Death records in 2022

[grubheam]

Im unsure if anyone did a topic on this , on ancestry i was a bit alarmed that the death records up to 2022,  shows full birth and death dates along with first set of postcode and full names.

I ususally used GOV UK GRO death index , only goes up to 2021, it shows just the year of death and the year of birth and the surname, the first two christian names and third is just first letter of third christian name.

So how does ancestry get full info?  I thought we have 20 years rule?

 :ok

[Jon_ni]

the postcodes are compiled from civic records and funeral homes/funeral directors info as hinted at by the collection description - Greypower Deceased Data, compiled by compiled by Wilmington Millennium.

The deceased have no privacy exclusions that is why redacted 1939 register entries can be opened if it is determined or submitted that the person is recently deceased, that also has full DOB's.
Similar info is also available on Findmypast (with only the final postcode letter removed).
https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/60630/
https://search.findmypast.co.uk/search-world-records/england-and-wales-deaths-2007-2021
There is no 20 year rule, if there were would likely make updates to the 1939 Register unviable.

https://www.irishgenealogynews.com/2015/01/source-information-for-ancestrys-new.html
Wilmington Millennium was declared insolvent 2021 and dissolved 2023.

"In legal terms, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Data Protection Act no longer applies to identifiable data that relate to a person once they have died...on occasion information about the deceased will contain information about other living individuals and so the exemption for personal information will be relevant" FOI guidance to public authorities - Information Commissioner's Office

[phil57]

Be careful relying on these records. I have just been notified by Ancestry that some of my ancestors have been updated in this collection.
I noticed that the birth and death dates for my uncle were wrong. Then I realised that they have been Americanised; e.g. he was born 7th May 1924 and died 11th January 2007. Greypower/WM/Ancestry have these dates as 5th July 1924 and 1st November 2007 respectively

[MonicaL]

You are right, phil57.

I just checked my stepfather's death in 2019. He died on 10 June. Ancestry are showing 6 October.

All the other details are correct.

Added: My mum's death date in 2020 is correct. Guess the rule for searches needs to be to use the year and don't be precise on day and month?

Monica

[grubheam]

Thank you for explanation Jon and for warning on americanised date phil57 !

[Ruskie]

I wouldn’t be happy seeing a family member’s death and associated details on Ancestry. 

[Jon_ni]

There are several other collections across the globe compiled from newspaper and online death/funeral entries such as UK and Ireland, Obituary Index, 2004-Current / UK and Ireland, Newspapers.com Obituary Index, 1800s-current
"We work with partners to scour the Internet regularly to find new obituaries and extract the facts into our database"
And you have Legacy.com and Funeral Notices UK, My Family Announcements, Telegraph announcements etc and all the local sites for deaths yesterday.
Many of those announcements, whilst not usually including DOB, list locations to various degrees of preciseness, spouses, children and grandchildren.

The GreyPower info is a database compilation. Dads N.I. death 2 years ago still appears on Funeral Times but has not made its way to Ancestry yet as far as I am aware, likely will though.
One also has the Findagrave 'volunteers' harvesting such sites uploading data https://www.amyjohnsoncrow.com/findagrave-made-better/
If you are concerned about having a relative appear perhaps refrain from placing an online or any form of death/funeral announcement. But with more of the Cemeteries using computerised systems to link funeral Directors, internments & cremations, cemetery management & computerisation/digitisation of historic records that may not be sufficient.
eg https://www.plotbox.io/ and similar are now commonly used by larger cemeteries and councils in a move away from phone calls and paper records. Belfast City Council use that software and my fathers cremation July 2022 appears on their public site with death date and age https://discovereverafter.com/ as welll as his parents deaths and 200 year old records and headstone images, many nicely drone mapped to aid finding on a visit.

[coombs]

TBH I am pleased that many show a full DOB for the deceased. I found my step gran's death in 2019 and it gave her full DOB.

[grubheam]

Crikey! Thank goodness my grandparents death announcement are not online as my dad think a local theft would check local newspaper and find the deceased in phone directory online and find address!  I wonder if funeral people would ask you if thats ok to publish funeral details online. I would tell friends by calling or email them instead of online announcements. 

Thank you for more explanation