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MyHeritage

3.9

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From the business

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.com
Founded in 2005
Lehi, UT, Israel
How would you rate MyHeritage?
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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.

This summary is generated by AI, based on text from customer reviews

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Belgium
1 review
0 helpful votes
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After waiting for more then 6 weeks I called customer support. It took ages for me to talk to an actual person. Luckily a friendly woman told me that my package probably never arrived in their lab so she would send me a new one. So again, starting the waiting game. Hopefuly everything wilm go smoothly from here on. Feeling sceptical.

Date of experience: March 4, 2018
MyHeritage Support T. MyHeritage Rep
over a year old

Dear Hannah,

I regret to find your low star review and I'm sorry for the inconvenience.

I absolutely sympathize with your long wait time when I remember waiting for my own results.

Although DNA testing, in general, is a long anticipating procedure, your DNA kit tracking is indeed something to be concerned about.

I do know that there has been a slight delay in receiving kits that were sent to our lab around the holidays within the 2-month time frame because of the amount of traffic. It seems that everyone bought and sent their DNA kits at the same time for Christmas this year.

We are certainly aware of this and are working to resolve this as soon as possible. Each kit that is sent to us is processed carefully to ensure our DNA community gets the most accurate results.

I'd be happy to personally assist you with tracking your results now that your sample has finally arrived at the lab to ensure the progress of your research.

Please e-mail me at [email protected] anytime, I'd be happy to help.

Sincerely
Rafael
MyHeritage

Hawaii
1 review
2 helpful votes
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Disappointing
March 5, 2018

I truly believe they did not even check or analyze my DNA. I feel they are too overwhelmed to do complete research on every one of the millions of samples they receive. My results were very generalized and I believe they gave me results based on my name. Although Talia G in customer support was very helpful, I am very disappointed, considering the money I paid. Very disappointed indeed, MyHeritage!

Date of experience: March 3, 2018
Wisconsin
2 reviews
1 helpful vote
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Broken promises
March 3, 2018

I have had a number of issues with My Heritage and after trying to contact Customer Service several times, I finally wrote a letter to the CEO in Lehi, Utah. Several days later I received a call from someone in the corporate structure who told me the technical support team was in Israel and they observe the sabbath and would call me Monday, February 26th. NOT A WORD OR A CALL! Terribly disappointed.

Date of experience: March 3, 2018
MyHeritage Support T. MyHeritage Rep
over a year old

Dear Erv,

I'm sorry for the inconvenience.

There seems to have been some kind of terrible miscommunication here and I'd like to escalate it quickly to prevent issues such as these from happening again in the future for our members.

I am eager to offer you a high priority consultation with regards to the issues you are experiencing.

In order to do so though, I must find your registered MyHeritage account and learn more about the issues you describe having.

Therefore, please e-mail me directly at [email protected] so I may assist you with this as soon as possible.

Kind Regards
Rafael
MyHeritage

Illinois
2 reviews
0 helpful votes
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The Customer services were excellent, however it took forever to get my dna results (6 weeks +). Also, the results were not very granular.

Date of experience: March 2, 2018
Arizona
2 reviews
0 helpful votes
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Customer Support
March 5, 2018

I wanted to say that Kiran was absolutely wonderful and completely
Took care of my issues. She helped me link my family members that I had entered
Incorrectly and stayed on the phone with me to insure that I was completely
Satisfied. The wait on hold was long but worth it. I especially loved her accent!

Date of experience: March 2, 2018
Gyongyi P.
Hungary
1 review
0 helpful votes
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Ik gebruik MyHeritage nu al enkele jaren en ben er bijna helemaal tevreden mee. De support vind ik heel goed, alhoewel het soms een tijdje duurt voordat ik antwoord krijg, maar dan word ik prima geholpen. Ik heb via dit programma al diverse (nog levende) familieleden gevonden in verschillende landen (Australië, Zweden, Duitsland, Argentinië, Portugal, USA), met wie ik nog steeds contact houd. Het programma is overzichtelijk en makkelijk te gebruiken. Toch heb ik ook een minpunt: Er wordt telkens weer bevestiging gevraagd van telkens weer dezelfde familieleden in mijn stamboom, of die overeenkomen met degene in een andere stamboom, zonder dat er echt nieuwe informatie bij komt. Dat wekt na een poosje toch irritatie op, vooral als je ziet dat er weer 200 terugmeldingen gedaan moeten worden. Ik heb ze één keer allemaal weggewerkt, maar nog geen maand later stonden er weer 150...

Date of experience: March 2, 2018
Texas
1 review
0 helpful votes
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I received an email with my ethnicity results. Logged into the MyHeritage website (the email didn't have a link to their site) but it has no record of me ordering a DNA kit. I entered the kit number on the activation page and was told it wasn't a valid code. The MyHeritage app read the code off of the box and also said it was invalid. I really have no idea how I was sent my ethnicity if I don't have a valid DNA kit. 24/7 phone support is a joke. MyHeritage must consider a recorded message stating they are closed as support. MyHeritage is for you if you like dated websites that require telephone support, emails that do not have hotlinks and being asked to buy another kit with most every screen you click on.

