#ftdna

Want to enjoy genetic genealogy at Family Tree DNA without participating in criminal investigations?  Here’s how.

Log into your Family Tree DNA account by entering your Family Tree DNA kit number and username.

Hover over your name on the upper right corner of the screen.

Click Account Settings on the drop down menu.

Click the Privacy and Sharing tab.

Scroll down to see “Law Enforcement Matching (LEM).”

Click on “Opt in to Law Enforcement Matching” until the color of the button is *gray* instead of blue.

According to Family Tree DNA, as of this writing, “If you opt out of Law Enforcement Matching, law enforcement registered accounts that are genetic relatives will not be able to see you as a match, but you will continue to see them as one.”

While most Family Tree DNA customers must follow the process described above to make their DNA profiles unavailable to United States law enforcement agents, FTDNA policy states that “[u]sers flagged as a resident of the EU whose account was created prior to March 12, 2019 are automatically opted out of law enforcement matching but have the ability to opt in by updating their Matching Preferences in their Account Settings.”

Ever since I got my AncestryDNA results, I’ve been digging deeper into my family’s past. It’s really cool. As you can see from the colorful portions on the map, my heritage is kinda all of the place! I’ve had so much fun researching all these different places. I also found my abuelo’s second cousin and learned more about that branch of the family tree (yay!)

I just wanted to let anyone who’s tested (or thinking of testing) their DNA about a couple helpful sites you can use to look at your raw data. GEDmatch is AWESOME. There are so many options, that it can honestly seem overwhelming. Once you upload your raw data from wherever you got tested, you can run it through several different algorithms to get a better understanding of your results. (Also, if you’re primarily of African descent, there are some really great options. There are some geared specifically to people of Asian and European descent too as well as general ones.)

The screenshot above is from another site called Family Tree DNA, which has the biggest family finder database available for genealogical purposes. Based off of my genealogical research so far, it appears accurate when describing my family origins (I am still fairly certain that the percentage reading Great Britain should be Western and Central Europe). This site also shows you your “Ancient Origins,” like farmer, hunger-gatherer, and/or metal age invader.

23andMe Ancestry+Health Kits Valentine Day Sale – DNA Saturdays February 13, 2021

I saw on 23andMe https://www.23andme.com/, they are offering free shipping and a 20% discount on additional Ancestry+Health kits ordered through tomorrow in a single order. The sale ends tomorrow. First kit is regular price. Does not apply to other tests offered. Thought this was a good DNA Saturdays post. I didn’t see it yesterday when I went to their website. It’s why I do my best to check the…

Why I Always Test Directly with Each DNA Company – DNA Saturdays February 6, 2021

I used to upload DNA tests to some sites – FamilyTree DNA (FTDNA), MyHeritageDNA, and LivingDNA. One thing I noticed is the problem with going that route – ISOGG Autosomal SNP Comparison Chart – DNA Saturdays December 26, 2020. Specifically, the ISOGG Autosomal SNP Comparison Chart: https://isogg.org/wiki/Autosomal_SNP_comparison_chart. The wide variation in matching SNPs can be very large. I…

Big Y-700 Final Update – June 19, 2020

As I mentioned yesterday – Update on Big Y FamilyTree DNA – June 18, 2020, I wasn’t expecting a fast resolution to my Big Y-700 update. When I checked this morning the Order History, it showed completed June 18, 2020. Out of 838 Y-STRs, it shows results for all but 87 of them. That’s a fairly high rate of success. As the Big Y-700 doesn’t check all of the Y-DNA STRs and SNPs, it looks at a fair…

Update on Big Y FamilyTree DNA – June 18, 2020

This is getting more curious as time drags on. I mentioned a new test showing a few days ago – FamilyTree DNA Results Update – June 15, 2020. I am checking daily as I am bored and noticed yet a new development. The Big Y-500 second test is the same batch number as the first Big Y-500test. No expected completion date for it. Looks like my results are ready, but are temporarily hung up – see e-mail…