Privacy Policy & Terms of Use

Terms and Conditions

Effective Date: 18 September 2023

Welcome to HeredityLab. Below are our Terms and Conditions, followed by the Privacy Policy. Please read the following carefully.

1. Introduction and Services:

By usage of the website that links to these Terms and Conditions (the “Terms”)—HeredityLab, General Genetic Ancestry Test, Jewish Diaspora Genetic Ancestry Test, Central Asian Genetic Ancestry Test—as well as other related services (the “Services”), you agree to these Terms. Any new features included in the Services in the future will also be subject to these Terms.

These Terms incorporate by reference additional policies and guidelines, including the Privacy Statement. Please read all of these documents carefully to understand your rights and responsibilities when using the Services. If you do not agree to these Terms, you should not use our Services.

If you have any questions about these Terms or our Services, please contact us.

1.1 Unexpected Results

When using our Services, you may encounter unexpected results. Note that these results entail a degree of speculation, since our algorithms match you to samples within the relevant reference panel. You agree to assume all risks associated with your use of the services and to not hold HeredityLab liable for any social, emotional, or legal consequences of such discoveries.

1.2 Eligibility To Use The Services

Everyone who uses the Services is a “User.” Users may need to provide information (name, email address) to use certain Services, and you agree to provide accurate information when providing this.

The Services are intended for those who have reached the age of consent where the Services are being offered. If you are between the ages of 13 and the age of consent where you live, you may use the Services (excluding the DNA Services) with your parent’s or guardian’s permission. Children under the age of 13 are not permitted to use our Services.

1.3 Use Of The Services

In exchange for access to the Services, you agree to comply with the following:
– Being responsible for all use and activity of the Services associated with the email address and name you have provided
– To contact us if you suspect your email address or name have been used without your authorization
– Not to resell the Services or resell, reproduce, or publish any content or information found on the Services, except as explicitly described in these Terms
– Not to access or collect data from any Services in bulk or attempt to access data without permission—whether manually or by automated means. This includes, but is not limited to, use of any artificial intelligence, bots, crawlers, spiders, data-miners, or scrapers.

1.4 Additional Terms Applicable To Use Of DNA Services

The purpose of the DNA Services is to provide genetic results and related reports for your informational, recreational, educational, and personal research use. As used in these Terms, “DNA Services” refers to the processing of your DNA file and our procurement to you of the results in a PDF or similar format.

1.4.1 Eligibility to Use DNA Services

The DNA Services are intended for those who have reached the age of consent where the DNA Services are being offered and you must be at least that age to order a HeredityLab test.

1.4.2 Your Use of DNA Services

In addition to the requirements above, you also agree to the following:

– Not to resell HeredityLab’s services;
– Any DNA file you provide is either your own or provided by a person for whom you are a parent or legal guardian;
– Not to send us a DNA file in violation of any law;
– Not to use information obtained from the DNA Services in part, or in combination with any other database or service, for any medical, diagnostic, or paternity testing purpose, in any judicial proceeding, or for any discriminatory purpose or illegal activity.

5. Termination Or Suspension Of Your Access To The Services

We reserve the right to limit, suspend, or terminate your access to the Services if you breach these Terms. If applicable laws where you live require additional notice or process, we will provide such notice and process to you.

6. No Guarantees or Warranties

We provide the Services to you on an “AS-IS” basis, meaning without any guarantee or warranty. To the maximum extent permitted by law, we disclaim all warranties express or implied, including the implied warranties of non-infringement, merchantability, and fitness for a particular purpose. We do not make any promises about (a) the specific functionality of the Services, (b) the quality, accuracy, reliability, or availability of the Services.

7. HeredityLab’s Limited Liability

By using the Services, you agree that HeredityLab’s liability is limited to the fullest extent allowed by law. We will not be liable for any unintentional damage, any actual, incidental, or consequential damage, or for any loss or claim of any kind. If you live in a jurisdiction that does not allow us to broadly limit our liability, some of these limitations may not apply to you.

If you are dissatisfied with any portion of the Services or with any statement in these Terms, your sole remedy is to stop using the Services. Our total liability in any matter related to the Services or these Terms is limited to the aggregate amount you paid to us preceding the event giving rise to the liability.

8. Your Indemnity

You agree that you will indemnify and hold HeredityLab harmless from any claims, damages, or other expenses (including attorney’s fees) that result from your use of the Services and (a) your violation of these Terms or other documents or policies incorporated herein by reference; (b) your violation of another person’s rights; or (c) any claim related to your results, including a claim that your results caused damage to another person. This indemnification obligation will continue after you stop using the Services. In addition, you release HeredityLab from all claims, demands, actions, or suits in connection with your results, including any liability related to our use or non-use of your results, claims for defamation, invasion of privacy, right of publicity, emotional distress, or economic loss.

