Our previous post on Protecting Your Privacy on GEDmatch remains the most popular on our blog, so we continue the series now with discussions on how to protect your privacy on AncestryDNA, MyHeritage, and FamilyTreeDNA. This post, as the title suggests, focuses on AncestryDNA, Ancestry.com’s DNA test.
AncestryDNA’s Policy and History
Unlike GEDmatch, and FamilyTreeDNA, AncestryDNA does not allow law enforcement to upload DNA data to their site. They also do not allow police to look at private data on their site under any circumstances other than through a warrant or court order. Under these strict rules, AncestryDNA has released genetic data to the police on only one occasion since 2014, in the case of Michael Usry. This release was as a result of a court order. AncestryDNA also publishes transparency reports every year outlining how many times users’ information was given to law enforcement as a result of a court order. Almost all of these cases to date have only require the release of credit card information, not genetic data. The site has never violated its user agreement in this regard, so far as is known; an enviable reputation.
AncestryDNA’s Privacy Settings
That said, AncestryDNA users should be aware of a number of features that can help them keep their data on the site as secure and private as they feel is necessary given their personal circumstances. Some will want their site to be highly protected. Others will want balance privacy concerns with a desire to grow their family tree. Below, I describe the privacy options available to AncestryDNA users, let readers use or not use them as they so choose.
To access the basic privacy settings for your DNA kit, first log in to your AncestryDNA home page at dna.ancestry.com. Once there, click “Settings” on the upper right. It is a black button with white letters and a little gear symbol next to it. Clicking that, you will see the following:
As you can see, the menu gives you options in three privacy categories: “DNA Matches,” “Your Display Name,” and “Ethnicity Profile Display.”
If you wish to hide your ethnicity profile, which consists of a list of regions your DNA appears to derive from, from your DNA matches, uncheck the box under “Ethnicity Profile Display.”
Hiding DNA Matches
Clicking the “Change” button to the right of the “DNA Matches” option pops up the following menu:
Clicking “Yes” on this menu will prevent anyone from seeing you in their list of DNA matches, even if they share DNA with you. It also prevents you from seeing any of your DNA matches, one of the most useful features of AncestryDNA for genealogists. If you wish to use your DNA results to grow or verify your family tree, this is probably not a good option for you. If you are only interested in your ethnicity results, however, this option may be worth considering.
Changing Your Display Name
Clicking the “Display Name” option pops up the following menu:
This menu allows you to choose which name is displayed to your DNA matches. For those concerned about privacy, using your Ancestry username is probably the best option, rather than using your real name. For additional security, change your Ancestry username to a username that contains no part of your real name and that you do not use for any other account online.
Family Tree Linking
Scrolling further down the menu on the “Settings” page, you will see a “Family Tree Linking” option:
Clicking “Edit” will allow you to unlink your DNA kit from your family tree on Ancestry. Doing so, however, will prevent you from using some features, such as ThruLines, that may help you grow or verify your family tree. If these features are important to you, that is something to be considered carefully as you decide what to do.
If you do not want your DNA matches to see your family tree, merely unlinking your family tree from your DNA kit will not be enough. You will have to additionally do one of two things: 1) delete all family trees from your Ancestry account or 2) set all of your family trees on Ancestry to “Private.”
Changing Family Tree Privacy Settings
To set an Ancestry family tree to “Private,” first open your tree, the click the drop down menu with the name of your tree on the upper left. You will see the following menu:
On this menu, click “Tree Settings.” This will take you to a page with the following uptions:
On this menu, click “Privacy Settings.” This will lead you to this page:
Click “Private Tree” to make your tree private. If you are highly concerned that no information whatsoever about your tree be show to anyone, even in Ancestry search results, also click the check box next to “Also prevent your tree from being found in searches.” As the note below this option says, it will take a month or so for your tree to stop appearing in searches after you select this option.
Other Settings
Going back to the DNA “Settings” page and scrolling down to the “Your Information” option, you will see the following menu:
Clicking “Edit” will allow you to change this information. This information is only available to AncestryDNA and to you, however, so you may not need to change it unless you are extremely concerned about privacy. Also, if you change the name to a pseudonym or alias and you manage multiple DNA kits, be sure to record in a secure location which DNA kit alias belongs to which person so you do not get mixed up later on. Again, though, this is something you will not likely need to change unless you are extremely concerned about privacy.
Lastly, on the “Settings” page, Ancestry provides a “Research Consent” option:
With consent, AncestryDNA conducts research on DNA kits to improve features on their site, such as ethnicity profiles. Your private information is not released publicly for this research. However, if you are concerned about privacy and do not want to be part of these research projects, simply click “Change” and withdraw your consent, if you have given it. If you have not given it, you don’t need to do anything at all.
Conclusion
Hopefully this has shown you the range of privacy options available to those who test with Ancestry. Look for the options that strike the best balance for you between privacy concerns and a desire to use Ancestry’s features to trace and verify your ancestors. If you have a family member who is considering testing but is concerned about privacy, consider sharing a link to this page with them so that they know what options are available.