Apologies if this question has been raised prior - I’ve looked on the board and can’t seem to see a discussion about this query.
I’ve just gone to link a person in my tree to Family Search and once I’ve logged in the following message appears:
I’ve not received this message prior so I’m wondering:
is this message just “formalising” the situation and RM was always accessing and saving data about living and deceased ancestors, or
is RM now using information from our trees in a new / novel way? If so, what was the reason for the change?
I’m not very tech savvy, and the fact that there hasn’t been discussion about this (as far as I can see and understand) leads me to believe that RM accessing and saving our information in this way is “acceptable”.
RM has changed the authorization process because FamilySearch has forced it. RM is doing nothing that it hasn’t been doing since the functionality was first introduced. If you think about it, RM has to be able to ‘save’ your information in order link/add it to your file. It does not mean they are grabbing all of your info and storing it on their servers someplace, for nefarious purposes.
You are basically giving permission for FamilySearch to send Family Tree (FT) data to be viewed inside the FamilySearch Person Tools (FSPT) screen in RootsMagic. There are different levels of Family Tree Access. RootsMagic is able to read and write to Family Tree.
“Know your basic FamilySearch profile information”
This information was needed prior to the new login. We used to store your FamilySearch username and password. In RM 9.1.0 and later we no longer do. So FamilySearch will need to update that permissions screen. They probably won’t while RM7 and RM8 users are accessing FamilySearch the old way.
“Access and save data about your living and deceased ancestors from your Family Tree”
This is actually what RootsMagic does when using the FamilySearch Person tools. It needs permission to access (read) your data on Family tree. In the FSPT you will see the RM data on the left and FamilySearch data on the right. If you decide to save that information from FamilySearch into your RM database it needs permission to write it there. If you want to update information on FT from RM it needs permission for RM to send those changes. Sharing of data is not automatic, you have to select what is shared.
This is all pretty standard when a website is allowing a third party to work with its data. You will have to agree with those terms for FamilySearch to allow RM access through their API. If you revoke or decline access you can’t connect RM to FamilySearch. These are FamilySearch’s terms and conditions.
Thank you so much @kfunk and @rzamor1 for your detailed responses - I was just curious about the change and your responses have provided understanding. Thank you!
regarding the FS disclosure-
“Know your basic FamilySearch profile information”
I assumed this meant the info about me in my FS profile-
Photo
Name
Contact ID
Place
Country or Location
State or Province