Date of experience: March 1, 2018
MyHeritage Support T. MyHeritage Rep
over a year old

Dear Lina,

I regret to find your low star review and issues such as these are indeed something to be concerned about.

Geneology research is currently a very popular subject and we at times experience a high volume of questions from the millions of our members.

I totally understand how bothersome it may be to be on hold and I sympathize with your efforts.

I will do all I can to help you with high priority.

In order to do so though, I must find your registered MyHeritage account and DNA kit number.

Therefore, please e-mail me directly at [email protected] so I may assist you with this as soon as possible.

Kind Regards
Rafael
MyHeritage

Australia
1 review
0 helpful votes
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I am satisfied with the service MyHeritage offered to me so far. I love my DNA results: it confirmed what I had known and surprised me with something. However the surprise appears in the other branche of the family tree. Must be true. From my father 's side I am Tatar from Krimea, but DNA shows it on the map, but not in pro cents. Maybe because I am a female it didn't show. I have just started and I have the whole year in front of me to do my research. I am in learning process of how to use the settings on MyHeritage.

Date of experience: March 1, 2018
KR
1 review
0 helpful votes
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Once again
March 2, 2018

My experience today mirrors my previous experience, five star home run. TaliaG answered all of my questions with knowledge and patience and got me to where I wanted to go. Thank you for hiring and training these folks. I hope some one is going to start teaching the rest of the world how to provide Customer service.

Date of experience: March 1, 2018
Pennsylvania
1 review
0 helpful votes
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I'm thinking it was a software glitch where I had differing sibling results from each parent's tree. Luckily I contacted Mathilde in customer support. She was extremely friendly and did a nice job of not making me feel like an idiot. She was very helpful and used her super powers to solve my issue. If this is a typical representation of customer support personnel, then cudos to MyHeritage.

Date of experience: March 1, 2018
GB
1 review
0 helpful votes
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I had not understood how my problem was to be solved in a previous call. This time no problem thanks to Joy.

Date of experience: March 1, 2018
GB
1 review
6 helpful votes
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Still not satisfied. Just puzzled.
March 1, 2018
Updated review

As an update my daughter has now had her DNA results back. She is 98.5% North and West European. This includes 13.7% Irish, Scottish and Welsh DNA but 0% (Zero) English DNA. She also has 1.5% West Asian DNA. She shares 26% of her DNA with her Grandmother who, according to MyHeritage, has 100% English DNA (not even British).
I have been told that my mother's DNA results are correct, they have checked them and they are good. Can anyone explain my daughter's results to me given that this is the case?
Seriously puzzled but my daughter's results do show French / Russian heritage that my mother's surprisingly does not. She is not impressed - was her father just having her on when he and his mother spoke French to each other? My daughter is clearly her Grandaughter but they don't have the same heritage according to this company. DNA companies rely on trust, you trust them to read, and interpret the results, but my experience has shown this process is flawed and unreliable.

Date of experience: March 1, 2018
MyHeritage Support T. MyHeritage Rep
over a year old

Dear Tess,

Your concern is understood and I'd be happy to clarify.

MyHeritage compares your DNA with the DNA of living people around the globe whose genetic ethnicity is known. In doing this it is found that DNA of populations of Europe's neighboring countries is similar.

We currently keep our Ethnicity Estimate on a higher regional level in its beta version as it is challenging to build a distinct profile for Great Britain and Scandinavian countries because those populations are admixed with Western European DNA.

As you may know, Anglo-Saxon people settled the British Isles, and they were comprised of Germanic tribes. This means that their DNA is similar to the DNA of nearby regions. It is, therefore, possible that you have a family tree with generations of relatives that you have proof that they were born in Germany, but the Ethnicity Estimate shows British or a Scandinavian ethnicity instead.

With regards to a grandmother not having the same ethnicity as a granddaughter, please note that the percentages of DNA a person receives from his ancestors at the level of the second generation (grandparents) and further back are not necessarily divided evenly in each generation.

Each of us inherits 50% DNA from our mother and 50% from our father. However, the percentages of DNA received from grandparents and further back are rarely divided evenly. Therefore, you don’t necessarily inherit the DNA of a given ancestor throughout the generations that have passed.

Therefore, it is possible that one great-grandparent may have passed on 3% of his/her DNA to his great-grandchild, while another great-grandparent may have passed on 11%.

This might explain some surprising results in your MyHeritage Ethnicity Estimate. If for example one grandparent is pure Chinese, and the other three grandparents are all pure Italian, the grandchild may be anywhere between 0-50% Chinese, and 50-100% Italian. However, the probability of a person having only one pure ethnicity is very unlikely. This might also explain why some siblings may inherit certain ethnicities, while other siblings may inherit the same ethnicity in another percentage, or even may not inherit this ethnicity at all.

All in all, new and exciting information can always be found along with your estimate by utilizing the research tools available to you such as building your own family tree and finding comparable matches whether they be Genealogy or 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. New DNA is uploaded every day and the chances of that new information to match your research are great and it has helped many worldwide.

Finally, I want you to know that the progress of your research is very important to all of us and therefore, please e-mail me directly if you have any further questions or requests at [email protected].

