Privacy Policy

Effective date: October 22, 2026

This Privacy Policy explains how Mariner Finance LLC ("Marinerreview," "we," "us," or "our") collects, uses, stores, and protects personal information when you visit marinerreview.com (the "Site") or use our family history and ancestry research tools, including family trees, historical record searches, DNA insights, photo restoration, and family story features (together, the "Service"). We operate the Site ourselves. By using the Site you acknowledge the practices described here. If you do not agree with them, please do not register for an account.

Family history work is personal. It involves details about you, your relatives, and sometimes people who have passed away. We have written this policy in plain language so that you can see exactly what we handle and why. Our mailing address is 8110 Corporate Drive, Nottingham, MD 21236.

1. Summary of key points

• We collect only the information needed to run your account and the research tools you choose to use.
• We do not sell personal information, and we do not share it for cross-context behavioral advertising.
• DNA and genetic data is sensitive. We collect it only if you choose to submit it, and we never sell it.
• Text message participation is optional and separate from registering. No mobile information is shared with third parties for marketing.
• You can access, correct, download, or delete your information at any time by contacting us.
• The Service is for adults only. We do not knowingly collect information from anyone under 18.

2. Information we collect

2.1 Information you give us directly

• Registration details: your name, email address, password (stored in hashed form), and, if you choose to provide it, your mobile phone number.
• Family-tree data: names, dates, places, relationships, notes, and sources you add about yourself and your relatives, whether living or deceased.
• Uploaded media: photographs, scanned documents, letters, certificates, audio recordings, and written family stories that you upload, along with any captions or tags you add.
• DNA-related data: if, and only if, you choose to submit genetic test results or related files to use a DNA insights feature, we process that file and the results derived from it.
• Communications: messages you send to our support team, survey responses, and records of your choices about email and text messages.
• Consent records: the date, time, and wording of the consents you give on the registration form, including whether you ticked the optional text message box.

2.2 Information collected automatically

• Device and usage data: IP address, browser type and version, operating system, device identifiers, referring page, pages viewed, features used, approximate location derived from the IP address, and the date and time of each visit.
• Cookie and similar data: small files and local storage entries that keep you signed in, remember preferences, and help us understand how the Site performs (see Section 8).
• Log data: technical records of requests, errors, and security events.

2.3 Information about other people

When you add relatives to a tree, you are giving us information about people other than yourself. You are responsible for having a legitimate reason to share it. Please be thoughtful about living relatives: we recommend entering only limited details about living people, such as a first name and a relationship, unless they have agreed to be included. See Section 6 for how we treat living-person data.

2.4 Sources of information

We receive information from you, from your device and browser when you use the Site, and from the historical record collections that we make searchable. Historical records, such as census entries, civil registrations, immigration lists, and similar archival material, are generally publicly available or historical in nature, and we describe them as such in the Service.

3. How we use information

We use personal information to:

1. create and manage your account and authenticate you;
2. build, display, store, and back up your family trees, media, and stories;
3. run searches of historical records and suggest possible matches for you to review;
4. provide DNA insight features when you choose to use them;
5. restore, enhance, or organize photographs you upload;
6. send account notices, registration confirmations, security alerts, and customer-service replies by email and, if you opted in, by text message;
7. respond to questions and requests, including privacy requests;
8. monitor the Site, prevent fraud and abuse, and keep the Service secure;
9. analyze usage in aggregate to fix problems and improve the Service;
10. comply with law and enforce our Terms of Use.

We do not use your family-tree contents, photographs, stories, or DNA data to advertise to you or to build advertising profiles.

4. Legal bases for processing

Where the law asks us to identify a basis for processing, we rely on the following: (a) performance of our agreement with you, to provide the account and the features you request; (b) your consent, for optional activities such as text messages, DNA-related processing, and non-essential cookies, which you may withdraw at any time; (c) our legitimate interests in operating a secure, reliable, and improving Service, balanced against your rights; and (d) compliance with legal obligations.

