GeneaWiki:Privacy policy
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IP and other technical information
When a visitor requests or reads a page, no more information is collected than is typically collected by web sites. GeneaWiki may keep raw logs of such transactions, but these will not be published or used to track legitimate users.
When a page is edited by a logged-in editor, the server confidentially stores related IP information for a limited period of time. This information is automatically deleted after a set period. Logging in with a registered username allows for better preservation of privacy.
Cookies
GeneaWiki set a temporary session cookie on a visitor's computer whenever a page is visited. Readers who do not intend to log in or edit may deny this cookie; it will be deleted at the end of the browser's session. More cookies may be set when one logs in to maintain logged-in status. If one saves a user name or password in one's browser, that information will be saved for up to 30 days, and this information will be resent to the server on every visit to the same page. Contributors using a public machine who do not wish to show their username to future users of the machine should clear these cookies after use.
Page history
Edits or other contributions to articles, user pages and talk pages are generally retained forever. Removing text from an article does not permanently delete it. Normally, in articles, anyone can look at a previous version of an article and see what was there. Even if an article is "deleted", a user entrusted with higher level of access may still see what was removed from public view. Information can be permanently deleted by individuals with access to GeneaWiki servers.
User contribution
User contributions are also aggregated and publicly available. User contributions are aggregated according to their registration and login status. Data on user contributions, such as the times at which users edited and the number of edits they have made, are publicly available via user contributions lists, and in aggregated forms published by other users.
Reading articles
No more information on users and other visitors reading pages is collected than is typically collected in server logs by web sites. Aside from the above raw log data collected for general purposes, page visits do not expose a visitor's identity publicly. Sampled raw log data may include the IP address of any user, but it is not reproduced publicly.
Editing articles
Edits to GeneaWiki pages are identified with the username or network IP address of the editor, and editing history is aggregated by author in a contribution list. Such information will be available permanently on the articles. Logged in registered users: Logged in users do not expose their IP address to the public except in cases of abuse, including vandalism of a wiki page by the user or by another user with the same IP address. A user's IP address is stored on the wiki servers for a period of time, during which it can be seen by server administrators and by users who have been granted CheckUser access.
Discussions
Any editable page can theoretically be the location of a discussion. In general, discussions on GeneaWiki articles occur on user talk pages (associated with particular users), and on article talk pages (associated with particular articles). Privacy expectations apply to discussion pages in the same way as they do elsewhere.
