How to Set Privacy Levels

This guide shows you how to configure privacy settings to protect living family members' information.

Prerequisites

• Administrator access to AncestryCodex
• Understanding of your privacy requirements

Step 1: Access Privacy Settings

1. Click Admin Panel in the sidebar
2. Find and click the Privacy card

Step 2: Enable Privacy Controls

1. Toggle Enable Privacy Controls to ON
2. This activates all privacy features across your site

Step 3: Configure Living Person Settings

Show Living Names

• ON - Living people's real names are shown
• OFF - Shows "Living Person" instead of names

Hide Living Details

• ON - Hides birth dates, addresses, personal info
• OFF - Shows all details for living people

Living Threshold

Set how many years to assume someone is living if no death date is recorded:

• Default: 100 years
• Increase for families with exceptional longevity

Step 4: Set Date Display

Choose how dates appear for living individuals:

Option	Example
Exact	15 January 1990
Year Only	1990
Hidden	(no date shown)

Step 5: Save Settings

1. Click Save Settings
2. Confirm the success message appears

Optional: Set Individual Privacy

Override global settings for specific people:

1. Navigate to the individual's profile
2. Click Edit
3. Scroll to the Privacy section
4. Choose:
   • Use Global Settings - Follow site-wide rules
   • Public - Show all information
   • Private - Hide from public view
5. Save the individual record

Recommended Settings

For Public Family Trees

Privacy Controls: ON
Show Living Names: OFF
Hide Living Details: ON
Date Display: Hidden or Year Only

For Family-Only Access

Privacy Controls: ON
Show Living Names: ON
Hide Living Details: ON (for guests)
Date Display: Year Only

Verify Your Settings

1. Log out of your account
2. Visit your family tree as a guest
3. Check that living individuals appear correctly
4. Verify sensitive information is hidden