2024 Q1 Newsletter

This newsletter announces the removal of support for several features starting in April. These changes include the removal of the MyRelationships endpoint, the removal of the GET method on the Person Matches by Example endpoint, the removal of trailing slash support on URLs, and the removal of cookie support. These updates are part of our ongoing efforts to streamline our services and improve security.

Scheduled Maintenance

My-Relationships replacement

The MyRelationships resource has been deprecated for the past year and will be removed in April 2024. Applications which need this functionality should now be using the Relationship Finder resource instead. Please refer to the documentation for an explanation of the change in usage.

HTTP POST replaces GET for Person Matches by Example resource

As of May 2018, and mentioned in a special email communication to developers in November 2023, support for the HTTP GET method of the Person Matches by Example resource has been deprecated, with primary support for the HTTP POST instead. All support for the HTTP GET method for this resource will be removed in April 2024. If your application still uses this method, please switch to POST to avoid loss of service when this support goes away completely. Please refer to the documentation for an explanation of POST usage versus GET usage.

HTTP Trailing Slashes Support Removed

As mentioned in Q4 2023, infrastructure upgrades with Java Spring Boot 3 and Spring 6 MVC no longer support a trailing slash on the URL by default. This support will be removed with the next maintenance update in April 2024.

Security Update to Remove Session Support via Cookies

The ability to set the Authentication session via a cookie using OAuth 1 will be removed for security concerns. Authentication should be utilizing OAuth 2.0 methods instead. Sessions established in this deprecated manner will not be recognized with the next maintenance update in April 2024.

Upcoming Changes

Password Flow authentication [UPDATE]

As mentioned in the 2023 Q4 Newsletter, support for Password Flow authentication will be removed to support international regulatory requirements. We were able to extend support for additional weeks to allow application updates using OAuth 2 to be released and to transition users to these updates. If you have not done so already, please notify users who have not updated their applications to the newer clients since this support will be removed soon.

RootsTech Conference

RootsTech 2024 was a wonderful success thanks to great support by our partners and the community. With thousands attending in person and over two million more watching sessions in multiple languages and countries around the world, this provides a unique opportunity to share your unique products and services with a global customer base throughout the coming months via the virtual exhibit hall and with recorded sessions at rootstech.org. Please mark your calendar for March 6-8, 2025, for RootsTech next year. If you would like to reserve your preferences for a booth in Salt Lake City or for the virtual exhibit hall, please contact [email protected]. If you would like to be considered to teach a class or to present, contact [email protected].