(1) Participants’ DNA information is not made available to outsiders such as private detectives, law enforcement agencies, health insurance companies, etc.
(2) Potential participants should read the “Legal Issues” page at: Click Here. Also read FTDNA’s Frequently Asked Questions page at: Click Here.
(3) Each participant in an FTDNA surname project receives a Release Form with his test kit. This Release Form should be signed and returned with the DNA sample. If the participant chooses not to sign the Release Form, his DNA information will be kept private and not shared with anyone (except the Group Administrator) and he will not be notified of matches with any other participants in his or any other surname project. Similarly, no one else will be notified of a match with him. For maximum genealogical benefit, it is highly recommended that surname project participants sign the Release Form. Anyone who did not sign his Release Form, and later decides he wants to share his information, can download and printout a Release Form and sign it and send it to FTDNA.
(4) Each participant has online access to a Setup Preference Dialog form. This form can be accessed by entering the kit number and assigned password at the FTDNA Login Page. Using this form, he can change or update his notification and display preferences to limit them to matches with all persons or just those in his surname project. I recommend that each project participant initially set his preferences so that he will receive notifications of all matches. If he later finds that he wants to ignore matches with different surnames he can then revise his Setup Preferences.
(5) Each FTDNA Surname Project participant is registered with FTDNA under his “Kit Number,” not his name. Participants can remain anonymous or use a fictitious name if desired. FTDNA does not divulge names (or other personal information such as email addresses) to the public. This is left to the discretion of the Group Administrator who might do so with the permission of the participant. Most Group Administrators maintain a project website that is accessible to the public and which shows participants’ names, kit numbers and test results. If a participant does not want any of this information displayed, he should notify the Group Administrator.