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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
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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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Tennessee
1 review
4 helpful votes
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I wanted the basic subscription which stated that it was $9.95/ Month USD. I look at my bank account an hour later and MyHeritage.Com had taken $119.00 USD out of account stating that it was for a whole YEAR!. It did not say anywhere on the site that it would take a years worth out of my account at one time or else I wouldn't have signed up at all! As a college student $119 Is a big deal to me and I cannot spend so much at one time like this. I am very disappointed that I have been deceived this way.

Date of experience: October 27, 2017
MyHeritage Support T. MyHeritage Rep
over a year old

Dear Brian,

I'm sorry to find your low star review and it seems you may have misunderstood the subscription's terms that were shown to you online. I will do all I can to help reverse these charges and help you find the right subscription that fits your research needs and budget.

While we do offer a monthly plan, you seem to have chosen the annual plan. In any case, your refund is guaranteed because our terms and conditions clearly read that "If you are not satisfied with your purchased plan you may request a full refund by contacting Customer Support within thirty (30) days of the initial purchase date of the subscription".

In order to issue you a full refund and set you up with a monthly plan, I need to locate and verify your MyHeritage account. Please e-mail me from your registered e-mail address at [email protected] so I may help you with this as soon as possible.

You are already my first priority today and I will be looking for your e-mail.

Kind Regards
Rafael
MyHeritage

Germany
1 review
0 helpful votes
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Password Assistance
October 27, 2017

Having ordered the Company's DNA kit, I wanted to track the shipping details. Unfortunately, the password I had obtained didn't work at all. Thus, I called the Service for assistance. I had a very straight-forward communication with Ziv, who helped me to resolve the problem within minutes! Cordial thanks!
Hans

Date of experience: October 27, 2017
New Hampshire
1 review
2 helpful votes
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Also waiting
October 26, 2017

The first kit I sent out had trouble being accepted at address, then finally when it did I was informed "I didn't follow the instructions" because there was no specimen. The second kit I mailed on Oct6th. I just got notified on the 26th that they got it. I don't want to engage in sharing my family's names. I just want DNA.

Date of experience: October 26, 2017
MyHeritage Support T. MyHeritage Rep
over a year old

Dear Josephine,

I regret to find your low star review and sympathize with your efforts so far in finding and mailing your DNA sample.

Your overall satisfaction is very important to me and I would like to help you with your DNA privacy settings as well.

In order to help, I need to locate and verify your registered MyHeritage account. Please send an e-mail to my personal inbox from your registered MyHeritage account at [email protected] so I may assist you with this with very high priority.

I'll be looking for your e-mail.

Kind Regards
Rafael
MyHeritage

GB
1 review
1 helpful vote
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My wife made a mistake when returning the completed sample to America from GB. She forgot to apply the postage on the packet which I suspect would have meant that the sample would be destroyed in GB. THere was no arguement when I informed them of our mistake and they just sent another sample box, free from any charge. That was a nice goodwill gesture and reflective of the company in my opinion.The young lady who spoke to me was so polite. As an ex Trading Standards Officer, I think that gesture deserves as good review of their service to me
Edward.

Date of experience: October 26, 2017
Canada
1 review
1 helpful vote
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Support
October 26, 2017

After initial issue MyHeritage then phoned back and also sent me details on how to fix the issue. The Technician was very good at listening and explaining. Therefore I would highly recommend them.

Date of experience: October 25, 2017
Australia
1 review
1 helpful vote
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I highly recommend MyHeritage for DNA test. They are very professional and supportive. They offered me a free replacement kit before my DNA sample receiving by lab with delay. It is so easy to track your DNA sample down by using the App or log in to your account on MyHeritage website. Also Evalien from support team was very helpful.

