In one of my Facebook groups, I noticed this announcement earlier this morning: https://livingdna.com/news/dna-matching-open-beta-be-part-of-it-today (dated February 14, 2019).
DNA Matching Open Beta – Be Part of It Today
We are incredibly excited that our new DNA family matching system, Family Networks, is now open for public beta. Family Networks allows you to discover genetic relatives and draw new connections in your family research. It works by comparing your DNA to other people in the database that have also chosen to be part of the DNA matching service.
What is a beta?
Our Family Networks DNA Matching beta is changing all the time to improve the accuracy of your results. As this is a beta, meaning it’s still in testing, you may encounter bugs along the way. Rest assured, this is to be expected as we work out kinks in the new system. Not all of the functionality will be there either, bear with us as our team of developers work towards getting the best possible product ready for you. As a beta user, we value your support. We hope you will continue to check back as we refine our new tools.
So, how can I be part of DNA matching?
To gain access to Family Networks, you will need to physically opt into this exciting new feature.
Log into your Living DNA account via our website – my.livingdna.com using the email address and password you used to sign up with us. Then click view test and the menu bar on the left side of your screen will load.
Click on the Family networks tab, hit “Yes, Let’s Go!” and you are all opted in and part of Family Networks.
Follow the opt-in prompts & in 3 weeks, login and click the Family Networks button again to see your matches.
This appears to be a repeat of what they announced last year, more than something new. So far, out of my raw data uploads (three), two still have not finished uploading (one from December 2017 and the other from August 1, 2018); those uploads have zero matches. The other August 1, 2018 upload completed a long time ago and only has a single match. I somehow lost a second match.
I no longer recommend LivingDNA, aside from the free limited upload which has been of questionable value since they haven’t done anything with my December 2017 upload in over 14 months, as the company seems to be clueless on what they are doing. A public beta was supposedly opened in the third quarter of 2018 so either they delayed it without letting people who had uploaded results or paid for testing or they are rehashing old news. I don’t know which is worse.
Ups Downs Family History 