Meg, I've used ancestry.com for more than 10 years, although as a "mooch," not as a paid subscriber. They use these free offers strictly to advertise their paid services. I had to register many years ago, but I've only received e-mails notifying me of limited-duration free offers since. They do not share their info with others. Ancestry.com -- which also bought Rootsweb.com but operates that services for free -- charges so much for its regular subscriptions that it doesn't need to rip people off. You're safe. Randy