Last updated: 11 September 2026
1. Who we are
AncestorPress is a brand of Black and White Trading Ltd, a company registered in England and Wales (company number 7711181), whose registered office is 23 Templemere, Weybridge, Surrey, KT13 9PA, United Kingdom ("we", "us", "our"). Questions about these terms: accounts@bwtl.co.uk.
2. What these terms cover
These terms apply to:
- this website (ancestorpress.com);
- our WordPress plugins - AP Family Trees, AP One-Name Studies, AP Family Archive, AP One-Place Studies and our other AncestorPress products - which you install and run on your own website; and
- the online services we operate in support of those plugins: the AncestorPress support desk and the optional in-plugin support assistant, both provided from bwtlsupport.com.
How we handle personal data is set out separately in our Privacy Policy, which forms part of these terms.
3. Plugin licences
Our WordPress plugins are licensed under the GNU General Public License version 2 or later (GPL). The GPL gives you the right to run, study, share and modify the software. Nothing in these terms limits your rights under the GPL.
Paid ("Pro") editions are also GPL-licensed. What you purchase is not the code but the service around it: licence key delivery, the separately distributed Pro package, automatic updates, premium support, and access to our supporting services. Purchases, licensing and renewals are handled by our e-commerce partner Freemius, whose own terms govern the transaction. Refunds are handled as described at the point of purchase.
4. Your family history data stays yours
Our plugins store the family history data you enter or import - people, families, events, sources, media, occurrences, places and studies - in your own WordPress database, on your own hosting. We do not receive it, and every edition, free or paid, can export it in full at any time. Nothing in these terms grants us any right to that data.
5. The support desk and support assistant (bwtlsupport.com)
Free users are supported through the public forum for each plugin on WordPress.org. Licence holders can raise tickets at our support desk on bwtlsupport.com. Some plugins also include an optional in-plugin support assistant that answers questions about the plugin using our documentation, subject to a monthly fair-use allowance per site; what it sends and stores is described in the Privacy Policy's plugin addenda. The desk and the assistant are provided as-is as support conveniences and may be revised or withdrawn.
6. Your responsibilities
You are responsible for your own website: its hosting, security, backups, the content you publish through our plugins, and your compliance with the law where you and your visitors are. In particular:
- Living people. Family history data frequently concerns living relatives. Our plugins provide living-person protection (records flagged as living or private are withheld from public pages, and the study plugins apply a configurable cutoff that fails closed), but what you import and choose to publish is your decision and your responsibility under data protection law.
- Third-party services you connect. Map providers you embed, AI providers you configure in WordPress, and any other service you connect act under their own terms, with credentials you control.
- Source material. You are responsible for having the right to publish the transcriptions, images and records you upload.
7. Acceptable use
You must not use this website or our services to break the law, infringe others' rights, distribute malware, send spam, or disrupt the services or other users. We may suspend access to our services (not your GPL rights to the software) where this section is breached.
8. Disclaimers and liability
Our software is provided under the GPL "without any warranty", as that licence sets out. Our website and online services are provided "as is" and "as available".
Nothing in these terms excludes or limits liability that cannot be excluded under English law, including for death or personal injury caused by negligence, or for fraud. Subject to that, we are not liable for indirect or consequential loss, loss of profits, loss of data, or losses arising from third-party services changing or withdrawing their APIs; and our total liability in connection with a product or service is limited to the amount you paid us for it in the twelve months before the claim (or GBP 100 where you paid nothing).
9. Changes
We may update these terms from time to time. The "Last updated" date shows when. Material changes will be made prominent on this page. Continued use of the website or services after a change takes effect constitutes acceptance of the revised terms.
10. Governing law
These terms are governed by the law of England and Wales, and the courts of England and Wales have exclusive jurisdiction, except that if you are a consumer you retain any protections of the law of the country you live in.
11. Contact
Black and White Trading Ltd (trading as AncestorPress)
23 Templemere, Weybridge, Surrey, KT13 9PA, United Kingdom
accounts@bwtl.co.uk