Terms of Use

1. Acceptance of Terms

By accessing or using GeneticCoding.com, the SNP Encyclopedia, our genetic interpretation services, reports, data, software, or any related services (collectively, the "Services"), you agree to be bound by these Terms of Use (these "Terms") and to our Privacy Policy, Medical Disclaimer, and Refund Policy, each of which is incorporated by reference.

These Terms apply to everyone who accesses the Services. Additional terms may apply to particular offerings — for example subscription services, application programming interfaces (APIs), data licenses, enterprise services, or other products — and those additional agreements govern those offerings in addition to these Terms. Where an additional agreement conflicts with these Terms for that offering, the additional agreement controls for that offering.

If you do not agree to these Terms, you may not use the Services.

2. Eligibility

You must be at least 18 years old, a resident of the United States, and not a resident of the EU, UK, or EEA to use the Services. By creating an account or uploading data, you confirm that you meet these requirements.

You may only upload your own raw DNA data. Uploading another person's DNA is prohibited and may result in immediate account termination. If you believe someone uploaded your data without your consent, contact us and we will investigate and remove it.

3. Nature of GeneticCoding Services

GeneticCoding.com provides an educational interpretation of consumer raw DNA data by cross-referencing annotated SNPs against public and government databases. The Services are informational only and are not a medical device, diagnostic test, laboratory-developed test, or substitute for professional medical advice or genetic counseling. The Services do not diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

Our reports and encyclopedia pages describe what published research and public databases associate with particular genetic variants, together with an indication of how strong that evidence is. Science evolves: findings are updated as new research emerges, and the information presented at any moment reflects the state of public knowledge at that time.

4. Educational and Informational Purpose

The Services — including the SNP Encyclopedia, reports, and all written content — are provided for educational and informational purposes. They are intended to help you learn about genetic variation and published research in an accessible format.

You should not make medical, reproductive, pharmacological, dietary, or lifestyle decisions based on the Services without consulting a qualified healthcare provider or board-certified genetic counselor.

5. Not Medical Advice

Nothing on GeneticCoding.com is medical advice, a diagnosis, or a treatment recommendation. Always seek the advice of a physician or other qualified health provider with any questions regarding a medical condition.

Be aware that under US law (the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, "GINA"), protections against genetic discrimination in health insurance and employment exist, but GINA does not cover life insurance, disability insurance, or long-term-care insurance. See our Medical Disclaimer for details.

6. User Accounts

Some features require an account. You agree to provide accurate information, to keep your credentials secure, and to be responsible for all activity under your account. Accounts are personal: do not share credentials, and notify us promptly of any unauthorized use.

We strongly encourage enabling two-factor authentication where offered. We are not liable for unauthorized access resulting from your failure to secure your account.

7. DNA Uploads and User Data

Before any DNA file is analyzed, you must complete the informed-consent acknowledgments presented at upload. This affirms that you are 18 or older, that the DNA is your own, that the report is educational and not medical advice, that you understand GINA's limits, and that you are a US resident. A record of your consent — the statements affirmed, the policy versions, and a timestamp — is stored with your account.

By default, your raw DNA file is deleted 30 days after your report is generated, unless you opt to retain it for re-analysis. Your use of the Services is governed by our Privacy Policy, which describes our pseudonymization model, encryption, sub-processors, retention periods, and your deletion rights. You can delete your data and your account at any time.

8. Ownership of User Genetic Information

Your genetic information belongs to you. GeneticCoding claims no ownership of your raw DNA data, your genotype calls, or the personal information you provide, and we will never sell or license your genetic data to insurers, employers, or anyone else.

We process your genetic data as described in the Privacy Policy — pseudonymized and encrypted — solely to provide the Services you request. You may delete your data and account at any time from your account settings.

9. GeneticCoding Intellectual Property

It is important to distinguish between different kinds of information involved in the Services: (1) underlying scientific and genomic facts; (2) public-domain information; (3) third-party data and licensed content; (4) GeneticCoding-authored content; (5) GeneticCoding-derived data; (6) GeneticCoding database compilations; (7) GeneticCoding proprietary scoring, organization, normalization, classifications, annotations, curation, audit history, and interpretations; (8) GeneticCoding software and systems; and (9) customer genetic information.

GeneticCoding does not claim ownership of independently existing scientific facts, rsIDs, genes, genomic coordinates, alleles, or public-domain data merely because they appear on GeneticCoding.com. Facts and public-domain material remain subject to their applicable legal status.