5. How we share information

We run the Service ourselves and do not sell your personal information. We disclose information only in these limited situations:

• Service providers acting on our behalf under contract. We use hosting, storage, email delivery, and similar infrastructure providers that process data only to perform services for us, under written terms that restrict their use of the data and require appropriate security.
• With people you choose. Trees, photos, and stories are private by default. If you invite relatives to view or contribute, they will see what you choose to share with them.
• Legal and safety reasons. We may disclose information if we believe in good faith that it is required by law, subpoena, or court order, or necessary to protect the rights, property, or safety of users, the public, or Mariner Finance LLC.
• Business changes. If we are involved in a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, information may be transferred as part of that transaction, subject to this policy or to notice and a choice if practices materially change.
• Aggregated or de-identified data. We may use data that cannot reasonably be linked to you, for example overall usage counts.

We do not share DNA or genetic data with employers, insurers, or advertisers, and we do not sell it.

6. Family-tree data, living and deceased relatives, and uploaded photos

Living people. Information about living individuals is treated as personal information. By default, details about people marked as living are visible only to you and to people you explicitly invite. We do not publish living-person details in public search results. If you are a living person listed in someone else's tree and you want your details corrected or removed, contact us and we will review the request and act on it.

Deceased people. Information about people who have passed away is generally not personal information under privacy laws, but we still handle it with care. You can ask us to review or remove details about a deceased relative if you are a close family member and have a reasonable concern.

Photographs and documents. Photos you upload may show faces and other identifying features. We use them to store, restore, and display them to you and to those you choose. We do not use facial recognition to identify people for any purpose other than features you actively request, and we do not use your images to train models offered to others.

Stories and notes. Written and recorded material remains yours. You grant us only the permission described in our Terms of Use to host and display it for you.

7. DNA and genetic data

DNA and genetic information is among the most sensitive data we could handle. This section describes our approach.

• Only if you choose. We do not collect DNA data unless you affirmatively upload a file or enter results to use a DNA insights feature. You can use the rest of the Service without ever providing it.
• Separate consent. Before processing DNA data we ask for your specific consent, describing what is processed and why. Consent for DNA processing is separate from your agreement to the Terms of Use and from any text message consent.
• Never sold. We do not sell DNA or genetic data. We do not share it for advertising, and we do not disclose it to employers or insurers.
• Limited purpose. We use it only to generate the insights you request, such as possible relative connections or ancestral origin estimates, and to store those results for you.
• Deletion. You may delete uploaded DNA files and derived results at any time through your account or by contacting us. We will delete them from active systems and instruct service providers to delete their copies, and remove them from backups on the normal backup cycle.
• Family implications. Genetic information reveals things about biological relatives who have not agreed to share it. Please consider your relatives before you upload.
• Limits. DNA insights are informational, are not medical or diagnostic advice, and are not a substitute for professional genetic counseling.

Template notice: this policy is based on a general-purpose template. Genetic privacy rules vary by state, and counsel should review this section before it is relied upon for your circumstances.

8. Cookies, similar technologies, and Global Privacy Control

We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:

• Essential: keep you signed in, protect forms from abuse, and balance traffic. These cannot be switched off without affecting how the Site works.
• Preferences: remember settings such as display choices.
• Analytics: help us measure visits and understand which features are useful. We use this information in aggregate.

You can control cookies through your browser settings, including blocking or deleting them, though some features may stop working. Our Site honors the Global Privacy Control (GPC) signal and similar browser-based opt-out preference signals as a request to opt out of sale or sharing of personal information where applicable law requires. Because we do not sell or share personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising, the signal does not change how we treat your data, but we respect it. Some browsers offer a "Do Not Track" setting; there is no uniform standard for it, so we treat GPC as the operative signal.

9. Text messages and mobile information

If you choose to receive account-notification text messages from us, we collect your mobile number and a record of your consent. Providing a number and opting in to texts is optional, uses a separate unticked checkbox on the registration form, and is never a condition of registering, buying, or using any service. Messages are limited to account notices, registration confirmations, security alerts, and customer-service replies. We do not send marketing texts under this program. Our program is called "Marinerreview Account Alerts," and we send up to 4 messages per month. Message and data rates may apply. You can reply STOP at any time to cancel and HELP for help.

No mobile information will be shared with third parties or affiliates for marketing or promotional purposes. All of the above categories exclude text messaging originator opt-in data and consent; this information will not be shared with any third parties.

