Update to Theory of Family Relativity™

Update to Theory of Family Relativity™

We’re happy to announce that we’ve just refreshed the data for the Theory of Family Relativity™ for the third time since releasing this game-changing feature in February 2019. This revolutionary technology may offer astounding new information on your family connections.

The Theory of Family Relativity™ helps you make the most of your DNA Matches by incorporating genealogical information from all our collections of 12.5 billion historical records and 4 billion family tree profiles, to offer theories on how you and your DNA Matches might be related.

Users who have taken a MyHeritage DNA test or who have uploaded a DNA kit from another service since the last update may now receive answers and new insights about their relationships to their DNA Matches. This update will also provide users who have previously taken a MyHeritage DNA test or uploaded their DNA data with new theories to further their research, thanks to MyHeritage’s ever-growing database of family trees and historical records. 

If you haven’t taken the MyHeritage DNA test yet, consider ordering your kit today

Theory of Family Relativity™ update by the numbers

The total number of theories has increased from 20,330,031 to 33,373,070— a 64% increase.

The number of DNA Matches that include a theory increased by 59% from 14,201,731 to 22,618,962.

Sometimes we arrive at a theory through multiple paths, indicating a strong theory and providing additional supporting evidence. After the previous update, there were a total of 161,762,761 paths. This update increased the number of paths by 61% to 261,960,015.

The number of MyHeritage users who now have at least one Theory of Family Relativity™ for their DNA Matches has increased by 28%.

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.

More about the Theory of Family Relativity™

Learn more about the revolutionary technology that saves you dozens of hours of research crafting multiple theories about how you and your DNA Matches might be related in this webinar: 

For other resources about the Theory of Family Relativity™ and our DNA tools, please visit the MyHeritage Knowledge Base

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.

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

Comments

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  • sharon Coffey

    September 26, 2020

    One of the theories lists Margaret Snyder as my grandmother with same birth and death as my Great Grandmother Elizabeth Gregg Hart. This will certainly affect the theories. Don’t know how this information was conceived but it is not correct.

  • Nancy R. Purchase

    October 13, 2020

    WOW

  • Carol Stroh

    October 13, 2020

    very happy with My Heritage ! “everything”

  • TS

    Tom Santa Cruz

    October 13, 2020

    I am very glad to see the occasional refreshing of my matches in the “Theory of Family Relativity”. Most connections are on target, some connections with the living are amazing, but a few are just wrong and it is unfortunate there is no feedback to point out these.

  • B.S. Morton

    October 13, 2020

    All well and good. However, virtually all the Theories I have been notified about have been incorrect. Some of them blatantly so, e.g. suggesting a link between my grandfather and a man who was born in a different year and 250 miles away.
    I would like to see a “Reject this theory” facility.

  • B

    Barbara

    October 14, 2020

    Clearly one thing missing from The Theory of Family Relativity™ is the ability to indicate that the wrong assumption has been made and why so that newer researchers learn that “not all is as it seems” – such as the case with Barnabas WARD born in Ireland to a father David WARD born and living in USA!

  • Ursula Baird

    October 16, 2020

    I am trying to trace my paternal grandmother on my fathers side but she has to different surnames on two different certificates. Are you able to help. As I don’t have anyone who can give me information relating to this matter.
    Thank you
    U. Baird (Muth)