A family file can contain more than the person you intend to research. A note about a deceased grandparent may name a living child. An old certificate may sit beside a recent letter. Start with a small working copy that contains only what your question needs.
This guide uses a personal Claude account on a computer. For another service, find its own training and privacy controls before entering family information. Do not assume that a setting in one account changes another.
Step 1. Turn off training on your Anthropic account.
Complete this step before typing a family name, pasting a story or uploading a file.
- Open Claude in your browser or desktop app.
- If needed, create an account without adding family material.
- Open your account menu and select Settings.
- Select Privacy.
- Turn off “Help Improve our AI models”.
- Reopen Privacy and check that the setting remains off.
Anthropic’s model improvement instructions give this menu path. Check that page if the wording on your screen differs. If you cannot find the control, stop before sharing family data.
The setting limits use for future model training. It cannot undo training already started or completed. Anthropic also describes exceptions for conversations flagged by its safety systems. Read the scope of the control .
Do not treat this switch as a promise that your conversation never leaves your computer. Material you send to Claude goes to Anthropic for processing. Its conversation privacy guidance describes access to that material . The switch and the upload are separate decisions.
Step 2. Leave living people out of the first task.
Choose a deceased person and one question. Create a new text document for the exercise. Copy only the short passage you need.
Check the working copy for:
- Living relatives’ names, including names in source notes.
- Full birth dates or current addresses.
- Email addresses, telephone numbers and account details.
- Recent family correspondence or private comments.
- Names in filenames, captions and the backs of photographs.
Remove those details from the working copy. If a living person is essential to understanding the passage, use a neutral label such as “Relative A”. Keep the name key in a separate local file. A label alone does not hide someone if the surrounding details identify them.
When you do not know whether someone is living, leave their details out. You can still ask a general question about a record type without naming the family.
Step 3. Inspect what the file actually contains.
Open the exact file you plan to send. Do not rely on its filename or on your memory of editing it. Check each page, including any notes at the end.
For a first exercise, plain text is easier to inspect than a whole family-tree export. A GEDCOM is a file used to transfer tree information. Keep the full export local while you learn which people and notes it contains.
If you make an edited image, reopen the saved copy before sharing it. A shape placed over text in an editing document may leave the underlying text intact. The simplest first task is a short transcription with the private details left out.
Keep the original document unchanged. Give the working copy a different filename. This lets you remove private material without losing the evidence you need for your own research.
Step 4. Decide what stays local.
Use a folder on your computer for the full archive. Keep original documents, complete tree exports and your living-person name key there. Keep a backup you can restore.
Check whether your chosen folder synchronises with a cloud service. A file on your desktop is not necessarily stored only on that computer. Decide where you want each copy before placing private material there.
| Material | Where it belongs in this beginner method |
|---|---|
| Complete archive and original documents. | Your chosen local storage and backup. |
| Living-person details and name key. | A separate private local file. |
| Short passage cleared for this question. | A working copy you may choose to send to Claude. |
| Claude’s response. | A draft to check before saving into your archive. |
The kit’s planned tree and map will use local files. The kit is still in development. That plan does not make the separate Claude research conversation local. Check the released documentation before relying on any privacy feature.
Step 5. Enable a skill only when you need one.
A skill is a set of instructions that helps Claude repeat a method. Custom skills are available on Free, but require “Code execution and file creation”. In Settings, open Capabilities to check that setting. The skills menu is under Customize, then Skills. Anthropic’s skills guide explains setup .
The kit’s skills route is web and desktop only, not mobile. Use a Windows PC or Mac for this route. You can read these guides without installing anything.
If you later receive a skill as a ZIP file, select the ZIP itself. Safari may unpack downloads automatically; look for the original ZIP. Windows can display its contents as a folder; do not select one inner file instead. If the ZIP is missing, request help with step 5.
Read the supplied instructions before enabling a skill. Anthropic advises installing skills only from trusted sources. Its guidance explains the risks . A familiar name on a download is not a reason to ignore that advice.
Step 6. Start with a small question.
After the privacy checks, ask Claude to separate your short passage into claims. Require a source for each statement. Ask it to mark guesses INFERRED and unsupported details UNCONFIRMED.
Compare the response with your original passage. Correct added names, changed dates and missing qualifications. Save the checked result locally, with the source reference. Leave the full archive out of this first conversation.