Privacy Policy

Effective Date: May 21, 2026 • Last Updated: June 11, 2026

1. Introduction

Welcome to Haunted Lineage, a specialized search engine curated for paranormal and genealogy research. We are fundamentally committed to user privacy, data sovereignty, and transparency. This Privacy Policy outlines how we collect, use, and protect information when you use our platform.

This Service is operated by Haunted Lineage LLC (d/b/a Haunted Lineage), a company formed in Missouri.

2. Age Restriction & Minors

Consistent with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), this Service is not directed to children under the age of 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from minors under 13. If you are under 13, do not use this Service or submit any information through it. If we become aware that we have inadvertently collected information from a child under 13, we will take steps to delete that information as promptly as reasonably possible. Parents or guardians who believe their child has provided us with personal information may contact us at privacyandpolicy@hauntedlineage.com to request deletion.

3. Self-Hosted AI Processing & Data Sovereignty

To process documents, analyze visual evidence, and generate vector embeddings for semantic search, Haunted Lineage utilizes advanced artificial intelligence models deployed on our own self-hosted infrastructure.

Self-Hosted AI Only: Your search queries, user-generated content (UGC), submitted URLs, and uploaded documents are processed on our servers. We do not send this content to third-party AI vendors for routine AI processing.

Our neural re-ranking service and vector processing operate within our self-hosted infrastructure. Vector embeddings are stored in a self-hosted PostgreSQL/pgvector database.

4. Information We Collect

Search and Interaction Data:

Search queries submitted through the search interface
Click-through events on search results (used as ranking signals)
User feedback submitted via the feedback system (stored in our database to improve ranking)
Autocomplete interaction data
Analytics data tracking page views, search tab navigation, and search events (using our self-hosted visitor analytics platform)

System Logs:

Standard server-side logs may record IP addresses, request timestamps, and browser/user-agent information for system vitality, error tracking, and defense against malicious bots and abuse

Submissions:

Website URLs submitted through our site submission form
Any contact or verification information voluntarily provided during submission

Advertising and Third-Party Data (when ads are enabled):

Google AdSense may process cookie identifiers, device/browser metadata, IP-derived location signals, and ad interaction events to deliver and measure ads
Ad delivery may use contextual and/or personalized signals depending on user region, consent status, and Google policy controls
Third-party providers process this data under their own privacy policies and terms; we do not control their downstream processing

5. How We Use Your Information

Search queries are used to refine ranking algorithms, improve autocomplete, and detect abuse patterns
Click and feedback data contribute to ranking quality and relevance
Cached query results are stored temporarily in Memcached to improve response times
Server-side PHP bytecode caching uses OPcache to improve backend performance and reduce repeated script compilation overhead
Submitted URLs enter the crawl queue for discovery and indexing

When Google AdSense is enabled, ad requests may involve data sharing with Google and its partners for ad serving, fraud prevention, reporting, and measurement. Depending on region and consent state, this may include personalized advertising. We do not sell your search logs or user-submitted content to ad networks.

We use Google AdSense to display ads. Google and its partners may use cookies or similar technologies to serve and measure ads in accordance with Google's Privacy Policy and EU User Consent Policy.

For users in jurisdictions that require prior consent for non-essential cookies or personalized advertising (including the EEA, UK, and Switzerland), ad personalization preferences are handled through Google-supported consent controls where applicable.

6. Web Crawling, Indexing & Bot Conduct

Our crawler autonomously discovers and indexes publicly accessible content for search relevance and research discovery. This section explains how that process works and how site owners can opt out.

Crawling Process:

We prioritize XML sitemaps when available and use them to discover new or updated pages
We honor robots.txt Disallow rules and Crawl-delay directives
We identify ourselves honestly with our public user-agent and do not disguise crawl traffic
Our crawler currently identifies as: HauntedLineageGhostCrawler/1.0 (+https://search.hauntedlineage.com/bot-info)
We aim to avoid putting excessive load on any single server by applying per-domain throttling

Indexing Practices:

We index publicly accessible pages, documents, and media relevant to our research focus
We avoid authentication walls, private areas, form submissions, and non-public interaction flows
We use headless rendering only when standard fetches cannot retrieve usable page content
We deduplicate content using hash, SimHash, and vector similarity checks before indexing
We respect noindex and nofollow signals when present

Opt-Out and Removal:

Site owners may request exclusion by adding robots.txt directives, using noindex, contacting us directly, or reviewing implementation details on our bot-info page
We may also remove pages or domains from the index when a verified rights holder requests it
Changes to exclusion directives are typically honored on the next crawl pass

Direct Removal Workflow:

Email crawler@hauntedlineage.com with the exact URL(s) or domain(s) and your requested action (de-index, block future crawling, or both)
If you are requesting rights-holder removal, include verification details so we can confirm authority; we may respond with additional requests or steps to confirm ownership
After validation, we queue the request for removal and suppression rules; urgent abuse/security removals are prioritized
When processed, removals are reflected on the next crawl/index update cycle

