YSEQ Respects Your Privacy
YSEQ recognizes the importance of privacy and respects your desire to store and access your information in a private and secure manner. We are committed to providing you a secure, user-controlled environment for the use of our services. YSEQ respects your privacy and will not sell or rent your Personal Information. At the same time, you share responsibility for maintaining privacy and security - for example, by keeping your password secure. We encourage you to familiarize yourself with the Privacy and Confidentiality Statement below.
YSEQ accepts the responsibility to keep your specific data private, at the same time, making enough general information public to allow us to build a DNA database library usable for genealogical purposes.
Privacy and Confidentiality Statement
YSEQ is in the business of providing DNA tests for genealogy, ancestry and research.
DNA-Fingerprint owns and runs its own laboratory in Berlin / Germany.
We own and operate the websites YSEQ.net and DNA-Fingerprint.com.
Your unique test kit number will accompany your collection kit to our in-house testing lab. The computer-generated number and your surname is the only information about you that the testing facility will see. Once the lab completes your DNA test, YSEQ enters the test results in a secure database.
Purposes of this Statement
This statement is intended to explain how YSEQ and DNA-Fingerprint manage the privacy of your personal data and other information that can be used to identify you, either alone or in combination with other information, including your DNA samples and test results (collectively, "Personal Information").
We use your Personal Information to provide you with YSEQ services, customized reports and features. Customers of the different services provided by YSEQ are offered an opportunity to sign a Consent Form specific to each service which allows them to take full advantage of the services. In the absence of a specific Consent Form, this Privacy Statement will prevail.
By using the YSEQ websites and the services offered, you consent to the collection, use, storage and disclosure of your Personal Information by YSEQ in accordance with this Privacy Statement.
When you provide us with any Personal Information, that Personal Information will be stored and processed at YSEQ in Houston Texas. In the event that you are located outside the USA and still choose to order a DNA test kit and provide a DNA sample, by providing us with Personal Information, you specifically consent to the transfer, storage and processing of Personal Information to and in the United States, which you recognize may provide a different level of protection for Personal Information and personal data than in your country of residence.
Use and Disclosure of Personal Information
When you order an individual test online we primarily use your Personal Information to provide your test results, to verify and carry out financial transactions relating to payments you make online and to communicate with you.
YSEQ discloses your Personal Information to third parties in very limited circumstances as set out below.
- To third party service providers, under the protection of appropriate agreements, so that the third parties may perform various tasks for us. For example, we use third parties to process payments from you. These third parties are only given access to that information needed to perform their services, and are prohibited from using it for other purposes. Processors may include affiliated and unaffiliated service providers in the United States, Europe and in other jurisdictions.
- To the different YSEQ divisions, so that they may use Personal Information for the purposes described in this Privacy Document. Additionally, we might restructure, buy, or sell business units. In these transactions, customer information is often one of the transferred assets, remaining subject to promises made in then prevailing Privacy Documents. Also, in the event that YSEQ, or substantially all of its assets or stock, are acquired, transferred, disposed of (in whole or part and including in connection with any bankruptcy or similar proceedings), Personal Information including test results will as a matter of course be one of the transferred assets;
- We may disclose your Personal Information
- with your knowledge and any relevant permissions;
- as described in this Privacy Document;
- as may be required by law, regulatory authorities, legal process or to protect the rights or property of YSEQ or other Users (including outside your country of residence);
- to enforce our terms and conditions;
- to protect our rights, privacy, safety, confidentiality, reputation or property, and/or that of YSEQ, you or others;
- to prevent fraud or cybercrime; and
- to permit us to pursue available remedies or limit the damages that we may sustain.
Your use of any of YSEQ's services constitutes your consent to YSEQ allowing us to use your Personal Information for purposes of quality control and internal research and development activities.
Additionally, your consent will be sought for research purposes. Much of the genetic information resulting from DNA testing has not been clinically validated, and the technology we use, which is the same technology used by the research community, to date has not been widely used for clinical testing. For these reasons, our customers are encouraged to participate in YSEQ's research initiatives that may contribute to a better understanding of the results of genetic testing. Your participation in these initiatives is entirely voluntary and your DNA test results will not be used or disclosed without your consent. Once given, however, consent cannot be revoked.
We will ask for your consent in several ways. For example:
- A general consent document will be offered to you as part of your decision to participate in any of the YSEQ services offered by any of the websites owned and operated by YSEQ. Your consent will allow YSEQ to share your test results, anonymized and aggregated with those of others who have consented, with our third-party research partners for the purposes of general scientific research intended to lead to publication in peer-reviewed scientific journals.
- From time to time, we may ask for explicit consent to participate in specific research, and upon this consent we may allow our research partners to access your individual test results, which will be kept anonymous, for the purposes of general scientific research intended to lead to publication in a peer-reviewed scientific journal.
- From time to time, we may ask for explicit consent to participate in specific research, and upon this consent we may allow our research partners to access your individual test results, which will be kept anonymous, for the purposes of scientific research aimed at advancing genetic knowledge and creating, commercializing, or undertaking activities toward the practical applications that may lead to the improvement of health care.
- From time to time, we may ask for explicit consent to allow our research partners to access your non-anonymized individual test results in connection with a specific research project.
Research partners may include commercial or non-profit organizations that conduct or support population genetic studies, scientific/medical research, or the development of drugs or devices to diagnose, predict, or treat health conditions.
Non-Personal Information
When you visit our YSEQ website, we may automatically collect Non-Personal Information about you, such as the website from which you have come to our website, your Media Access Control address, your computer type, screen resolution, Operating System version and Internet browser. We may also collect non-personal information such as demographic data, for example your geographic area. Non-personal information also includes personal information that has been aggregated in a manner such that the end-product does not personally identify you or any other user of the YSEQ website.
Linked Websites
YSEQ provides links to third-party websites operated by organizations not affiliated with YSEQ. YSEQ does not disclose your Personal Information to organizations operating linked third-party websites. YSEQ does not review or endorse, and is not responsible for the privacy practices of these organizations. We encourage you to read the privacy documents of each and every website that you visit. This Privacy Statement applies solely to information collected by YSEQ.
Changes
YSEQ may make changes to this Privacy Statement from time to time. If we do so, we will issue an updated version of this Privacy Statement with an updated date on the YSEQ website (and/or notify you via e-mail or by other appropriate means) so that you will be aware of what information we collect, how we use it and under what circumstances we disclose it in accordance with applicable law. If you do not consent to any changes to our Privacy Statement, you may notify us at info@yseq.net. At YSEQ’s option on a case-by-case basis, we will either continue to apply the previous Privacy Statement or delete your information and/or account.
Do You have Questions?
YSEQ maintains strict privacy and confidentiality. If you have any questions about this Privacy Statement, the practices of the YSEQ website, or your dealings with the YSEQ website, you can contact us by emailing us at info@yseq.net.
Update 2016-03-12: The privacy statement has been updated to reflect the location of the laboratory being in Berlin / Germany now. No other changes to the context have been made.