Full program details are in our SMS Terms. To stop texts, reply STOP or use our opt-out page.

10. Retention

We keep personal information for as long as your account is active and as needed to provide the Service. If you close your account, we delete or de-identify your family-tree data, media, and profile information within a reasonable period, generally within 90 days, except where we must keep certain records. We retain the following longer where needed: consent and opt-out records (to demonstrate compliance and honor your choices), security and fraud-prevention logs, records needed for legal, tax, or accounting duties, and information required to resolve disputes. Backup copies are overwritten on a regular schedule. DNA files and derived results are deleted on request as described in Section 7.

11. Security

We use administrative, technical, and physical safeguards designed to protect personal information, including encrypted connections (HTTPS), hashed passwords, access controls limited to staff who need data to do their jobs, and monitoring for suspicious activity. Sensitive data such as DNA files receives additional access restrictions. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security. Please use a strong, unique password and tell us right away if you suspect unauthorized access to your account. If a breach affects your information, we will notify you and regulators as required by law.

12. Children under 18

The Service is intended for adults aged 18 and older. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 18, and we do not permit minors to register. If you are a parent or guardian and believe a minor has given us information, contact us and we will delete it. Adults may add information about children in their family to private trees only to the extent permitted by law, and we encourage including only minimal details about living minors.

13. Your privacy rights

Depending on where you live, you may have some or all of the following rights:

• Access and know: confirm whether we process your information and receive a copy or description of it, including the categories and purposes.
• Correct: ask us to fix inaccurate information.
• Delete: ask us to delete information we hold about you.
• Portability: receive your information in a portable, commonly used format.
• Opt out: of the sale of personal information, of sharing for targeted advertising, and of certain profiling. We do not sell personal information or share it for targeted advertising.
• Limit or withdraw consent: including consent to process sensitive data such as DNA data, and consent to text messages.
• Non-discrimination: we will not deny you service or charge different prices because you exercise a privacy right.

13.1 State-specific information

Residents of California (CCPA/CPRA), Colorado, Connecticut, Virginia, Utah, Texas, Oregon, Montana, and other states with comprehensive privacy laws may exercise the rights those laws provide. California residents may also ask which categories of personal information we disclosed for business purposes in the prior twelve months; those categories are identity and contact data, account and tree content, device and usage data, and communications records, disclosed only to service providers under contract. We have not sold or shared personal information in the prior twelve months. Residents of states that grant a right to appeal may appeal our decision by replying to our response with the word "Appeal," and we will respond within the time the law allows. If your appeal is denied, you may contact your state attorney general.

13.2 How to make a request

Email [email protected], call (917) 563-6535 during business hours, or write to us at the address below. Put "Privacy Request" in the subject line and tell us what you want to do. We will need to verify your identity, usually by matching details to your account and confirming through the email address on file. You may use an authorized agent; we may ask for written proof of authority. We respond within 45 days, and if we need more time, up to an additional 45 days, as permitted, with notice to you. There is no charge unless requests are manifestly excessive or repetitive.

14. Your choices

• Email: you can opt out of non-essential email using the link in the message. We will still send essential account and security notices.
• Text messages: reply STOP, or visit /opt-out.
• Account settings: you can edit or delete tree entries, media, and stories directly in your account.
• Cookies: adjust in your browser or send a GPC signal.

15. Data location and transfers

The Service is intended for users in the United States and our systems are operated in the United States. If you access the Site from elsewhere, you understand that your information will be processed in the United States, where privacy laws may differ from those in your location.

16. Links and other sites

Our Site may mention outside websites, such as public archives. We do not control their content or privacy practices, and this policy does not apply to them. Please read their policies before giving them information.

17. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. When we do, we will change the effective date above and, for material changes, give notice by email or a prominent notice on the Site before the changes take effect where required. Your continued use after the effective date means you accept the updated policy, except where the law requires fresh consent, which we will request.

18. Contact us

Questions or requests about this policy can be sent to:

Mariner Finance LLC
8110 Corporate Drive
Nottingham, MD 21236
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (917) 563-6535
Hours: Monday–Friday, 9:00 AM–6:00 PM

See also our Terms of Use and SMS Terms.