7. Data Storage & Analytics

Indexed content and crawl metadata are stored in a self-hosted MariaDB database
Analytics data tracking user search interactions and page loads is processed and stored on our self-hosted visitor analytics instance at stats.hauntedlineage.com. We do not sell or share this telemetry data.
Vector embeddings are stored in a self-hosted PostgreSQL database with pgvector
Results may be cached in Memcached for performance
PHP bytecode is cached using OPcache for application performance and stability

8. Data Security

We implement robust security measures tailored to our environment, including rate limiting, domain throttling, administrative process controls, and active abuse protections. Admin interfaces and internal APIs are access-controlled. No method of transmission over the Internet, and no method of local or cloud storage, is 100 percent secure; while we use commercially reasonable safeguards to protect data, we cannot guarantee absolute security.

9. Cookies & Sessions

We use session cookies for functional operations such as maintaining search state, preserving preference toggles, and administrative session integrity.

Analytics Cookies: Our self-hosted visitor analytics instance uses tracking cookies (including _pk_id, _pk_ses, and consent-related cookies) to analyze search patterns and page usage. For users in GDPR regions, these cookies are disabled by default and only load upon receiving your explicit opt-in consent.

Advertising Cookies (Google AdSense): If advertising is enabled, Google AdSense and related third-party vendors use cookies, local storage, or similar technologies to serve personalized or contextual advertisements, prevent ad fraud, cap ad frequency, and measure effectiveness.

Where required by law, non-essential advertising and tracking technologies are served subject to user consent choices. You can manage your preferences directly via Google's ad settings, browser cookie privacy controls, or the opt-out mechanisms provided on this site.

10. Data Retention

Standard server logs and search query logs are retained for operational, ranking, and quality-improvement purposes, and are typically anonymized or purged within twelve (12) months unless needed for active security tracking or abuse investigations
Crawled content may be re-crawled, deduped, updated, or removed from the index at our discretion or upon verified request
User feedback data is retained indefinitely to support ranking quality
Upon verified request, user feedback entries can be scrubbed or deleted when operationally feasible

11. Your Rights

You may:

Request removal of a specific URL from our index by contacting us
Submit a data deletion request for any personally identifiable information you believe we hold
Opt out of being crawled by implementing robots.txt or noindex directives on your site
Request removal of feedback submissions associated with your identifiable data
Opt out of self-hosted visitor analytics tracking globally by using the opt-out selector below

If you are located in the EEA, UK, or Switzerland, you may have rights under GDPR/UK GDPR including access, rectification, erasure, restriction, objection, and data portability, subject to legal limitations.

Our legal bases for processing may include legitimate interests (search integrity, abuse prevention, and service improvement), performance of a contract (delivering requested service features), legal obligations, and consent where required (such as certain ad-personalization contexts).

Where processing is based on consent (for example, certain advertising or analytics cookies in the EEA, UK, and Switzerland), we initiate that processing only after consent is granted through our consent interface.

You may withdraw consent for consent-based processing at any time without affecting prior lawful processing. You may also lodge a complaint with your local supervisory authority.

To exercise any of these rights, contact: privacyandpolicy@hauntedlineage.com

11.a Global Tracking Opt-Out

If you do not wish to participate in our self-hosted website visitor analytics tracking, you may exercise a global opt-out using the interface below. Pushing this option sets an opt-out cookie on your browser, which instructs our self-hosted tracking system to ignore your activity. This choice is available to all users worldwide regardless of regional regulation.

Note for Registered Users: Opting out of visitor analytics tracking only prevents the recording of anonymous usage statistics. If you log into a user account, essential session/login cookies will still be utilized to maintain your authenticated state, and any search results or queries you choose to save will continue to be stored in our database to deliver the requested authenticated features.

12. Authenticated Features and Saved Searches

We offer authenticated user accounts that allow users to save search results, maintain query histories, curate collections, and manage personal profiles.

Data Collected for Authenticated Users:

Account credentials (username, email address, password hashes)
Saved search queries and curated result archives
Profile metadata (display name, avatar URLs, preferences)
Session tokens to maintain logged-in state

Retention and Deletion:

Saved search results and account details are stored securely in our databases as long as your account remains active. You may delete saved results at any time via your account portal, or permanently delete your entire account and associated data using the self-service tool on your account page. Please note that account deletion is completely irreversible and will result in the immediate and permanent loss of all your saved search results, collections, settings, and profile history.

13. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy at any time. While we will make reasonable efforts to reflect material changes - such as updating the Effective Date or posting a notice on the Service - we make no guarantee as to the method, timing, or delivery of any such notification. Continued use of the Service following any update constitutes acceptance of the revised Policy. We encourage users to review this page periodically.

14. Contact

Legal operator: Haunted Lineage LLC (d/b/a Haunted Lineage) (formed in Missouri).

For crawl/index issues, contact: crawler@hauntedlineage.com

For policy or privacy requests, contact: privacyandpolicy@hauntedlineage.com

For DMCA notices, contact: dmca@hauntedlineage.com