Company Overview

MyHeritage is a company that enables users to discover their past and empower their future. Their commitment to diversity and heritage drives the development of innovative technologies, which create an exceptional user experience.

MyHeritage also allows users to explore their family history in their global database of 17 billion records, with billions more added each year. Additionally, users can discover their ethnic origins and receive DNA matches to relatives with a simple cheek swab test. From a humble garage startup, MyHeritage has grown into a company that makes meaningful discoveries easier than ever.

MyHeritage's mission is to help people discover their past, empower their future, and connect with their families. Their products are available in 42 languages, allowing them to reach users worldwide. MyHeritage is dedicated to making family history accessible and easy for everyone, regardless of language or location.

MyHeritage has a team of over 700 employees working across offices in Israel, the US, Europe, and South America. With a growing international user base, they are committed to providing an exceptional experience for their users worldwide.

MyHeritage was founded in 2002 by Gilad Japhet (CEO) and his father, Saar Wilf. The company began as a hobby project for fathers and sons to share their family history online. The Japhet family has a long tradition of researching their genealogy, and they wanted to make this information available to other family members.

MyHeritage was born out of this desire to connect families and make their histories accessible to everyone. It is a for-profit company offering various family history services to users. They have free basic membership and paid subscriptions for additional features. MyHeritage makes money through advertisements, premium memberships, DNA testing, and partnerships with third-party companies.

Type Of Consumer Data Collected?

The information collected from you falls into two categories: 

1 - Information Shared Directly With Company

When you sign up for the service, create a family tree or do your family history research using the service, communicate with customer support staff, and fill in a questionnaire or survey on the website. So on – you will be asked to provide certain information about yourself, such as your name, email address, date of birth, gender, and so on.

In addition, when you purchase a DNA test or upload your DNA data to their website, they extract your DNA from your DNA sample or use your uploaded DNA Results. They process them and conduct genetic analyses to provide you with our DNA services.

2 - Information Collected Automatically When You Use the Service

When you use the service, MyHeritage collects web behavior information about you using technical means of data collection to enhance your experience of visiting the website.

How Is Consumer Data Used?

The information the Company collects from you is used for the following purposes:

• To provide, operate, and maintain their service;

• To improve services, develop new features and functionality;

• To understand how their service is being used and make decisions about future development;

• To provide customer support;

• To communicate with you about the service or your account;

• To detect, investigate, and prevent fraudulent activities and another misuse of the Service; and

• To comply with legal obligations.

The Rights Given Under CCPA, FCRA, GDPR, and DPA

The California Consumer Privacy Act, Fair Credit Reporting Act, General Data Protection Regulation, and the Data Protection Act all give individuals certain rights concerning their data. Below is a summary of these rights as they relate to MyHeritage:

• Right to Know what personal data a company collects about you, why MyHeritage collected it, and how it will use the data.

• Right to Delete any information the company holds about you.

• Right to Opt-Out of Sale of your data.

• Right to Non-Discrimination for exercising your rights under CCPA, FCRA, GDPR, or DPA.

How To Request Deletion Of Your Data?

Opt-Out From Email Marketing

Each non-transactional email sent to you by MyHeritage includes a footer link that opens the Email Preferences page, where you can easily disable any email type you no longer want to receive or enable some emails you have previously disabled.

Deletion Of Data

You have three ways you can opt.

• Email privacy@myheritage.com.

• Call them at +1-844-994-1888 (toll-free number in the USA).

• Fill out this form for the deletion of data and this form to exercise the right to seek information collected and shared about you.