When we checked in October 2026, GEDmatch, FamilyTreeDNA and Living DNA still accepted raw DNA uploads, while MyHeritage had stopped. Before uploading, set your law-enforcement option, decide whether other users can see you as a match, and find the delete option.
Whole-genome VCF or BAM files usually need converting to a microarray-style file first. Remember that your upload can also point toward relatives who never tested.
Uploading the raw file from one DNA test to another site can turn up relatives who never tested where you did. It also puts your DNA, and part of your family's, into a new database with its own rules. A few minutes in the settings decides who can see you, who can search you, and how easy it is to leave.
Which sites still accept uploads
The list of places that take outside files has shrunk. This is what each company's own pages said when we checked in October 2026. Policies change, so confirm on the upload page before you start.
| Site | Takes uploads? | What its own pages say |
|---|---|---|
| GEDmatch | Yes | Accepts autosomal raw data from most major testing companies, including AncestryDNA, 23andMe, FamilyTreeDNA, MyHeritage and Living DNA. Y-DNA and mitochondrial DNA files can't be uploaded. |
| FamilyTreeDNA | Yes | Advertises a free autosomal transfer with free match discovery. Its transfer page names AncestryDNA data. Not every file version from every company is accepted, so check before relying on it. |
| Living DNA | Yes | Its free upload page lists files from AncestryDNA, 23andMe, MyHeritage and FamilyTreeDNA, in TXT, CSV, ZIP or GZ format. Matching is opt-in. |
| MyHeritage | No | Its help center says DNA uploads are no longer supported and that you'd need a MyHeritage DNA kit to get matches there. |
| AncestryDNA and 23andMe | No | Neither takes files from other companies. To be in their match lists you have to test with them. |
Uploaded to MyHeritage in the past? The help article we read doesn't say what happens to kits uploaded before the change. Log in and check whether yours is still listed and what its matching settings are.
Three questions before you upload
Is this your DNA, or do you have permission?
GEDmatch's terms are a good model. They say you may upload only your own data, data for someone you're the legal guardian of, someone who has given you specific authorization, someone you know to be deceased, or DNA from an artifact under set conditions. If you manage a parent's or grandparent's kit, get a clear yes before you copy it to a new site.
What will other people see?
At GEDmatch, investigators who get a match see a user's name or alias, email address and how much DNA is shared. Other users see similar contact details. Many people use an alias and an email address they keep for genealogy only.
Do you want relative matches at all?
Matching is the whole point for most people, but it isn't required. Some sites let you upload and keep yourself out of other people's lists. Decide this first, because it shapes every setting below.
Law-enforcement settings
Some genealogy databases allow police to compare crime-scene or unidentified-remains DNA against users. Our guide to police and genetic genealogy databases explains how that works. Here is what to look for on the upload sites.
GEDmatch
Every kit sits in one of four privacy classes, and you can change it whenever you like:
- Opt-in. Your kit is compared with all other kits, including those law enforcement submits for violent crimes and for identifying remains.
- Opt-out. Your kit is not compared with law-enforcement kits for violent crimes. The terms say opt-out kits are still compared with users, including law enforcement, trying to identify unidentified human remains.
- Personal Research. You can see your matches, but your kit doesn't appear in match reports run for other kits.
- Private. Your kit isn't available for any matching comparisons.
GEDmatch encourages users to choose opt-in. That's a reasonable choice for many people, and it's equally reasonable to decline. It's your call, and you can revisit it.
FamilyTreeDNA
Look under Account Settings, then Privacy & Sharing, for a toggle labelled "Opt in to Investigative Genetic Genealogy Matching (IGGM)." Published accounts disagree about the default over the years, so open the page and set it yourself rather than assuming.
Living DNA
Its privacy statement says it won't share your personal information with law enforcement unless it believes it's legally compelled to, such as by a binding court order or subpoena. There is no opt-in program to switch on or off.
Who can see you as a match
Law enforcement is one audience. Ordinary users are the bigger one, and they include close relatives you may not know about.
- GEDmatch. Personal Research lets you look without being seen. Private hides the kit from all comparisons. The terms also say that, by default, your raw data itself isn't available to any other user.
- Living DNA. Matching runs through an opt-in feature called Family Networks. The privacy statement warns that it can't prevent your matching information being shared with matches outside the EU. If you opt out, your visible matching information is removed within 7 days, though backups and archives may take up to 6 more months.
- FamilyTreeDNA. A transfer exists mainly to match, so expect to appear in other users' lists. Review the Privacy & Sharing page after uploading.
Beyond the toggles, think about what your profile reveals. A linked family tree, a full name and a hometown together make you easy to identify. You can share a tree later, once you know who you're talking to.
