Changes to FIND MY PAST "My Records"

[StevieSteve]

I wonder if anyone had actually gone in to My Records in 2018 before the email (apart from to delete them). 2017?

[BumbleB]

Ooooohhhhhhhh!  I've got 1140 pages of records 

[hurworth]

I wonder if anyone had actually gone in to My Records in 2018 before the email (apart from to delete them). 2017?

My records isn't searchable, which I realised when a record disappeared from FindMyPast for a short time once and a helpful member of staff reassured me it would be in MyRecords.  I doubt it was there but the record I was after reappeared in the index a short time later.

I access these records from whatever record set I originally found them in.  If I'd seen them before they'd have a black tick beside them.

I've never seen any reason to remove records that I don't think are my family as sometimes a seemingly unconnected family does turn out to be connected afterall.

[carol80]

Instead of moaning about FindMyPast or indeed any other record provider why don't you moan about the EU politicians who have caused this and other similar problems.
As the legal advisors are getting their heads round "privacy" legislation such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) they are of the view that recording previous viewing and retaining records could be in breach of the above and similar legislation.

No help to me. I live in New Zealand.

[PrawnCocktail]

Can't see that this is anything to do with GDPR, this is nearly all historical stuff. Now, if they removed the UK Electoral Rolls 2002 - 2014 from the site, that might be GDPR - that makes modern people identifiable. Except that since it's already online, the advice seems to be that that's OK - apparently names and addresses in old parish magazines are not seen as a problem either, but that going forward, permission to put stuff like that in magazines has to be obtained in writing.

Seems you can do what you like with data - as long as the subjects have agreed beforehand. Companies House displays full names, addresses (although you can use a company office to disguise that), and year and month of birth, online, and tell us it's because it's a public register, that they have to do so. My name, address and phone number are also on display on the Charity Commission website, as contact for a charity I'm a trustee of.

No, I think this has far more to do with money than GDPR.

All that's useful about My Records for me is that little black tick that tells me I've already seen that one! If I really want it, I take a copy, just like I would at a Record Office. Otherwise I'm really not interested.

[LizzieL]

Ooooohhhhhhhh!  I've got 1140 pages of records 

I've just discovered I've got 2227 pages, but they only go back to 2010, which I think was when there was all the problem with moving to new server and many subscribers were without access for several days. All my very old records which required the somewhat cumbersome Deja vue viewer have gone.
I have been a subscriber to FindMyPast for a lot longer than 8 years, right back to early days of 1837online.
I haven't received the email from them about my records, just checked spam as well.

[Guy Etchells]

Can't see that this is anything to do with GDPR, this is nearly all historical stuff. Now, if they removed the UK Electoral Rolls 2002 - 2014 from the site, that might be GDPR - that makes modern people identifiable. Except that since it's already online, the advice seems to be that that's OK - apparently names and addresses in old parish magazines are not seen as a problem either, but that going forward, permission to put stuff like that in magazines has to be obtained in writing.

Seems you can do what you like with data - as long as the subjects have agreed beforehand. Companies House displays full names, addresses (although you can use a company office to disguise that), and year and month of birth, online, and tell us it's because it's a public register, that they have to do so. My name, address and phone number are also on display on the Charity Commission website, as contact for a charity I'm a trustee of.

No, I think this has far more to do with money than GDPR.

All that's useful about My Records for me is that little black tick that tells me I've already seen that one! If I really want it, I take a copy, just like I would at a Record Office. Otherwise I'm really not interested.

It actually has everything to do with GDPR (Have you read the regulations?) as although the records are historic, your accessing the records is part of your current profile.
Whilst you are a subscriber you have given permission for the search and the records to be aligned with your name, as soon as your subscription ends there is no legal reason for the company to keep that record of your usage and they must therefore legally remove your record of usage, it comes under "data minimisation practices.

Companies now have to be able to demonstrate they have appropriate data minimisation practices in line with new accountability obligations.

As the ICO states "Also bear in mind that the GDPR says individuals have the right to complete any incomplete data which is inadequate for your purpose, under the right to rectification. They also have right to get you to delete any data that is not necessary for your purpose, under the right to erasure (right to be forgotten)."

Cheers
Guy

[Girl Guide]

As Prawn has done, the simplest thing to do is to either download or print whatever records you are interested in.

This is what I do and I also regularly go through My Records deleting the pages so that they don't build up.  Anything that I wanted I would have already saved or printed.

I hardly think we are going to get a mass uprising from their graves of long dead ancestors saying "Excuse me but would you mind deleting that record that you have about me?  It has rather personal information on it."   

[Sloe Gin]

I took out a month's subscription a few days ago as I had a little breakthrough which meant that I could make some progress with the help of a certain set of parish registers. 

And a day or two later I got that email.

I've been snipping and saving each relevant record as I go, so I've no need to look in 'My Records'.  I've always saved as much as I can so it's available to me outside of the originating sites.