

• Keep your original GEDCOM files backed up outside of this service
• Retain copies of any photos or documents you upload
• Download generated PDFs you want to keep

We will notify users by email in advance of any planned data migration or if there is any risk of data loss.

8. Your Rights

You have the following rights regarding your personal data:

• Access: You can view all your projects, genealogical data, and uploaded media within the app at any time
• Correction: You can edit your account information via your Clerk account settings
• Deletion: You can request deletion of your account and all associated data from the Settings page within the app. You may choose immediate deletion or deletion scheduled for 30 days from the request date
• Data portability: Your original GEDCOM files and uploaded media are available for download within the app
• Objection: You may object to certain processing by contacting us at support.gedcom@javabeanai.com

If you are located in the European Economic Area, United Kingdom, or California, you may have additional rights under applicable law (GDPR, UK GDPR, CCPA). Contact us to exercise these rights.

9. Cookies

We use cookies and similar technologies solely for the operation of the service. Specifically:

• Authentication cookies — set by Clerk to maintain your login session. These are essential for the service to function and cannot be disabled
• Preference cookies — set by the app itself (in your browser's localStorage) to remember display preferences such as dark mode and dismissed notices

We do not use advertising cookies, tracking pixels, or analytics cookies that identify you across other websites.

10. Security

We implement appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect your data, including:

• TLS encryption for all data in transit
• Encryption at rest for stored files and database records
• Access controls limiting data access to authenticated users and their own data only
• Signed, time-limited URLs for accessing stored media

No system is completely secure. In the event of a data breach that affects your personal data, we will notify you as required by applicable law.

11. Children's Privacy

Our service is not directed at children under 18. We do not knowingly collect personal data from anyone under 18. Note that your genealogical data may contain information about minors (such as birth records of living children); this data is stored as part of your family tree but is not used for any purpose other than generating your requested reports.

12. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we make material changes, we will update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page and, where appropriate, notify you by email. Your continued use of the service after any changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

13. Contact Us

If you have questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact: