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MyHeritage is the leading global platform for family history discovery. It enriches the lives of people worldwide by enabling them to uncover more about themselves and where they belong.
With a suite of intuitive features and innovative products, MyHeritage creates a meaningful discovery experience that is deeply rewarding. Users build family trees and discover new information and relatives through advanced matching technologies and billions of historical records from across the globe. MyHeritage also offers an affordable at-home DNA test revealing an ethnicity breakdown across 79 ethnicities and 2,114 geographic regions, and AI-powered features to repair, colorize, and animate old photos.
The MyHeritage platform is enjoyed by tens of millions of people around the world who treasure and celebrate their heritage. MyHeritage offers full privacy controls and is available in 42 languages.
MyHeritage Reviews Summary
MyHeritage is generally well-regarded for its user-friendly platform and extensive database, which many customers find invaluable for tracing their ancestry and connecting with relatives. Users appreciate the regular updates and the powerful search capabilities that facilitate discoveries. However, concerns arise regarding customer service, particularly related to billing issues and the difficulty of reaching support. Some users have reported feeling overwhelmed by the volume of information and have encountered challenges in verifying data. Overall, while the service is praised for its features, improvements in customer support and communication are necessary to enhance user satisfaction.
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So far, I've been quite pleased with MyHeritage's customer service. My DNA results were delayed because I ordered them during the Thanksgiving sale when the company was overwhelmed--and then, the company had to use the second sample because the results couldn't be read on the first. I contacted the company when each event happened, and customer services reps reassured me all was well. And it was. I received my results and contacted the reps with any questions. Since then, I have not encountered problems. Nevertheless, because after I posted a link on Facebook and notes about findings for siblings, nephews and nieces, first cousins and their children, I went to the MyHeritage Facebook page. There, I read horror stories about MyHeritage billing persons--without their knowledge--for Premium accounts. Thus, I phoned the company tonight to ensure that my plan would downgrade to Basic after the Premium account ended. Lorna assured me that it would--and I could phone should something go awry. She was courteous, informative, and understood my concerns. I will monitor the account--and the webpage details how to downgrade to Basic. I urge all users to check their accounts and do the same to avoid being charged for a plan they didn't opt to use. And thanks again, Lorna, for your kind help.
It is not very effective to controll several times the same information, if you have matches from different family trees to the same person. It is not necessairy to control all times all information.
I had a question, and a woman helped me solve a problem quickly and with great kindness.
Important for me to be met with kindness.
I knew from my lineage I was Polish English and French. What I received for results was, North and West European, Eastern European and Iberian. Nothing specific. There were a lot of border shifts in the past and I was hoping they would provide specific information about countries. I received no information on any relatives. I didn't need to pay for information That was already a given. Try another site. Waste of money. Tried to call but you need to pay more to talk to a rep.
Dear Joann,
I regret to find your low star review.
It is important to know that the ethnicity estimate is calculated by comparing your DNA to other reference populations that are known in the DNA research community. (aka founder populations)
While it is indeed found that people within surrounding countries in Europe share common DNA for various reasons such as people moving around frequently and official borders and communities being occupied, an ethnicity estimate wouldn't provide specific information about countries or measure the history of your family's migration patterns. Because of this, it is indeed a challenge to build a distinct reference profile for Germany, Great Britain, France, and Scandinavian countries, as those are admixed with Western European DNA. The proof of history with Anglo-Saxon people settling in the British Isles that were comprised of Germanic tribes is vast through many generations and can be verified online.
There are ways to circumvent these obstacles with DNA research and with MyHeritage, you can pinpoint the exact location of where your roots come from many of our members will utilize the research tools available such as, building a family tree and finding comparable matches whether they be by doing Genealogy research or viewing your DNA matches.
Our match algorithms have been proven to automatically find and compare similar DNA strands along with ancestral surnames, records, and family trees to find very interesting discoveries. I would like to personally assist you with using your DNA matches and ultimately the progress of your research.
Therefore, please e-mail me at your nearest convenience at [email protected].
I'll be looking for your e-mail.
Sincerely
Rafael
MyHeritage
When I received my results, I was totally surprised. Where I expected to see an Italian-Slovak mix, my predominant heritage is Greek-Scandinavian-Balkan.
The young lady at My Heritage, who I originally contacted, professionally walked me through the analysis using the ethnic maps. This cleared things up.
Subsequently, i had a long discussion with Aaron, from My Heritage. He gave me a tutorial on DNA and related analyses to the point I totally understand and am very comfortable with the results. He also explained to me how i can use the possible "related" persons.to further enhance my results.
I am urging family and friends to get their DNA analyzed by My Heritage.
Al Gaydos
It took tech support only 1/2 day to diagnose that the problem I was having with my family tree and to correct the problem all the while dealing with my at any query I had. Problem resolved within 1/2 day
Information on my family tree was incorrectly placed. After calling your customer service, The information was corrected with your agent's directions. His instruction was smooth and easy to understand. Kudos to Mr. Saoirse
Darren was a huge help, thank you so much for being able to help resolve my issue Darren! You're a lifesaver.
:)
Very pleasant and very helpful. Great tech support! I recently joined MyHeritage and am very pleased. I have so many matches that it will take me a long time to go through them all.
My bank statement showed I was billed twice. I rang to inquire why & found out that was how it was set up. The lady I spoke to was able to get my account changed so that in future it would be only one transaction. She was able to get me a refund for it to be that way. She was a great help & when I asked where in the world she was she said Ireland I told her my Mum's side of my tree was from County Cavan & they came from there to Australia, it turns out that she is not far from there. Who knows our families might have known each other.? Thank you My Heritage I love your site. Lois Smythe.
I send in my DNA kit in Feb. Than I was told that there was same wrong and you send me another kit. So I did it again. But this time nobody told me that they had the same problem. I email you and ask why there are no results NOBODY RESPONDED. So I email again and nothing. This time I call and then I was told that you were have the same problem and if I had a sex change. Well If you can't get it right. Then return my $69.00 dollars and I will go the Ancestry.com and see if they can do it right.
Dear Ronald,
I am sorry for the delay in response.
Your DNA kit tracking is indeed something to be concerned about and therefore I will do all in my power to assist you with this issue.
In order to help, I need a little more information from you to verify the correct DNA kit and registered MyHeritage account.
Please write to my inbox personally at [email protected] so I may ensure this is handled as soon as possible.
I'll be looking for your e-mail with high priority.
Sincerely
Rafael
MyHeritage
Pauline was very clear in what would happen with my request. She was very patient with me and explained things to my satisfaction. Very pleased with outcome.
Lisa was very patient with me in helping me activate my DNA kit. Additionally, I had a cold and could not speak as clearly as I would have liked.
As a busy man, I hate to be disturbed by incorrect or unclear messages.
The end of the message was, for any question call our number.
I have called, the lady's reply was exact and I waited not too long to have a full satisfactory answer and even gained some unexpected disscount. Thank you. Carry on.
Everything was promptly done sooner than expected. As soon as I paid it wasnt long before I received my kit. I did the kit and sent it back same day. It only took 2 weeks so it was fast. My results were a little different but after talking to customer support I understood better where I came from. Good job!
The dna kit arrived from America really quick and once I opened the box followed the instructions which were clear to follow put the swabs in the pack and sent it back. I have also spoken with the support team and they were very helpful. Excellent
I know my familys history back to the 1800s. My father is Sardinian back as far as they can remember; my husbands family is half English/Scottish and half Icelandic/English. The results had no British, no Sardinian, no Icelandic, and a little Native American thrown in, which is impossible. Not sure how the algorithms are supposed to work, but they didnt for me. Waste of money.
Dear Mary,
I'm sorry to read your low star review.
I'd like to clarify the current ethnicity estimate doesn't necessarily mean that you do not have British, Sardinian, Icelandic, or even Native American heritage.
For your information, the percentages of DNA a person receives from his ancestors at the level of grandparents and further back (Great-grandparents, etc.) are not necessarily divided evenly in each generation. You indeed inherit 50 % of the DNA from your mother, and 50 % from your father. However, segments are inherited randomly. On that note, when parents conceive a child their DNA goes through recombination. You can imagine that the mother's code looks like AAAA and the father's code looks like XXXX. Now the child may receive the code AXAX and it so happens to be that AXAX is another segment that may code for another ethnicity.
Moreover, if you have ancestors of a specific ethnicity it could be of such a low amount that the ethnicity estimate could not find a percentage from our references. To estimate your ancestral ethnicity, MyHeritage compares your DNA with the DNA of living people around the globe whose genetic ethnicity is known. We call these people the Founder Populations. This study is currently ongoing and new references will be applied to your DNA as long as you have it uploaded at MYHeritage in the future.
With regards to DNA in it is indeed found that people within surrounding countries in Europe share common DNA for various reasons such as people moving around frequently and official borders and communities being occupied. Please keep in mind that it is difficult to build a distinct profile for Great Britain and Scandinavian countries, as those are admixed with Western European DNA. As you may know, Anglo-Saxon people settled the British Isles, and they were comprised of Germanic tribes. Therefore we keep the current version of our estimate on a higher regional level.
The same applies to Native American DNA. Though you might have Native American DNA, it might belong to a tribe that is not part of the sampling used to build our Ethnicity Estimate. There are more than 500 recognized tribes which are ethnically, culturally and linguistically diverse. However, the majority of these tribes have not contributed their DNA for research purposes which would allow science to establish better ethnicity models. Therefore, the fact that we did not find Native American DNA in your sample does not mean that you are not Native American. Therefore, If your Native American ethnicity does not appear in the Ethnicity Estimate, you might also consider testing one of your parents or grandparents as it is more likely that Native American DNA will be traced in the generations closer to the Native American ancestor.
Most importantly, I'd like to inform you that the progress of your DNA research and your overall satisfaction is extremely important to us. If you need any further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact me directly at [email protected] so I may assist you with high priority.
Sincerely
Rafael
MyHeritage
We bungled our MyHeritage records by creating two accounts for experimental work.
When we had the DNA analysis done for two of us, they were posted to the two different accounts!
We requested that they be consolidated, and the MyHeritage staff were most helpful in achieving this, and told us how we could do such things ourselves!
Thank you, MyHeritage people, for your prompt and effective response to our self-imposed difficulty!
Robert James.
Canberra, Australia.
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Dear Kurt,
There are cases when you might want to stop receiving Smart Matches from specific family trees or for a specific person indeed.
- If a webmaster has duplicate trees, you might receive duplicate matches for each of his/her trees. To prevent this, you can choose to ignore some of the trees you get matches from. This can reduce the amount of matches you get.
- If you are not interested in receiving matches from a specific webmaster, you can choose to ignore it
If you don't want to receive matches from a source tree any longer, this is how to proceed:
1. Log in to your family site.
2. Move your mouse cursor over the ‘Discoveries’ tab and select ‘Matches by source’:
Here you will be able to see all the matches found from a specific source in your family tree.
3. Click on the ‘Smart Matches’ tab to filter the list by Smart Matches only.
4. Click on ‘Review X matches’ to see the list of all the matches found from this specific source.
5. To ignore this source tree completely, click on 'More actions' on the upper right-hand side of the list and choose 'Ignore this tree'.
This will reject all the matches from the specific source you selected and the system will remember not to send you matching from this source tree.
If you need any further assistance with this, please feel free to contact me personally at [email protected]. I'd be happy to help you with high priority.
Kind Regards
Rafael
MyHeritage