There’s good news for those of us who were too busy, forgot about MyHeritageDNA’s November 30 deadline, or just like to procrastinate.
MyHeritage has extended the deadline until December 16 to upload to their website for free DNA raw data from Ancestry, Family Tree DNA’s Family Finder test, 23andMe (any versions including v5), and Living DNA.
After the deadline, MyHeritage plans to change its policy regarding DNA uploads.
DNA Matching will remain free for uploaded DNA data, which means we will still be able to see our matches. What will change is that an extra payment will be required to unlock the additional DNA features.
All DNA data that was uploaded to MyHeritage in the past and all DNA data that is uploaded now and prior to December 16 will continue to enjoy full access to all DNA features for free. These uploads will be grandfathered in and will remain free.
Viewing family trees of your DNA Matches or accessing the nine billion historical records that are found on MyHeritage is optional and requires a paid subscription plan. Some advanced features in the DNA Match review will also require a subscription, such as viewing matches and ethnicities that you share with your DNA Matches.
Instructions for exporting your data and uploading your DNA data to MyHeritage are provided on the upload page. Just click on Start to take a look at how it works.
If you need more help to download and upload your DNA raw data to MyHeritage and other DNA sites, American genealogist, author and lecturer Thomas MacEntee has created a guide, called Downloading and Uploading Your DNA Test Data, to walk you through the few easy steps.
I’ve just uploaded my kits over the past week and the first match to come up was one that wasn’t on either FTDNA or GedMatch but one whose tree showed me exactly how we’re related! I’ve already been contacted by one other person with an unknown match who is willing to help me figure it out. Wish I’d done this sooner.
One thing I wanted to mention is that I have access to people’s trees for free and anticipate that that won’t change after the 16th. Thanks for keeping us informed on stuff like this!
Nag nag nag!!!
I finally did it. It took a couple of password resets (apparently I already signed up with MyH… they must have had one of those free-weekend deals a while ago).
Now it’s time to sit back, relax and let the matches roll in.
Yay!