Privacy Policy
We at clarifY DNA ("clarifY", "we", "this website", "this service", "clarifYDNA.com", "our", "us") collect personal information from our customers ("you", "your") in the regular course of doing business, and in helping you compare your Y-DNA data with other customers ("others in your patrilineal genetic neighbourhood"). This document answers some of your most frequently asked questions, and lets you know exactly how we are protecting the information you entrust to us.
What personal information does this service collect about you?
We collect the following information about you:
- Your Y-DNA sequencing results, which you have either uploaded to this website or shared by other means.
- We do not deal with DNA samples, only the results of Y-DNA sequencing -- from labs operated by other companies.
- Our Terms and Conditions prohibit a person's Y-DNA results from being uploaded to this website without that person's consent.
- This service analyses Y-DNA results, including Y-DNA results arising "next-generation" Y-DNA sequencing. clarifY does not use a kit's raw sequencing data; rather, our service processes a kit's called variants, intelligently comparing them with other kits' results.
- The data that we receive generally does not contain any medically relevant data; Y-DNA testing companies typically filter out medically relevant information before reporting "next-generation" sequencing results. Despite these efforts, some medically relevant information -- particilarly information relevant to male fertility -- may slip through their filtering process.
- You should recognise that "next-generation" Y-DNA sequencing data is so comprehensive that it has the potential to genetically identify a male individual or his immediate patrilineal family.
- Your clarifYDNA.com account password.
- Our account database stores passwords in an encrypted format, meaning that we are not able to see your actual password.
- Your email address.
- Ancestral information, provided by you, about each kit's test subject's patriline (optional).
- Your mailing address.
- Your order history.
- Our correspondence, either through this website or through other channels, and your customer feedback.
- If you provide a testimonial, we will seek your permission before publishing it.
- Your contact form messages.
- User-to-user messages will be routed through this website, and their sending will be logged, but the actual message content is not stored by this website.
When you visit our website, we also collect the following usage statistics, using our own logs and scripts supplied by external web analytics companies:
- Information about your computer, including your IP address, the type of operating system and browser you use, and your computer’s location.
- What pages you visit on our site and what links you click on.
We do not collect financial information; PayPal handles payments on our behalf. PayPal may report your billing address to us, when applicable.
How does this service use this information?
The main reasons we collect personal information from you are:
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To determine your position on the human Y-DNA tree, to connect you with others in your patrilineal genetic neighbourhood and to show you how your Y-DNA signature differs from others in your patrilineal genetic neighbourhood.
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To complete a sale or transaction with you.
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To determine whether your location requires us to charge sales tax on your order.
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To help us make our website and services better.
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To understand our service's audience.
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To advance our knowledge of this field.
What information about me will other members of this website see?
Other users of this website will only be able to see information about your kit if your kit is in their "patrilineal genetic neighbourhood". These other users will see the following information about your kit:
- A kit's assigned clarifY ID (starting with "CL") will be visible in the reports of others in that kit's genetic neighbourhood.
- Genetic neighbourhoods may be asymmetrical: if you have many immediate patrilineal relatives tested, you may not be able to see a slightly more distant patrilineal relative, but you may appear in their genetic neighbourhood.
- Any recent Y-DNA mutations which our phylogenetic algorithm deduces are common or potentially common to your kit and other members in that kit's genetic neighbourhood
- Your matches will not be able to access your actual "next-generation" Y-DNA sequencing results.
- Your matches will not be able to see the details of Y-DNA mutations which are judged by our algorithm to be exclusive to your patriline.
- Your matches may be able to see the names/positions of some Y-DNA mutations thought to be common to your immediate genetic neighbourhood, but not reliably testing positive in all of those people. In other words, your matches may see the names/positions of mutations which you are known to possess, but which they are not confirmed to possess (due to gaps or discrepancies in their data) but are thought to possess as well.
- As closer patrilineal relatives join this service, your more distant relatives will disappear from reports, and will no longer be able to contact you, but your clarifY kit ID will still show up in older versions of their reports.
- Your kit's associated contact email addresses (optional).
- It is the kit administrator's decision whether or not the given kit's contact email addresses will be displayed. Either all email addresses for a kit are displayed, or none are.
- If the kit administrator choose not to have these addresses displayed, then your matches will be able to make contact with you through this site's user-to-user contact form.
- Members can only contact other members in their genetic neighbourhood.
- The patrilineal information that you provided for that kit (optional).
How else will my personal information be used?
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Your personal information is stored on our web hosting provider's server. We also store copies of this information offline for backup and phylogenetic purposes.
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clarifY reserves the right to share or sell our aggregated Y-tree analyses of your data back to the company that tested you -- or its successor(s) -- and its affiliates.
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clarifY further reserves the right to name and report newly-discovered Y-DNA variants common to multiple participants which are not immediately related.
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We will also disclose your personal information if we are required by law to do so.
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We may use your provided information to conduct non-medical research, using de-identified data, which we may share with academic or hobbyist research bodies. We reserve the right to publish de-identified aggregate results, but we will seek permission before publishing information about markers thought to be "private" to your kit or your immediate patrilineal relatives.
What do you need to do to keep your information secure?
- You are responsible for keeping your contact email account active and secure. If somebody compromises your email account then they can use that to gain access to your clarifY account.
- Choose a secure password for your clarifY account. Do not share your clarifY account password with anybody, and do not reuse that password on another website.
- You are responsible for choosing who to share your personalised analysis reports with. These reports contain information which could be used to genetically identify yourself or your immediate patrilineal relatives. Do not share your report with somebody unless you trust them to honour your privacy wishes.
How does this service get my consent?
When you provide us with personal information to place an order or have your data analysed, or when you fill out information about your Y-DNA sample, we assume you consent to our collecting the information and using it for one of the reasons stated above. This website will not allow you to submit such information until you acknowledge and accept our Terms & Conditions.
How is my information stored?
clarifYDNA.com uses a leading content management system. We strive to act on any security advisories in a timely manner. This website is hosted by a Canadian web hosting company. Your password is stored in an encrypted format. All sensitive information is transmitted over an encrypted protocol.
How do I opt out?
You may contact us if you no longer wish for us to use your Y-DNA data.
Cookie policy
Cookies are files with small amount of data, which may include an anonymous unique identifier. Cookies are sent to your browser from a website and stored on your computer’s hard drive, for later access by a website or its affiliated websites.
This website requires first-party cookies to keep track of your login status and account preferences. PayPal transactions also require the use of cookies. Analytics scripts provided by external web analytics services may also set cookies, but you are given the chance to opt out of this when you first visit this website.
What if this website changes ownership or management?
If ownership or management of clarifYDNA.com were to change as a result of a restructuring, merger, acquisition, or transfer to another company, your clarifY account and personal information may be transferred. If such a transfer results in a material change in the use of your information, you will be provided notice about your options for opting out of such a transfer.
What if this policy changes?
We reserve the right to unilaterally modify this privacy policy. When substantial changes occur, we will notify you, either through email or this website.
If we introduce additional data-sharing arrangements with third-party entities, we will notify you in advance and give you the opportunity to opt out.