Have you done one of those ancestry DNA kits or have any thoughts on them?

[Whatsmyageagain0]

My DM is the hardest to buy for. She always says ‘don’t buy me anything’ but of course we are going to.

Anyway, she’s always interested in her family tree and ancestry Etc so I thought about getting one of those kits online (and taken in by Black Friday)

Does anyone have any experience of them or thoughts on them?

@AlternativePerspective the ethnicity estimates are just that, estimates, but it’s possible to identify unknown parents for most now & the science is sound,

@electricwhisk not at AncestryDNA re: law enforcement.

They, also, as things stand at the moment can’t by accessed by insurance companies etc - the raw data can’t be analysed by third parties etc.

What things could they do with my DNA if they stored it that you are worried about?
Genuine question not being funny or anything

When people joined FB they had no idea that their personal data would be stored and then sold on to other companies. The fall out from that is well known.
Think how much more valuable your dna is.

If you get one from a sibling you'd instantly find out your own results so could kill two birds with one stone if you are curious for yourself but have a gift to find

My DM got one for my DF, partly trying to solve some puzzles re his family (no known parents, abandoned in baby home during WWII).
We found out he's got Irish parents (previously thought he was english/german) and it has turned up close links to family in Ireland and a v sad story about his mother (although it's not completely confirmed).
I have found it surprisingly upsetting and weird, and wish we hadn't done it even though I now know I'm half Irish and could possibly get EU citizenship.

I’ve done it & it linked to my tree on Ancestry & proves my tree is correct.
However I don’t think the ethnicity estimate is quite right on there. I ran the raw DNA data from my Ancestry test through My Heritage too & that seems to give a more accurate ethnicity estimate.

I did one a couple of years ago and it confirmed some cousins that I had found via research but never heard of before. It also reconnected me to a few cousins that I had lost track of. I didn't think there were any skeletons in my closet, but I was willing to take that risk. I have found it fascinating and in the latest updates, they confirmed what I already knew, that most of my relatives come from Aberdeenshire/Buchan.

OP, if your DM is already interested in this, then why not give her a kit? She doesn't have to use it, although I appreciate that it is a lot of money wasted if she doesn't.

I've done one, 23 and Me, and I'm about to do another one.

I think there are positives and negatives. I enjoyed learning about my DNA, which has helped me somewhat with a family mystery I was trying to solve.

On the basis of my experience, I would say that the DNA test alone won't be much good for helping your Mum learn about her family tree in a specific sense. You really need to be prepared to do the research as well that goes with it - otherwise all you really have is a list of living relatives around the world, and while that's interesting and that won't be that helpful if you haven't got a written tree to back it up and help you work out how those people are linked.

It's also only as good as the number of other people who have submitted their DNA. So for example, I have a few matches that seem to be drawn out of my Irish family because lots of Americans with Irish DNA are interested in looking at their family roots. Another branch of my family is entirely without matches as far as I can tell, probably because that side of the family just aren't interested. (I know we are related because it's my maternal line).

I would suggest getting the Ancestry one, because you can get an Ancestry Tree account along with it that will tie in to your results and help you to do the research.

People are correct that you run the risk of turning up a family secret, such as a half sibling with these tests. However that's a risk even when you are exploring your family tree on paper. For example, I recently found out that someone who we thought was a relatives Aunt was actually their half-sister. Which is bloody awkward for me to deal with - that was all on paper and had nothing to do with my DNA test.

I'm still glad I did mine.

I did one earlier this year only to find my brother and I have different fathers. 'Our' father is in fact just my father, my brother doesn't know, it's a stressful burden to carry.
There's a lot to be said for ignorance is bliss.

I did mine for fun a couple of years ago. It confirmed all the family tree research I had done and had no real surprises, but I'm glad I did it. I seem to remember that there you had options about how your DNA was used/stored. I would view it as an novelty gift - albeit an expensive one!

