Update to Theory of Family Relativity™

Time for another genealogy “happy dance”! We’re happy to announce that we have again updated the data for our “holy grail” of genetic genealogy — the Theory of Family Relativity™! 

The Theory of Family Relativity™ bridges the gap between DNA Matches and family tree data and historical records by providing you with leads that may explain the relationship between your DNA Matches based on the MyHeritage DNA database, as well as our entire collection of family trees and historical records. 

Learn more about the Theory of Family Relativity™ in this article in the MyHeritage Knowledge Base. 

Theory of Family Relativity™ update by the numbers

• The total number of theories has increased from 33,373,070 to 39,845,078 — a 19% increase.
• The number of DNA Matches that include a theory increased by 20% from 22,618,962 to 27,130,989.
• Sometimes we arrive at a theory through multiple paths, indicating a strong theory and providing additional supporting evidence of the relationship. After the previous update, there were a total of 261,960,015 paths. This update increased the number of paths by 20% to 312,222,662.
• The number of MyHeritage users who now have at least one Theory of Family Relativity™ for their DNA Matches has increased by 12%. 

How to see your new theories

If we have found new theories for you in this update, you’ll see a banner about the Theory of Family Relativity™ at the top of your DNA Matches page. Click “View theories” to see all the theories we’ve found, both old and new.

This banner, indicating that you have new theories, will be available for a few weeks, after which you can access your theories by going to your DNA Matches page. 

Whenever a DNA Match has a theory, this will be indicated in the DNA Match card. You can also filter your DNA Matches to see only those with a Theory of Family Relativity™ by clicking on the Filters icon. In the first group of filters, select “Has Theory of Family Relativity™.” 

You will also see a “NEW” badge next to new theories that were just added. This indication will appear for 30 days. 

Theory of Family Relativity™ is a premium feature that requires a site subscription on MyHeritage (Premium, PremiumPlus, or Complete). Users without a MyHeritage plan will still see all the theories that we found for them, but when they click on the theory to view the full details, some of the information will be hidden. Users who upload their raw DNA data from another testing service to MyHeritage can pay a one-time fee of $29 per kit to unlock all advanced DNA features offered by MyHeritage, including Theory of Family Relativity™. Learn more about our subscription plans.

Conclusion

The Theory of Family Relativity™ can be a game-changer for people searching for new family members and genealogists trying to break through brick walls. It can help users instantly solve mysteries that may have been baffling them for months or years.

If you haven’t taken the MyHeritage DNA test yet, order a kit today. 

We hope you enjoy the new update and can’t wait to hear about your new discoveries.