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A DNA spit kit is shown, featuring a container and a specimen bag.

A leading genealogy service, Ancestry.com, has denied exploiting users' DNA following criticism of its terms and conditions.

The US company's DNA testing service has included a right to grant Ancestry a "perpetual" licence to use customers' genetic material.

A New York data protection lawyer spotted the clause and published a blogwarning about privacy implications.

Ancestry told BBC Radio 4's You and Yours its terms were being changed.

Headquartered in Utah, Ancestry is among the world's largest for-profit genealogy firms, with a DNA testing service available in more than 30 countries.

'Perpetual'

The company, which uses customers' saliva samples to predict their genetic ethnicity and find new family connections, claims to have more than 4 million DNA profiles in its database.

Ancestry also stores the profiles forever, unless users ask for them to be destroyed.

Ancestry DNA clause
Image captionAncestryDNA told the BBC it would be removing the 'perpetuity clause' from its terms and conditions - still present at the time of writing

The company's terms and conditions have stated that users grant the company a "perpetual, royalty-free, worldwide, sublicensable, transferable license"...