You are already my first priority.

Sincerely
Rafael
MyHeritage


I am disappointed with this company. The response to my previous review was almost instantanious. Mainly as this seems to be a somewhat standard response. However, I contacted the person who replied to my review and have not had anything back.
I would like to iterate that 100% English is lazy and ridiculous DNA profile. To be 100% untainted English (not even British) you would seriously have had to live your life in a rural cottage in Somerset marrying your cousins. (sorry Somerset).
The explanation they gave is just nonsense and I have seen, on this site, that they give this stock response to just about anyone. I can kind of understand that if you come from South America you might just have South American DNA (although even then I would expect some southern European DNA in there) as that place is massive with loads of countries. England is tiny in comparrison and to have 100% English DNA is just nonsense. I am still waiting for a substantive response.

Date of experience: February 21, 2018

Don't waste your money.
February 19, 2018
Previous review

I got this DNA kit for my mother and have just got the results back. No detail, nothing. 100% English - there is no such thing.
My mother's father was French, his mother Russian. The family resemblance is very strong - so definitely her father. What is 100% English anyway - someone who lived in a cave under Stonehenge for the past 2000+ years?
Told us absolutely nothing - what a complete waste of money.
If you think you get a sophisticated break down of your origins - We didn't.

Date of experience: February 19, 2018
Belgium
1 review
0 helpful votes
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Very satisfactorily
March 1, 2018

My heritage was een verassing. Ik heb bijzonder veel gegevens kunnen achterhalen.
Ik ben zeer tevreden over de website.
Vroeger, toen men nog niet online kon gaan, was opzoekingen doen veel moeilijker en voor iemand die niet veel tijd had bijna ondoenlijk.
Alleen zou ik vanwege de privacy graag beschermd zijn met een code.

Date of experience: March 1, 2018
Canada
1 review
0 helpful votes
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I acquired assistance by phone in navigating my site properly and was fortunate to be connected with Alon.
Alon remained extremely patient, confident, professional and kind when suggesting advice on how to navigate and research properly within the tools of the site.
The world needs more Alons, period.
Please thank Alon again for me as I was ready to wipe the slate clean.
And as a retired manager, I hope you realize the gem you have working for you in Alon.
Sincerely
Paula Lietz

Date of experience: February 28, 2018
Rhode Island
2 reviews
1 helpful vote
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Love My Heritage!
March 1, 2018

I have found so many unknown facts about my family! Support is available 24/7 and they are always extremely helpful. I only planned on signing up for a year, but I have had so much fun, that I have extended a year.

Date of experience: February 28, 2018
NL
1 review
1 helpful vote
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Reimbursment
February 28, 2018

Most satisfactorily resolved, reimbursement. Trust I will receive the amount due within the 5/7 working days. Cheers acct. No *******

Date of experience: February 28, 2018
NL
1 review
0 helpful votes
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This is an example of an excellent User Interface and very simple website. Also the Helpdesk is granted a 10

Date of experience: February 28, 2018
Colorado
1 review
0 helpful votes
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Scam
February 27, 2018

Your detail explanation about my DNA ethnicities does not make any sense to me,
None of those places you mention on my DNA had anything to do with me or my family. I still believe that you guys made all this up to make look good. To me this is nothing but an scam, this DNA is a fake, and you should refund my money.
Francisco E. Chavez

Date of experience: February 27, 2018
MyHeritage Support T. MyHeritage Rep
over a year old

Dear Fransisco,

I regret to find you are disappointed with your Ethnicity Estimate.

Please note that we do not have a Cuban reference population and we keep our Ethnicity Estimate on a higher regional level.

Cuba is a multi-ethnic nation, with people of varying racial and national backgrounds. Cuba at different times has seen immigrants arrive who were Amerindian, European, African, and Asian. The genetics of Cubans are a mix and usually will reflect one or more of these various genetic percentages.

Therefore, it is not so far-fetched in the DNA research community to find similarities of DNA with people from other continents regions in your estimate.

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.

Founder Populations are modern groups that descend from a few individuals who left one area to settle another for political, religious, or social reasons. Founder populations amplify certain gene variants while maintaining significant stretches of uniformity in other DNA sequences.

More and more ethnicities will be added to our database as we give the option of FREE DNA upload and the results of our Founder Population Project.

If you would like a more in-depth explanation of your estimate, please feel free to e-mail me personally at [email protected].

I'd be happy to help you, always.

Kind Regards
Rafael
MyHeritage

GB
1 review
0 helpful votes
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Good but...
February 28, 2018

Lydia was very good and made lots of changes on my behalf whereby in profiles relatives were multiply added.
I did however find it difficult to understand how to do it myself with out deleting a lot of people and maybe having to add some back in again elsewhere

Date of experience: February 27, 2018
Colombia
1 review
0 helpful votes
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[email protected]
February 28, 2018

Servicio de respuesta rápido y preciso. Aclararon mis dudas y dieron respuesta a mis inquietudes. Quedo expectante a la espera de los resultados de mi ADN para poder seguir construyendo mi árbol genealógico.

Date of experience: February 27, 2018