Date of experience: October 25, 2017
Australia
1 review
0 helpful votes
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Brillant
October 25, 2017

Tessa aided me, saved so many headaches and sorted all problems with MUCH patience, understanding, care, compassion and knowledge. She was very generous with her time and would not finish until all my queries and changes were completed.
Thank you so much

Date of experience: October 25, 2017
Australia
1 review
1 helpful vote
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Smoothly unsubscribed
October 25, 2017

Thank you for your prompt and friendly unsubscribing: much appreciated.
Your two weeks free trial is generous indeed. I should recommend MyHeritage to anyone planting a family tree.

Date of experience: October 24, 2017
Florida
1 review
1 helpful vote
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I contacted a support specialists wit MyHeritage. He spent a great deal of time working with me to assure the issue was addressed. The issue was in how I was using the program. He was truly exceptional with his assistance and very much understood the program and what I was asking. I so appreciate his assistance and would recommend My Heritage as a direct result of the customer service I received. He not only educated me about My Heritage but on the most appropriate process in creating a family tree that is accurate. He is a very knowledgeable and caring young man. He not only represents his product, but he has an enormous amount of respect for genealogy.

Grateful budding genealogist.
Thank you.

Date of experience: October 22, 2017
Texas
1 review
1 helpful vote
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Where are my results?
October 20, 2017

I activated and sent my DNA kit on October 1st and My Heritage still has not received it. What's up with that? Where are my results? Also, I tried to submit an inquiry online and still haven't heard back. Horrible service. I just want to see my results. I hope that they didn't lose them.

Date of experience: October 20, 2017
MyHeritage Support T. MyHeritage Rep
over a year old

Dear April,

I absolutely sympathize with your wait time in receiving your results and understand how frustrating it is to wait. I too, remember waiting a few months for my sample to be processed and genuinely recall the high amount of anticipation.

The quality of your results is paramount to MyHeritage and the entire DNA researching community as a whole. Therefore, from the moment we receive your DNA sample at our laboratory, you should allow four to six weeks until you obtain results.

You may track your results online in the meantime and when your raw DNA is fully processed, you will certainly be notified by e-mail.

Please know that your overall satisfaction is very important to us at MyHeritage and I would like to personally help you track your current status. In order to assist with this, I need to locate your account. Please feel free to contact me anytime at [email protected] from your registered MyHeritage e-mail address.

Sincerely Yours
Rafael
MyHeritage

GB
1 review
2 helpful votes
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Following receipt of my DNA test results I had a question about interpretation. I phoned customer support and explained my wish to know about how my ethnicity related to a specific ancestor in my family tree. A return phone call was arranged from a specialist in the My Heritage Support Team. This specialist gave the information I was looking for and confirmed what had been handed down in a contemporary manuscript. I was very satisfied with this service and would not hesitate to recommend My Heritage.

Date of experience: October 20, 2017
Washington
2 reviews
3 helpful votes
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MyHeritage.com
October 20, 2017

After not receiving any information regarding my DNA test, I tried to login in to MyHeritage.com... it stated that it could not find my email address. Therefore, I could not contact them online, had to call them. When I called, the wait time was reasonable and when the sales agent spoke with me, we discovered that there was an error with my email address. He corrected that and sent me an email stating my email was corrected. However, I still could not get to the result link. As a result of myn review, Rafael left me a message and the link for my results. I am totally, 100% satisfied and happy with the way they handle this. Thank you so very much for the excellent follow up and results. One happy customer.

Date of experience: October 20, 2017
MyHeritage Support T. MyHeritage Rep
over a year old

Hi Daryl,

I regret to find your bad review and absolutely understand your concern. I will do all I can to help you log in and track your results.

In order to fully assist you with this, I need to locate and verify your account. Please contact me personally at [email protected] at your nearest convenience.

I will be looking for your e-mail and you are already one of my first priorities here today.

Sincerely yours
Rafael
MyHeritage

Texas
1 review
0 helpful votes
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I have been using myHeritage for several years and had no problems. I added an extension to Firefox called Popup Blocker (Strict) and it prevented graphics from this site. I called for support and was able to determine what the problem was and disable the extension. Now all works great. I also like the site for geneology.

