Is it ethical to perform research on living people's ancestry without their knowledge? _**Assuming you do not store, post, or record any information about a living person**_ , is it ethical to use a living person other than yourself or your direct line as a kick-off point to begin research? The most common examples would probably be identifying a genetic match and researching them to find how you are related or researching a friend or famous person's family history for fun. I know that once you go back a few generations, those people being researched would be the ancestors of many people, and then it's clearly generally accepted as being okay. Specifically, is it ethical to start by centering on one living person and researching without their knowledge?

Not only would I say that it **is** ethical, I would say that it is an essential part of your research. In general, without that research then you cannot know whether the person is living or deceased. In order to confirm or analyse a DNA match then you will need to research them and their families, and if possible make contact with them.

Making contact with relatives is a big deal. My entry into genealogy involved finding my mother's siblings, all of whom were taken from the family home in 1947, separated, fostered or adopted. This was hugely successful but it meant not just looking at their vital events but all sources related to them, including newspapers, social media, registers of voters, etc.

I have also helped others find living relatives, such as a biological father who left Britain for India, and long-separated families in Wales and Utah.