9. Miscellaneous

9.1 Modifications

We may modify these Terms at any time and agree to notify you of any material changes by posting information through the Services or sending you an email. Material changes become effective thirty days after they are posted, except for changes addressing new Services or legal requirements, which will be effective immediately. Your continued use of the Services means you accept the modified Terms. If you do not agree to the changes, you should stop using the Services.

9.2 Entire Agreement

These Terms and other documents incorporated by reference are the entire agreement between you and HeredityLab regarding your use of the Services and supersede any prior agreements.

9.3 Severability

Except as explicitly provided herein, the unenforceability of any section or clause in these Terms will not affect the enforceability of the remaining Terms.

9.4 No Waiver

Our failure to enforce any provision of these Terms is not a waiver of our rights under that provision, and we reserve all rights not expressly provided to you herein.

At HeredityLab, your privacy is a top priority. HeredityLab is committed to being a good steward of your Personal Information (defined below), handling it in a responsible manner, and securing it with administrative, technical, organizational, and physical safeguards. We believe in being honest, direct, and transparent when it comes to your data.

When You Use Our Services

The DNA data you upload is deleted 7 days after processing. We do not retain any information aside from a record of order dates according to name and email address.

1. Introduction

To provide and improve the websites, mobile applications, and services (collectively the “Services”), we collect, store, and otherwise process “Personal Information“, which is information that can identify you, directly or indirectly, which includes only the information you have entered into the contact form or the file submission form. Personal Information includes your name, email, address, and genetic data file. This Privacy Statement describes our practices for collecting, storing, and otherwise processing your Personal Information. This Privacy Statement includes our Cookie Policy below, our which describes our use of browser cookies and similar tracking technologies.

2. Your Use of HeredityLab’s Services

In order to use our services, you only need to provide your name, email address, and DNA file. We will collect and process your Personal Information as described in this Privacy Statement.

3. What Personal Information Does HeredityLab Collect From You?

The types of Personal Information we receive and collect from you include your name, email address, and DNA file. Payments are processed via Stripe. We use your email address to deliver your Genetic Ancestry Report. We use your genetic information in the form of your DNA file to generate ancestral genetic estimates in terms of similarity to genetic markers found in populations in our reference panel. This genetic information is solely used to generate the ancestral genetic estimates and is deleted after 7 days following the processing of your DNA file. HeredityLab does not share your Genetic Information with third-party marketers, insurance companies, or employers. We use your Personal Information to communicate with you about the Services, such as when we respond to your inquiries or provide you with information or request action in response to technical, security, and other operational issues. The Personal Information is also used to process or fulfill orders and transactions and verify customer information. Personal information is only shared in instances deemed reasonably necessary, such as in instances where law enforcement requests it; however, given the current limited scope of our project these types of instances are extremely unlikely.

4. Cookie Policy

Cookies are text files that have small amounts of information which are downloaded to your device as you browse various sites. The only cookies our site uses are in conjunction with Google Analytics to determine site usage statistics, and WordPress Forms. The cookies associated with this record the information about the person’s device, browser, and the visitor’s overall behavior online. The policies associated with Google Analytics, including usage of cookies, can be found here: https://policies.google.com/technologies/cookies?hl=en-US . The WordPress Forms plugin uses the _WPFUUID cookie which allows the paid version of the plugin to connect entries by the same user and some additional features like the form abandonment addon.

5. Security

HeredityLab maintains a comprehensive information security program designed to protect our customers’ Personal Information using administrative, physical, and technical safeguards.

The specific security measures used are based on the sensitivity of the Personal Information collected. We have measures in place to protect against inappropriate access, loss, misuse, or alteration of Personal Information (including Genetic Information) under our control.

We regularly review our security and privacy practices and enhance them as necessary to help ensure the integrity of our systems and your Personal Information.

We use secure server software to encrypt Personal Information (including Genetic Information), and we only partner with security companies that meet and commit to our security standards. While we cannot guarantee that loss, misuse, or alteration of data will not occur, we use appropriate technical and organizational measures to prevent this.

It is also important for you to guard against unauthorized access to your Personal Information by maintaining strong passwords and protecting against the unauthorized use of your own computer or device.

6. Changes to This Privacy Statement

We may modify this Privacy Statement at any time, but we will provide prominent advance notice of any material changes to this Privacy Statement, such as by posting a notice through the Services, on our websites, or sending you an email, to provide you the opportunity to review the changes and choose whether to continue using the Services. If you object to any changes, you may request to have your information removed (name, email address).