Date of experience: October 19, 2017
Israel
1 review
0 helpful votes
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Great HELP!
October 19, 2017

I talk today with MAYA from the technical help and with a lot of patience she fix and explain all my problems. I am sorry not to have talked earlier.
She was great and very helpful!

Date of experience: October 19, 2017
Switzerland
1 review
1 helpful vote
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Synchronization problems
October 19, 2017

Until September 2016 I was pretty satisfied with MyHeritage. Then an update for the software FTB was introduced. After that, the synchronization of the Family Tree Builder FTB software with the online web page confused all the photos. They were partly not linked at all or linked to wrong persons. The problem is still not solved correctly.
On my website there are 10 family trees with 1331 persons and 2166 photos.
After 19 e-mails with the support department, my supervisor explained, "I have to consult the development department, as it seems to be a bug." That was on 6 December 2016.
Then a new supervisor took over my case. After 21 mails with instructions and data exchange, she writes: "It seems to be a bug. I'll lead it to the appropriate department. "That was on July 12,2017, 10 months after the catastrophic update of September 2016.
The supervisors were always polite and helpful. They did everything they could to help me. But that was not enough. They depended on the work of the development department.
In July 2017 there was again an update for the offline program FTB. But still some photos are synonymous with the site synced to the album, but not linked to the person records. Photos that are assigned to «events» in the FTB are not synchronized at all. There is no consistency of the errors. Thus the texts of the "biography" and the "events" are synchronized to some of my family trees, to others not.
I spent a few hundred hours trying to correct sync errors, reimport photos, share data with MyHeritage's support department, and follow their instructions. After update 2017 the communication with the support department is torn off. The last thing I heard a few weeks ago is, "We're working on your concerns."
All the more emails I receive concern to matches that I could check for an additional fee and advertising for the analysis and deposit of my genetic heritage, the DNA. Synchronization error of photos I can recognize, but I can not detect any error of my DNA.
However, the joy of MyHeritage has passed. I am now taking my time to get to know the platforms "FamilySearch" and "Ancestry". I avoid www.geni.com. This platform belongs to MyHeritage.

Date of experience: October 19, 2017
GB
3 reviews
0 helpful votes
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Efficient help
October 18, 2017

Good and efficient help. Polite and patient operative. Issue was resolved immediately. New to site but it seems good value for money.

Date of experience: October 18, 2017
Illinois
1 review
4 helpful votes
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If you are confident that you have Native American ancestry, then I would highly recommend that you do not waste your $$ on a DNA kit through My Heritage. Prior to ordering, my representative assured me, that unless I was from the Cherokee tribe, my Native American backround would be captured, and included on the report. Sadly, there was no mention of my NA ancestry on the report, and my attempts for a satisfactory explanation from a My Heritage representative failed miserably. When I expressed my complete dissatisfaction, she went on to say that she was not an expert, and would have an email sent to me by someone who has more experience. Well, glad to know that after I waited nearly an hour on hold to be told this. So much for competent Technical Support... I will not be doing business with My Heritage again, and would highly recommend that you do research before you order a DNA kit from them.

Date of experience: October 18, 2017
MyHeritage Support T. MyHeritage Rep
over a year old

Dear Joe,

I am sorry to find you are dissatisfied with your DNA kit purchase and to read your feedback about the experience you had contacting our technical support team. Your overall satisfaction is extremely important to us and I will do my best to assist you with all of your questions while ensuring you get the most out of your results.

Currently, the issue of Native American ancestry not being included in one's DNA is actually a fairly common one in the world of DNA research as a whole because of several different factors.

Each of us inherits about 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, one may not necessarily inherit the DNA of a given ancestor throughout the generations that may have been of a specific ethnicity.

For example, because an ancestors’ DNA is not passed evenly to their descendants, one grandparent might have passed on 3% of his/her DNA to his great-grandchild, while another great-grandparent may have passed on 11%. This demonstrates how one may have a Native American great-grandmother, but have inherited such a small amount of her Native American DNA that it cannot be traced in a DNA test.