GeneticCoding may own or have rights in its original and derived contributions, including where applicable its: descriptions; annotations; summaries; organization; compilation; categorization; taxonomy; normalization; scoring; confidence assessments; evidence-strength classifications; completeness classifications; source correlation; curation; derived relationships; audit information; correction history; interpretation; report presentation; written content; software; interfaces; database architecture; proprietary methodologies; and other original or derived contributions.

These Terms reserve GeneticCoding's rights in such original and proprietary contributions without asserting any claim over independently existing public facts.

10. Database and Knowledgebase Rights

The GeneticCoding SNP Encyclopedia, our curated genomic catalog, and our knowledgebase are compilations that may be protected by copyright, database rights where recognized, and other laws. Access to individual records through the website does not constitute a license to copy, extract, republish, or reconstruct the underlying database.

Ordinary use — viewing pages, reading your own report, citing us with attribution, and personal or educational research — is welcome. Systematic extraction, bulk downloading, database reconstruction, and comparable activities are not licensed by website access and are addressed in our Database & Data Use Policy.

11. Permitted Website Use

Subject to these Terms, you may: view and read pages of the website, including individual SNP Encyclopedia records; use the Services for personal, educational, and legitimate research purposes; read and retain reports you have purchased; share your own report where otherwise permitted; and cite GeneticCoding with attribution.

12. Prohibited Uses

You may not use the Services in any way that violates these Terms or applicable law. Examples of prohibited conduct include:

• Uploading DNA that is not your own, or misrepresenting your identity or eligibility.
• Attempting to re-identify pseudonymized data or another user's records.
• Using the Services to identify, harass, stigmatize, or discriminate against any person or group.
• Sharing account credentials or permitting others to use your account.
• Interfering with the security or integrity of our systems, or probing or scanning them without authorization.
• Circumventing access controls, technical protections, or usage limits.
• Any activity that imposes an unreasonable load on our infrastructure.

13. Automated Access and Scraping

You may not access the Services using unauthorized automated means — including bots, spiders, scrapers, crawling systems, or automated agents — except for ordinary search-engine indexing that we have not technically prohibited. Automated access, harvesting, and related restrictions are described in our Acceptable Use & Anti-Scraping Policy.

14. Data Extraction and Database Reconstruction

You may not systematically extract, download, mirror, or republish website or database content; enumerate rsIDs or records in bulk; or use the Services to reconstruct, replicate, or create a substitute for the GeneticCoding database, knowledgebase, or SNP Encyclopedia. These restrictions protect the GeneticCoding compilations and proprietary contributions described above and are detailed in our Database & Data Use Policy and Data Redistribution & Export Policy.

15. Commercial Use

Commercial use of GeneticCoding content, data, or services — including resale, redistribution, incorporation into commercial products, or creation of competing or substitute services — requires express written authorization. Website access does not grant any commercial rights. See our API & Commercial Data Licensing policy for how commercial rights may be obtained.

16. API and Data Licensing

Website access does not grant API rights. Any API access, bulk data access, redistribution, sublicensing, or competitive use rights must be expressly granted in a separate written license. See our API & Commercial Data Licensing policy.

17. Third-Party Data and Sources

GeneticCoding references and relies upon third-party scientific databases, government resources, and published research. Third-party trademarks, databases, publications, and content remain subject to their respective ownership and license terms, and GeneticCoding does not claim ownership of third-party materials merely because they are referenced, linked, analyzed, or incorporated into our research. See our Third-Party Data & Attribution policy.

18. Research and Educational Use

Personal, academic, and educational use of individual records, with reasonable citation, is permitted. High-volume, systematic, institutional, publication-scale, dataset-scale, or automated access may require written authorization or a research license. See our Research & Educational Use Policy.

19. AI and Machine Learning Restrictions

Unless expressly permitted by a written license, you may not systematically use GeneticCoding proprietary content or database records to train, fine-tune, or evaluate machine-learning models, build retrieval corpora or embedding databases, replicate knowledge graphs, or generate synthetic databases. This restriction applies to GeneticCoding proprietary and licensed content and is not intended to claim rights over independently existing public-domain facts. See our AI & Machine Learning Data Use Policy.

20. User Reports

Current products and prices (USD): Report Update Monitoring — $9.99/mo, billed $29.99 every quarter, including one free full report; and Report Credit packs — 1 credit $19.99, 5 credits $79.99, 10 credits $129.99, 20 credits $199.99. Credits are one-time purchases and never expire. One credit equals one full report, spendable on a new report from an additional DNA file of your own or an on-demand refresh of an existing report.

