* FH V6 My Heritage Hints

[NickiP]

This link might be of interest https://finance.yahoo.com/news/family-h ... 00958.html; perhaps angled more to the other side of the pond!

Will you have to use a menu command for this feature or will it automatically provide such hints? If its automatic and can't be disabled, it will probably put me off considering an upgrade as I won't want to use it and don't want it throwing up such information all the time.

As so much of FH is customisable, I'm hoping it isn't automatic.

[tatewise]

It can be disabled in Preferences, but even when enabled FH does NOT throw up hints.
FH automatically puts tiny numerical icons on the Focus Window Individuals to indicate how many hints exist in My Heritage.
If you don't click on those numerical icons then nothing else happens.

[NickiP]

Thanks Mike, that's good to know it can be disabled. I find the hints icon on ancestry very annoying even though its not that large, and I've only one tree on there which I've done recently for a friend.

[Debbie]

I too am troubled by this 'automatic internet data matching' - it was one of the reasons I didn't choose Family Tree Maker. I do not want to be given 'hints' nor do I want others to be getting my information without my permission.

Mike says it can be disabled, but how will we know that it is not secretly sharing our databases with MyHeritage?

[NickWalker]

Mike says it can be disabled, but how will we know that it is not secretly sharing our databases with MyHeritage?

How do you know that every other item of software you install isn't sharing your data with the rest of the world? You have to rely on reputation and trust ultimately and the fact that if Calico Pie were found to be passing your data on without permission then you could take legal action.

[Debbie]

I don't know Nick and I am not sure I would find out whether this was either. When I trialled FTM in the past I found it would connect to the internet every time I used it, even though I had stated in the preferences not to - luckily I only had a trial tree on there at the time.

[gerrynuk]

There are at least two different types of hints: those based on the data sets held by My Heritage and those based on subscribers' family trees. I have already been in contact with one tree owner and have several messages out to others. These are mainly to resolve issues such as unexpected spouses, varying dates and locations etc. If they are resolved they may well uncover previously unknown relationships. This to me is good news and what family history is all about - not slaving away in secret and keeping our trees hidden from the rest of the world - what would be the point? Of course there is some raw information in my tree that is still very tentative but even so it would be very helpful if someone could come along and help me un-ravel some of the more knotty problems.

Does anyone know if tree owners on My Heritage get advised if a hint based on their tree is Confirmed? I realise it could generate a lot of email traffic but it would be a good way to link up with people researching the same families.

[ikas]

I think setting this facility on by default is unacceptable practice by the software supplier. It should be off by default with the user opting in via preferences.

Some additional information on how this service works is essential. For example is matching carried out on individuals flagged as living? Is the data transmitted encrypted and if so what level of encryption is used?

Assurances on the use and subsequent deletion of the data by Calico Pie/My Heritage is irrelevant if the data can be intercepted and used dishonestly. The value of a person's date of birth, marriage and mother's maiden name are obvious.

I share the unease expressed by others on this thread and I am considering reverting back to v5. I would not have loaded this version had I known that this functionality was on by default. I think a warning about this should be prominently displayed until Calico Pie adopt a default off setting.

[delwoodman]

Surely if you disable it in Tools>Preferences you will achieve the same effect as it being off by default?

[johnmorrisoniom]

There is also a message when you install, so you can untick to disable it then.

[Debbie]

Thanks for your replies. FH Support have also informed me that the MyHeritage connection can be turned off at install.

[ikas]

Surely if you disable it in Tools>Preferences you will achieve the same effect as it being off by default?

When you first run the program I believe (according to their privacy notice) the program automatically transmits the data so by being on by default my data was transmitted before I could change the setting in preferences. I did not note the install message so did not change the setting.

There is no justification for setting this service on by default. Data transmission from the user machine should always be on an opt-in basis.

Does anyone know if the data is encrypted and if living person's data is included?

[chapelblade]

A few years ago I gave a printed copy of my tree to my cousin. I now find, via the My Heritage hints, that he has published this information on the my Heritage website. This would have been ok but full details of all living people are included including my own. Cue one very angry phone call.

[LornaCraig]

When you first run the program I believe (according to their privacy notice) the program automatically transmits the data so by being on by default my data was transmitted before I could change the setting in preferences. I did not note the install message so did not change the setting.

You are assuming that all your data is transmitted at once. I don't think this is the case. The Help files clearly state that "Only records you view in the first two tabs of the Focus Window (the 'Spouses & Children' and 'Parents & Siblings' tabs) are checked." And while they are being checked, a Match Progress Indicator is displayed.

[ikas]

Not assuming anything at all. I have simply asked for clarification on two issues. Are living persons details transmitted across the internet and if so is the data encypted.

Given that I have obligations to protect my personal data and my living relatives which may be used as secondary verification on on-line banking I think this clarification on this issue I have raised is essential.

[tatewise]

As far as I can see, there is nothing in the FH Help nor the MyHeritage Matches & Privacy Policy that answers either question, so you need to send them to your CD supplier or Support at Family Historian.

