Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Official Clarification: AncestryDNA With and Without an Ancestry.com Subscription

There has been a lot of confusion surrounding the issue of what is included with the AncestryDNA test with and without an Ancestry.com subscription.  Since I had heard conflicting things from different Ancestry.com employees, I requested official clarification. As a result, I received a beautiful .pdf file from Stephen Baloglu, Ancestry.com's Director of Product Marketing, today. I couldn't fit it in its entirety on this blog, so I cut and pasted the text here. (I will link to it as soon as they post it on their site.) Please click on the images to enlarge any text you cannot read.




A subscription adds these benefits:













I think this should clear up the confusion and I appreciate Stephen's efforts to clarify this for us. In summary, non-subscribers will have full access to their list of DNA matches and "Genetic Ethnicity" results, continue to receive new matches and updates to the admixture analysis, be able to view shared surnames, birth locations and a limited tree view for their matches and (as we have all been hoping) have the ability to contact their matches through Ancestry.com. So, this confirms that there is still a lot of functionality, even without the subscription. In my opinion, outside of traditional genealogy research and strictly in regard to the DNA test, the most important additional benefit that only comes with the subscription is the ability to explore your matches' full Ancestry.com family tree. This can be very important when attempting to confirm a common ancestor with a match that might fall just beyond a genealogical brick wall.

If anyone has additional questions, please ask them in the comments section below and I will try to make sure they get answered.

I will also be following up with a post with more technical details about the test from my recent conversation with Ken Chahine, General Manager of AncestryDNA. 

13 comments:

  1. Dear CeCe,
    Thanks for this nice summary. Did Stephen Baloglu say that the raw results files would actually be able to be downloaded? From my perspective, having “access to your online DNA results, on Ancestry.com at all times” is not the same as having the ability to download the raw data files. Did Stephen Baloglu say anything about if or when people who have done the AncestryDNA test will be able to see the matching DNA segment data for their matches?
    Sincerely,
    Tim Janzen

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    1. No, he didn't Tim. Are you asking if the raw data can be downloaded after a subscription lapses or if they can be downloaded at all? He answered the second question in my blog post just prior to this one - the answer is yes.
      He did not offer any further info on whether matching segments will be part of the AncestryDNA test in the future.
      Thanks!

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    2. I have the same concerns, Tim. Being a member of 23andme for over a year, I see the advantage of being able to see where the relationship matches by Chromosome(s) as well as the distance. I do hope this issue will be brought up by many others which will alert the "powers that be" how important it is to us.

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  2. CeCe, Many thanks for getting this clarification from Ancestry. What exactly do Ancestry mean by a "limited" tree view? How many generations will we be able to see? Will we have access to dates and locations for the people in the "limited" tree? Will we have access to the Map and Locations page? Will Ancestry be able to provide a sample screenshot to clarify exactly what will be available?

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    1. Hi Debbie,
      Stephen told me that to view the family trees going back 7-generations (if public) attached to your DNA matches does not require a subscription to Ancestry.com. What you see in your DNA results right now (after clicking "Review Match") without clicking through to the Ancestry.com tree does include dates and locations, so those will still be viewable. However, you will not be able to access any of the information that would necessitate clicking one of the "View Full Tree" or "View Tree" buttons. Which Map and Locations page do you mean?
      Thank you!

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    2. Thanks CeCe. I'm assuming therefore that without a subscription we would be able not just to see the 7-generation tree but more importantly also click on a name in that tree to see the vital events (birth and death dates/locations) for each person in that tree.

      The Map and Locations tab is on the same page as the 7-generation pedigree. You can toggle backwards and forwards between the Pedigree view and the Map view. I would hope that the Map view would also be accessible to non-subscribers as it's the easiest way to sort through match lists to find out if your matches have any ancestors from the same country as you.

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  3. CeCe,
    Thank you for the update. I'm glad to see we can have multiple tests under one account.

    Be aware though “Easily view shared surnames and birth locations for each of your DNA matches” only happens if your match has a public tree linked to their DNA account. Many matches do not have a tree listed and others have private “locked” trees which are not viewable unless the match agrees to give you access. I’m hopeful that in time Ancestry will also provide us with the matching chromosome(s) and the start and end point of each match, but until they do, the tree is the ONLY way we have to try to determine a common ancestor.
    Thanks again!

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  4. Thank you, CeCe.
    I was thrilled when I saw the autosomal AncestryDNA test no longer required an invitation and went ahead and placed my order, only to find I am STILL excluded, because I live in Europe and it can only be ordered in the USA for now. Frustrating. Is it known when it will be available beyond the US and/or whether there are any other options open to non USA residents?

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  5. Thanks for this update and clarification!

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  6. Hi CeCe, I enjoy reading your posts.

    I'm a long time subscriber to Ancestry.ca, and I would like to know when the DNA test will be made available to Canadian postal addresses. 23andMe and FTDNA are happy to have customers from Canada, why not Ancestry?

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    1. Hi,
      They don't have an expected date yet. I am told that it is a bit more complicated for a big company like Ancestry.com to sell DNA tests internationally for legal and logistical reasons.
      CeCe

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  7. Great post CeCe. Do you know if a subscribing member can order tests for multiple people at the subscriber rate?

    Jane

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    1. Hi Jane,
      I don't know for sure, but I think you will be able to because I was able to buy tests for family members during the closed Beta.
      Thanks for the comment,
      CeCe

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