Therefore, If your Native American ethnicity does not appear in the Ethnicity Estimate, some researchers will recommend you 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.

In addition, though you might have Native American DNA, it might belong to a tribe that has not contributed to DNA sampling and references. 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.

The good news is we offer tools such as DNA matching and genealogical references to allow one to research this kind of thing further. Though determining one’s ethnicity based on DNA is a relatively new field in genetics, great advancements have been made in the past years, but there is much more to discover. I can assure you that MyHeritage is on top of this and we will continue to work on improving our Ethnicity Estimate along with developing better tools based on your feedback, new scientific research, and discoveries.

I'd personally be very happy to assist you with any questions you may have on your research. Please feel free to contact me anytime at [email protected] from your registered MyHeritage e-mail address.

Sincererly
Rafael
MyHeritage

Michigan
1 review
0 helpful votes
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I sent DNA kits in for myself and my brother about a month ago and already received my DNA results a few days ago. But I hadn't heard anything regarding my brother's DNA test so I gave MyHeritage a call. I spoke with a very helpful young lady by the name of Natalie and she determined my brother's kit had not been assigned properly and it only took a minute to fix my mistake. She got me back on track and also took the time to explain how I can find information on other people in the family tree. Once again, Natalie was very helpful and very pleasant to speak with.

Date of experience: October 17, 2017
Israel
1 review
0 helpful votes
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Thanks
October 16, 2017

I had some problems in operating our family tree. I just made a call and was treated politely, efficiently and very professional.
Nissan

Date of experience: October 15, 2017
Australia
1 review
6 helpful votes
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I paid for my DNA kit, all went smoothly until I get an email of the results late evening with huge areas shown but completely missing the actual conuntry that my fathers family was from. This followed by an email with a few relatives including one that had I not known about could have caused some real issues. Am absolutely DISGUSTED that my private information was sent out to the masses as their default and not private with an option for ME to release it.

Date of experience: October 14, 2017
MyHeritage Support T. MyHeritage Rep
over a year old

Dear Notur,

I regret to find you were not aware of your privacy settings and I will do all I can to help.

DNA data and DNA Matches privacy settings can only be controlled by the person who is managing a raw DNA kit that is either bought or uploaded. By default, DNA Matching is enabled on your family site to assist you with your DNA research. Moreover, allowing other users to view your DNA results can help them determine the quality of the DNA Match they have with you and maybe a proof of your potential relationship with family with whom you are trying to research.

Nonetheless, While this setting is on by default, you may turn it off, by all means, to ensure you DNA is private from now on.

To view and update your DNA privacy settings please do the following:

1. Log into your family site
2. Click on your name in the upper right corner of the Home page and go to ‘My Privacy’:
3. On ‘My privacy’ page, click on ‘My DNA preferences’ on the left-hand side:
4.) Look for DNA matching and If you don’t want to take part in DNA Matching and wish to disable this setting, uncheck the box and click ‘Save’. In doing this you are ensuring your DNA is private.

If you enable DNA Matching but don’t want the matches to be able to view your ethnicity results, uncheck the option ‘Allow my DNA matches to view my ethnicity’.

Next, in regards to your father's home country not showing in your ethnicity results, it is important to know that DNA is found to be very similar between people in neighboring regions. Because of this, some will find a country within the region instead of the exact country. Where there isn't sufficient statistical difference, we keep the Ethnicity Estimate on a higher regional level. In other words, you are viewing regions and not actual countries. Even when there is a statistical difference between ethnicities, DNA is comparable and similar to the population's average. Your DNA will always be slightly different than the average population and therefore may show a small or a significant part of neighboring ethnicities.

I would be more than happy to help you and give you more details on your privacy settings or give you more insight on your ethnicity estimate. Please send me an e-mail from your registered address at your nearest convenience at [email protected].

I'd be happy always happy to help.

Regards
Rafael
MyHeritage