[ikas]

Thanks Mike. I will give it 24 hours as it is the weekend and then do as you suggest.

[Jane]

> There is no justification for setting this service on by default. Data transmission from the user machine should always be on an opt-in basis.

When you install either the trial or the upgrade it asks if you want to Enable Internet Matching, so you could have turned it off.

fh6-upgrade-install-opts.jpg (57.19 KiB) Viewed 16524 times

[tatewise]

Yes, that was mentioned earlier Jane, but installation options are easily overlooked/misunderstood, and it is not until the user starts investigating FH does the significance of Internet Data Matching become apparent, by which time some data may already have been sent.

It still does not answer the queations about living persons and data encryption.

[ikas]

Yes, I believe that point has been made earlier in the thread. As I said before I did not notice that option during the install.

The existence of that option at install makes no difference to the issue. My point is that data transmission from a user machine should not require the end user to opt out whether at install or later. The end user should be required to opt in to such functionality.

I sent an e-mail to Calico Pie this morning as Mike suggested regarding encryption of data transmitted and the exclusion of living people. As yet I have had no reply.

I have also googled MyHeritage - a company I knew nothing about. Some of the comments on this companies activities are fairly aged (2009, 2010) but they do not inspire confidence.

[Jane]

I was simply proving it does ask. I am not in a position to answer the other questions, but did not like the implication that it was not possible to turn it off during install when it quite clearly is.

[ikas]

I think if you examine my OP you will see there was no implication that was not possible to turn it off during install. I simply said this type of functionality should be on an opt-in rather than an opt-out basis.

[jimlad68]

Without an answer from Calico I don't think one could get to the bottom of this. I would suspect "business" model etc comes into this. Is it hopefully a revenue stream for Calico or an easy way to add an extra feature or both, both are legitimate aims. I too read the reviews on MyHeritage, but perhaps like Findmypast they are trying to become respectable as they get bigger, they are now "mixing it" with companies who do have more of a reputation to keep, time will tell!

But I agree that:
- ideally one should opt in rather than out to data sharing
- living people should be excluded by default. Many living people do not care, just look at Facebook, but some are quite vehement about their "perceived" privacy.

As with the new geocoding, it would be nice to have a more detailed/technical understanding of what FH is doing, but as many have said, it is early days for these new features so hopefully this deatail will be forthcoming in due course, and indeed may change over the short term. In the meantime I will be looking at these features in my test database but waiting before I use them "in anger" so that I can structure my data accordingly.

[ikas]

I have received a reply from Calico Pie which I copy below:

The main point to notice is that MyHeritage does not store any of the data or use it for anything other than matching. The information sent to MyHeritage (small bits of data) is not encrypted and does not exclude living people. No data is transmitted if you disable the service in Preferences (or in the Install). And your last point is correct – data for individuals is only transmitted when their family appears in the Focus Window. In the light of the FHUG discussion, and the concerns expressed there, we are now looking at using a secure connection to MyHeritage.

I am encouraged to observe that Calico Pie are reconsidering their approach to this potentially valuable functionality. For what it is worth my opinion is that exclusion of living people ie those without a birth date or those with a birth date less than 110 years from present are excluded from transmission. Encryption of data transmitted would also be highly desirable but the exclusion of living people is, in my view, a must from a basic genealogy stance.

Fortunately, and as a matter of chance, my own details are all that have been compromised. I am very relieved to know that my living relatives details have not. I never expose living persons details on a report or print-out of my tree. On this occasion I have not been sufficiently vigilant during the upgrade process. A lesson learned.

[IanTS]

I have received a reply from Calico Pie which I copy below:

The main point to notice is that MyHeritage does not store any of the data or use it for anything other than matching. The information sent to MyHeritage (small bits of data) is not encrypted and does not exclude living people. No data is transmitted if you disable the service in Preferences (or in the Install). And your last point is correct – data for individuals is only transmitted when their family appears in the Focus Window. In the light of the FHUG discussion, and the concerns expressed there, we are now looking at using a secure connection to MyHeritage.

I had to read the above Calico reply twice to make sure that I had read it correctly the first time. In this day and age of privacy issues I am astounded that "... information sent to MyHeritage (small bits of data) is not encrypted and does not exclude living people ...". This is niaive at the very best and Calico Pie need to do something about this as soon as possible.

Jane, the splash screen option at installation can easily be missed, I almost missed the "new" option being used to only the standard options being listed. The option for transmitting data should by default be an OPT-OUT. There is nothing on that splash screen that states the data is not encypted and that living peoples details (however "small") will be part of that transmission.

If this User Group has any influence with Calico Pie then I would ask those who are in contact with them to make sure this is clearly brought to their attention (it sounds it already has been ?). I will be checking with my old software company's legal department on where Calico Pie stand on this, as they have clearly left out some important privacy details up front, and by that I mean on the Splash screen and not hidden away in the small print.

Calico Pie have just lost my confidence, and I will be looking much more closely at what FH transmits to ensure that nothing is sent by FH over the net that it shouldn't be sending.

I'm a bit miffed about this