If your data is a whole genome (VCF or BAM)
Genealogy sites were built around microarray files, the plain-text lists of a few hundred thousand markers that AncestryDNA, 23andMe and similar tests produce. GEDmatch's upload guide describes AncestryDNA files as a .txt inside a .zip, 23andMe files as .txt, and FamilyTreeDNA files as .csv or .gz. Living DNA lists TXT, CSV, ZIP and GZ. None of the upload pages we checked list VCF or BAM, the formats whole-genome services deliver. If those formats are new to you, see FASTQ, BAM and VCF explained.
In practice that means converting. Community tools such as WGS Extract can produce a microarray-style file from a BAM or CRAM file, and some people have used the output for genealogy uploads. Two cautions:
- Conversions aren't perfect. A VCF mostly lists places where you differ from the reference genome. A converter that fills the gaps by assuming everything else matches the reference can produce a file that matches less reliably.
- Don't upload the big files. A BAM contains far more than any genealogy site needs. Upload only the converted file, and keep the originals somewhere you control.
Whole-genome sequencing is mainly about health and raw-data analysis. For relative matching, you'll still be converting files or testing with a company that runs a matching database.
Want the full 30× genome instead of a partial test?
Dante Labs sequences your whole genome and lets you download the raw FASTQ, BAM and VCF files. When we checked on October 25, 2026, it listed the test from $449 with 90+ reports included and results in 6–8 weeks.
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Deleting an upload later
Know the exit before you go in.
- GEDmatch provides a way to remove your data inside your account, and you can also email support to ask for deletion. Its privacy page says the raw file you upload is deleted after the data is encoded, and its terms note that a deleted kit number may later be reassigned to someone else's upload.
- Living DNA lets you ask for your genetic data to be deleted. Asking to delete your results as well closes your account. Some data may be kept for legal reasons.
- FamilyTreeDNA handles transfers inside your account, so ask its support team how removal works for a transferred kit before you upload if this matters to you.
Deleting a kit stops future comparisons. It can't pull back what matches already saw, noted or added to their own trees. Our guide on whether you can really delete your DNA data covers what tends to remain. A simple habit helps: keep a list of every site where you've uploaded, with the date and the settings you chose.
Your upload exposes relatives too
You share long stretches of DNA with parents, siblings and cousins. Once your file is in a matching database, it can point toward them even if they never tested anywhere. That's how genealogists find birth families, and it's also how investigators narrow a search to one branch of a tree.
None of that means you shouldn't upload. It means the people affected deserve a say. Our piece on how one relative's test exposes the whole family has a short checklist for that conversation. If you're new to working with matches, start with first steps in genetic genealogy.
A quick pre-upload checklist
- Confirm the site still accepts uploads and accepts your file version.
- Make sure the data is yours, or that you have clear permission.
- Choose a display name and email you're comfortable with strangers seeing.
- Pick your law-enforcement setting on purpose.
- Decide whether you want to appear in other people's match lists.
- Find the deletion option before you need it.
- Tell close relatives what you're doing.
- Write down where you uploaded and what you chose.
Common questions
Can I still upload my AncestryDNA file to MyHeritage?
No. MyHeritage's help center says DNA uploads are no longer supported and that you'd need to buy a MyHeritage DNA kit to get matches there.
Does choosing opt-out at GEDmatch keep police out completely?
Not completely. GEDmatch's terms say opt-out kits aren't compared with law-enforcement kits for violent crimes, but they are still compared in efforts to identify unidentified human remains. Personal Research and Private keep your kit out of other people's match reports.
Can I upload my whole-genome VCF file directly?
None of the upload pages we checked list VCF or BAM as accepted formats. Most people convert their whole-genome data into a microarray-style text file first, and the result may match less reliably than an original chip file.
Can I upload a parent's DNA file?
Only with their clear permission. GEDmatch's terms, for example, allow uploads of your own DNA, someone you're legal guardian for, someone who has specifically authorized you, someone known to be deceased, or artifact DNA under set conditions.
If I delete my upload, do my matches lose everything?
Deleting a kit stops new comparisons, but it can't remove what matches already saved, noted or added to their trees. Keep a record of where you uploaded so you can clean up later.
Sources and verification
We checked each company's current upload, privacy and terms pages in October 2026, including MyHeritage's help article on discontinued uploads and FamilyTreeDNA's IGGM setting as described in an Indiana State Police volunteer form (August 2025). GEDmatch's privacy and security page supplied the note on raw-file deletion. We didn't state FamilyTreeDNA's current IGGM default, how it removes transferred kits, or what MyHeritage does with older uploads, because we couldn't confirm them from the company.
Medical disclaimer. GenomeTesting.org publishes educational content about genetics and consumer genomic testing. Nothing here is medical advice, a diagnosis, or a substitute for care from a qualified clinician or genetic counsellor. Decisions about testing, treatment, or interpreting your own results should be made with a healthcare professional who can see your full history.
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