Terms of Use

Last updated: May 2025

1. Acceptance of Terms

By accessing or using Build My Family at www.buildmyfamily.in (the "Service"), you agree to be bound by these Terms of Use. If you do not agree to these terms, please do not use the Service.

We may update these terms from time to time. Continued use of the Service after changes are posted constitutes your acceptance of the revised terms.

2. Description of the Service

Build My Family is a free, browser-based family tree builder. The Service allows you to:

• Create and edit family tree diagrams with an interactive drag-and-drop canvas
• Add family members, record biographical details and dates, and attach photographs
• Visualise your family history using a fan chart view
• Export your family tree as PNG, SVG, GEDCOM, PDF, or JSON
• Import GEDCOM files from other genealogy platforms
• Access free genealogy research guides and tutorials

The Service is provided free of charge and does not require account registration. All core editing features are available without payment and will remain so.

3. Your Data and Ownership

You retain full ownership of all content you create using Build My Family. This includes family member names, dates, biographical information, relationship data, and photographs you upload.

All project data is stored in your browser's local storage on your own device. We do not have access to your family tree content and do not store it on any server. You are solely responsible for backing up your data using the app's export features.

By using the Service, you grant us no rights or licences to your content. Your family history is yours.

4. Acceptable Use

You agree to use the Service only for lawful purposes and in a manner that does not infringe the rights of others. You must not:

• Use the Service to store or share content that is defamatory, obscene, harassing, or otherwise illegal
• Attempt to reverse-engineer, decompile, or otherwise extract the source code of the Service for purposes beyond personal study
• Use automated scripts, bots, or scrapers to access the Service in a way that places unreasonable load on our infrastructure
• Attempt to circumvent or disable any security features of the Service
• Impersonate any person or entity or misrepresent your affiliation with any person or entity

We reserve the right to block access to the Service for users who violate these terms.

5. Advertising

Build My Family displays advertisements served by Google AdSense to support the continued free operation of the Service. By using the Service, you acknowledge that advertisements may be shown on the site.

Advertisement content is determined by Google and is subject to Google's advertising policies. We do not control the specific advertisements displayed.

You can opt out of personalised advertising through Google's Ad Settings.

6. Intellectual Property

The Build My Family application, including its design, source code, guides, branding, and written content (but not your personal family tree data), is the intellectual property of Build My Family and its contributors.

The genealogy research guides published on this site are original works. You may share links to guides, quote brief excerpts with attribution, or print guides for personal use. You may not reproduce guides in full for commercial purposes without our written permission.

The GEDCOM standard is maintained by FamilySearch. References to Ancestry, FamilySearch, MyHeritage, and other platforms are for compatibility and informational purposes only. These are trademarks of their respective owners.

7. Disclaimer of Warranties

The Service is provided on an "as-is" and "as-available" basis without warranties of any kind, either express or implied. We make no warranty that:

• The Service will be uninterrupted, error-free, or free of viruses or other harmful components
• Any errors in the Service will be corrected
• The Service will meet your specific requirements

Genealogy research involves working with historical records that may contain errors, inconsistencies, or gaps. We make no guarantees about the accuracy or completeness of the genealogy guides published on this site. Always verify genealogical claims against primary source documents.

8. Limitation of Liability

To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, Build My Family and its operators shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, including but not limited to:

• Loss of family tree data due to browser data being cleared, device failure, or any other cause
• Loss of data due to failure to back up your projects using the export features
• Any errors in genealogy research guided by information on this site

Our total liability for any claim arising from use of the Service is limited to zero, as the Service is provided free of charge.

We strongly recommend maintaining regular JSON backups of your family tree projects.

9. Third-Party Links and Services

The Service and guides may contain links to third-party websites such as Ancestry, FamilySearch, the National Archives, and genealogy databases. These links are provided for informational purposes only. We have no control over third-party sites and are not responsible for their content, privacy practices, or availability.

10. Termination

You may stop using the Service at any time. You can delete all locally stored data by clearing your browser's local storage for this site.

We reserve the right to discontinue or modify the Service at any time without notice. In the event the Service is shut down, users will retain all data they have previously exported.

11. Governing Law

These Terms of Use are governed by and construed in accordance with applicable law. Any disputes relating to these terms shall be resolved in good faith through direct communication before any formal proceedings.

12. Contact

If you have questions about these terms or wish to report a violation, please contact us:

• Email: rajan.jeffry18@gmail.com
• Website: www.buildmyfamily.in