Useful article on these tests, including the privacy issue and accuracy
www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2018/aug/11/question-ancestry-does-dna-testing-really-understand-race

I've done it and I've been able to prove a genetic link to a half aunt I didn't know I had. It's fascinating!

Oh gawd!
Some of you comments make me think “brilliant I’ll buy it right away!”
Next comments I think “woah definitely not buying it”
I think I just won’t bother.

..... plus I discovered the postage alone is £9.99!!!

I think that Guardian article was quite worrying. For people like me, whose family on both sides has been in the same area for at least four generations, it would be a pointless exercise; for people who have pinned a certain amount of their identity on having a specific heritage, it could pull the rug out from under them. I think if you were merely curious and you had no investment in the outcome I'm sure it could be quite fun but once you've found out something unexpected you can't unknow it!

I am doing my family tree with Ancestry and have done the DNA test. I have found out a lot about my ancestors. I am doing DH's as well (even though he is not interested). DC2 has also taken the DNA test. I have got back to Adam on the one side due to being descended from Celtic royalty (D.C. actually found that out).

www.businessinsider.com/dna-testing-ancestry-23andme-share-data-companies-2018-8?r=US&IR=T

My brother took an Ancestry test and coupled with his family tree research he was able to identify his father whom he had never met.
His father was dead but he made contact with a half sibling who provided photos of my brother's father .

@Whatsmyageagain0 my dad was adopted and knew his birth mother but not his father. It did help to put him in touch with relatives of his father so he could get a picture of what he was like and where he came from.

I would 100% recommend. Although it is online so may require some admin in your part to make sure is sent off correctly and online all set up etc (my dad is 63 but struggled with this- resulting in multiple emails and high cost phone calls to the company on my part as he didn't put correct info on the sample he sent off!!!!)

His mother was Scottish and speculated his dad was an American soldier- this was reflected in DNA which showed origins in Scotland and Ireland and Italy (hence American as many emigrated there) so I would say it was fairly accurate. His results also translated into mine despite the face we used two different dna heritage companies!!

Notwithstanding this it's a bit of fun!! Go for it

On youtube there is a really interesting film, it's a canadian tv presenter and her identical twin, they send samples off to all the companies and compare results.

Most of the sites set their accuracy at 50% and the regions are different for different companies so 'British and Irish' on one might be, 'Northern European' on another.

As they are identical they should have had identical results, but they didn't unless they changed the 'accuracy' setting.

I'm torn over whether to do one or not.

There was a program on tv where they were compared for accuracy and found wanting unreliable.

For those asking what’s the issue with DNA being stored.

In America the police used dna on such a site (think it was 23and me) to catch a serial killer from the 1970s. They had a sample of his dna from a crime scene but because he’d never been arrested they had no clue who he was.

So they set up a fake profile and submitted the dna and it matched a profile already on there.....closely enough that they thought they’d found the killer iirc. Went to arrest/question this person and quickly realised they were the wrong age but it was something like their uncle.

So even if you/your mother aren’t worried about a criminal past it could be used to catch more distant relatives, inc kids, grandkids in the future.

Some people wouldn’t be bothered by this, thinking well if they’ve done something they deserve to be caught, me included.

Other possible issue is learning about potential medical issues and being refused insurance but you don’t have to pay extra for the medical side of things.

My sister did one which meant I didn’t have to

Was hoping for something exotic in our ethnic makeup but it’s all English and Irish with smaller amounts of Western Europe and 2% Scandinavian.

Like some previous posters I’m sceptical about providing my DNA to a big company.

I did a lesson about these this week. I don't think I'd do one now. They are illegal in France with a fine in the 1000€s. Here are a list of reasons.

internethealthreport.org/2019/23-reasons-not-to-reveal-your-dna/

SamanthaJayne4 is "back to Adam" a colloquial phrase for "I traced my ancestry back a long way"? You don't actually mean that they told you they could trace it back to Adam?