The reports we generate for you — their presentation, written content, organization, and interpretation — are GeneticCoding works. When you purchase a report, you receive a personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable license to view, retain, download, and share your own report, subject to these Terms and our Data Redistribution & Export Policy. Report access must not be used as a mechanism to reconstruct or harvest the underlying GeneticCoding database.

If your analysis fails for a technical reason on our end, the spent credit or free-report token is automatically returned, and refunds are handled per our Refund Policy.

21. Monitoring and Updated Findings

Report Update Monitoring is a recurring subscription. The $29.99 quarterly charge ($9.99/mo equivalent) renews automatically at the end of each quarter until you cancel. By subscribing, you authorize these recurring charges. Each month we re-check your tracked reports against current public research; when something changes, we regenerate your report and email you a summary of what's new.

You may cancel at any time from your account settings or by contacting us. Cancellation stops future renewals and takes effect at the end of the current paid quarter, with no partial refund for the current period. You keep every report already generated — reports remain viewable forever, and updates resume if you resubscribe.

22. Links to Third-Party Resources

The Services link to third-party databases, publications, and websites for reference and verification. We do not control and are not responsible for third-party content, availability, accuracy, or practices. A link is not an endorsement, and you use third-party resources at your own risk and subject to their terms.

23. Account Suspension and Termination

You may delete your account at any time, which removes your data as described in the Privacy Policy's retention rules. We may suspend or terminate your access if you violate these Terms, fail to pay applicable charges, or create legal, security, or reputational risk for us or other users. Where reasonably possible, we will notify you of the reason for suspension or termination.

24. Enforcement

We take the protection of our Services, users, and rights seriously. We may use technical and administrative measures — such as rate limiting, access controls, and other protections — to prevent or stop misuse, and we may suspend or terminate accounts that violate these Terms. We reserve the right to seek legal remedies where misuse causes harm, including unauthorized extraction or redistribution of our proprietary content.

25. Copyright Complaints

If you believe content on GeneticCoding.com infringes your copyright, please send a notice to legal@geneticcoding.com including: identification of the copyrighted work claimed to be infringed; the URL or location of the allegedly infringing material on our site; your full contact information; a statement that you have a good-faith belief that the use is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or law; and a statement, under penalty of perjury, that the information in your notice is accurate and that you are the owner or authorized to act on the owner's behalf.

We will investigate notices received and may remove or disable access to material that we determine, in our reasonable discretion, is infringing, in accordance with applicable law.

26. Disclaimers

The Services are provided "as is" and "as available," without warranties of any kind, whether express or implied, including implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, accuracy, and non-infringement. We do not warrant that the Services will be uninterrupted, error-free, or secure, or that the scientific information summarized will remain current or complete. Scientific understanding changes over time, and reports and encyclopedia content reflect the evidence available when they were generated.

27. Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, GeneticCoding.com and its owners, employees, and suppliers shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, or for any harm arising from your reliance on, or your use of, the Services — including any decision made or not made based on a report.

Our total liability for any claim arising out of or relating to the Services shall not exceed the amount you paid us in the twelve (12) months preceding the claim. Some jurisdictions do not allow certain limitations, so parts of this limitation may not apply to you.

28. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless GeneticCoding.com and its owners, employees, and suppliers from any claims, liabilities, damages, losses, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of or related to: your use of the Services in violation of these Terms or of applicable law; your upload of data you do not have the right to upload; or your violation of any third-party right. We will provide you notice of any such claim, though failure to provide prompt notice does not waive your obligations.

29. Governing Law

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Texas, United States, without regard to conflict-of-laws principles. You agree to the exclusive jurisdiction of the state and federal courts located in Texas for any dispute arising from these Terms or the Services.

You must bring any claim or dispute within one (1) year after it arises, or it is permanently barred.

30. Changes to Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. Material changes will be communicated to active account holders by email and take effect 30 days after notice, except changes required by law, which take effect immediately. Your continued use of the Services after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms. Each version carries its own version number and effective date, and prior versions are retained in our records.

We do not force existing users to re-accept updated Terms unless we determine a specific change requires fresh agreement, in which case you will be asked to affirm the updated version before continuing to use the affected feature.

31. Contact Information

Questions about these Terms can be sent to hello@geneticcoding.com (general), support@geneticcoding.com (support), privacy@geneticcoding.com (privacy), or legal@geneticcoding.com (legal), or through our contact page at /contact.