Privacy & practice

Opt-Out Basics

Audit your own exposure. Search your own identifiers, document the source, use the site’s current removal route, save confirmation, and schedule a later verification.

Open the safe workflow

Illustration of archival papers protected by a blue shield beside a balance scale and evidence ledger — Illustration · A symbolic privacy shield, not a certification

Decision test

Would this use surprise or endanger the person?

If yes—or if the purpose depends on avoiding consent—stop. Use a safer route, a formal authorized process, or no search at all.

State the legitimate purpose

Write why the research is necessary and what outcome is allowed.

Minimize the identifiers collected

Collect only what answers the question; do not expand the dossier by default.

Verify before associating

Use independent details and preserve conflicts or uncertainty.

Limit sharing and retention

Keep sensitive details out of public notes and delete what is no longer needed.

Illustration of an archive card catalog surrounded by fictional silhouette portraits — Illustration · Fictional silhouettes used to avoid depicting real people

Official source

Read the rule in context.

Resources for Genealogists and Family HistoriansU.S. National Archives and Records Administration ↗Fair Credit Reporting ActFederal Trade Commission ↗

Continue the trail

Keep the evidence moving.

Move to the next guide only when it answers a different question. That keeps the research plan focused and retraceable.

01 · Field route

Councilon

Plan a responsible search for a person, address, or historical public record

Open the guide

02 · Field route

Start With What You Know

Turn known facts into a focused research question

Open the guide