Lessons Learned: DNA Testing Companies

I am not the best person to go to for information about genetic genealogy. In fact, I skirted through 17 years of schooling without ever having taken a formal biology course because I was afraid of having to dissect some poor critter. Because of this, this blog post will be relatively short. I did, however, want to touch on it because DNA testing is a great way to connect with distant cousins who may be researching some of the same ancestors, and maybe even break through a brick wall.

Luckily for you, there are plenty of great blogs and websites to teach you the ins and outs of genetic genealogy. To get you started, I recommend checking out Wheaton Wood’s “Beginner’s Guide to Genetic Genealogy,” as well as the International Society of Genetic Genealogy’s (ISOGG) wiki.

Before I go any further, you should know that there are some important considerations to make prior to ordering a DNA test kit. First of all, are you truly prepared for what DNA testing may tell you? What if you find that your father is not your biological father? Or what if you aren’t biologically related to either parent because it turns out you were adopted? It happens every day, so please keep this factor in mind when deciding if DNA testing is the right choice for you.

Secondly, if you are concerned about your privacy, then DNA testing may not be for you. And everyone should understand the possible implications of sharing your DNA and other information with a for-profit company.  Despite what statements they make regarding the privacy and security of the DNA and any other information you share with that company, there are no guarantees. In fact, just recently 23andMe.com sent an email to its customers explaining that, “There was unauthorized access to one or more 23andMe accounts that were connected to you through DNA Relatives. As a result, the DNA Relatives profile information you provided in this feature was exposed to the threat actor.”

Even scarier to me is the fact that they have your DNA—the literal blueprint of your body—and we don’t even know yet what all that DNA can tell scientists—or these DNA testing companies—about ourselves. However, if you’re like me and your curiosity overrides your common sense, and you do decide to test, I have a few tips for you about testing.

First of all, here are 5 of the most popular companies for DNA testing:

• With AncestryDNA, which boasts the largest user database of all the companies, you can access your results, including your ethnicity estimate, DNA matches, and ThruLines®* without a monthly subscription;
• 23andMe’s test results include 80+ personalized reports, ancestry percentages (to the 0.1%), and 2750+ geographic regions;
• FamilyTreeDNA (FTDNA) is unique in that, in addition to its autosomal Family Finder test, they  offer both mtDNA and Y-DNA tests (there is an additional cost for each test, or you can bundle tests);
• MyHeritage, offers ethnicity estimates and genetic groupings, but with a more limited user database; and
• Living DNA can be especially helpful for those who are researching their British Isles roots.

Many genealogists recommend testing with AncestryDNA first for two reasons: 1) AncestryDNA has the largest user database, which translates to more potential DNA matches for you, and 2) AncestryDNA does not allow raw DNA file transfers from other companies (nor does 23andMe, by the way); however, you can transfer your AncestryDNA files to most of the other companies.

If you can stand to, wait for a sale on the kit. For example, right now Ancestry is offering 40% off their DNA kit, along with a 3-month subscription to their World Explorer membership for $1.00 more. And you may want a subscription to get the most out of your test results.

Once you have tested with AncestryDNA, you can download and transfer those raw DNA results to MyHeritage, FTDNA, and Living DNA. Each of these DNA testing sites have different tools and features, so by transferring your AncestryDNA results, you will be able to fully utilize your test results. The best part is the transfers are free!

I also want to mention GEDmatch.com, which is not a DNA testing company. Instead, you can upload your raw DNA file from whichever DNA testing company you use in order to use GEDmatch’s free online tools to analyze results, and compare DNA shared with others.

Finally, once those DNA matches start rolling it, it can be a bit overwhelming. I recommend trying out the Leeds Method to sort through your matches. This method involves using a spreadsheet to sort second to fourth cousins into color groups based on shared ancestors. It often creates four groups of DNA matches based on your four grandparent lines. Don’t worry; there are no formulas involved! It’s actually really simple to do, and I had fun doing it. This method is especially helpful for adoptees or anyone who is searching for a parent.

DNA testing can be a powerful tool used to aid in your genealogical research. While I’m not a genetic genealogist, I hope that if you’re interested in moving forward with DNA testing, I have given you an idea of where to start—and how to save a bit of money in the process. And once you receive those results, you now know of a simple and effective way to sort your DNA matches. Good luck and have fun!

*Ancestry’s ThruLines show you potential ancestors; however, it pulls these potential ancestors from Ancestry users’ family trees. You probably already know the drill about family trees, but if not: they are extremely prone to errors and inaccuracies. So, your ThruLines results are only as good as the family trees from which they were pulled. Therefore, please do your due diligence prior to accepting these ancestors as your own.