Heritage American ("we," "us," "the platform") is a private beta family heritage service — a shared family tree, story archive, and photo/document collection for invited family members. By creating an account, you agree to these terms.
During the private beta, accounts are invite-only: you must be invited by an existing member of a family already using the platform, or be starting a new family archive yourself. You must be at least 18 years old to create an account. Content about or featuring minors may be added to a family's archive by an adult account holder (e.g. a parent adding their child's photos or stories), but minors do not hold accounts directly at this time.
You retain ownership of everything you upload — photos, videos, documents, and recorded stories. By uploading content, you grant Heritage American a license to store, process, and display it to other members of your family archive according to the sharing settings you choose, and to process it as needed to provide the service (for example: transcribing a video story, or scanning a document for malware before it's stored). We do not sell your content or use it to train third-party AI models.
You're responsible for what you upload. Don't upload content you don't have the right to share, or content that's illegal, threatening, or infringes on someone else's rights.
If you believe content on this platform infringes your copyright, send a written notice to dmca@heritageamerican.co including: (1) a description of the copyrighted work you claim is infringed; (2) the location of the material on the platform; (3) your contact information; (4) a statement that you have a good-faith belief the use is unauthorized; and (5) a statement, under penalty of perjury, that the information in your notice is accurate and that you're authorized to act on the copyright owner's behalf. We'll remove or disable access to material in response to a valid notice. If you believe your own content was removed in error, you may submit a counter-notice with your contact information and a statement under penalty of perjury that the material was removed by mistake or misidentification.
This platform is built around shared family trees — information one member adds (a relative's name, a photo, a life event) becomes visible to other members of that family archive, subject to the sharing-depth and privacy settings available in the app. Family owners and admins have broader visibility and editing rights than other members; see the in-app sharing settings for specifics.
The merch store (custom family-branded products) is fulfilled through a third-party print provider and processed through a third-party payment processor. Orders are subject to that provider's production and shipping timelines once submitted. All sales are final once an order has been submitted for production, except in cases of a defective or damaged item.
Donations made through the platform are processed through the same third-party payment processor and are voluntary, non-refundable gifts to support the platform's operation. Heritage American is not a registered nonprofit organization, and donations are not tax-deductible.
You're responsible for keeping your password confidential and for all activity under your account. Tell us right away if you believe your account has been compromised.
You may stop using the service at any time. We may suspend or terminate an account that violates these terms, misuses the platform, or poses a risk to other members' data or privacy. A family owner or admin may also suspend a member's access to a specific family archive through the platform's own member-management tools.
Heritage American is provided during a private beta "as is," without warranty of any kind. We take reasonable steps to protect and back up your data (see our Privacy Policy), but we can't guarantee the service will be uninterrupted or error-free. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we aren't liable for indirect, incidental, or consequential damages arising from your use of the platform.
These terms are governed by the laws of [STATE — pending final entity formation], without regard to conflict-of-law principles. Any dispute arising from these terms or your use of the platform will be resolved in the state or federal courts located in that state, and you consent to that venue.
We may update these terms as the platform grows out of beta. We'll post the updated version here with a new "last updated" date; continued use of the platform after a change means you accept the update.
Questions about these terms? Reach out through the family member who invited you, or to the platform administrator directly.