Update to Theory of Family Relativity™ – MyHeritage July 18, 2019

I saw this earlier this afternoon on MyHeritage – Update to Theory of Family Relativity™ – MyHeritage July 18, 2019: https://blog.myheritage.com/2019/07/update-to-theory-of-family-relativity/.

It requires a paid subscription (Premium, PremiumPlus, or Complete)!

We’re happy to share that as of this week, we have refreshed the data for the Theory of Family Relativity™ to provide you with new and updated theories that explain how you and your DNA Matches may be related. This much-anticipated update may provide you with answers about relationships that have baffled you, as well as offer new insights about your ancestors and family relationships.

The Theory of Family Relativity™ is a MyHeritage innovation that we released in February 2019, and that has proven to be a game-changer in the world of genetic genealogy. As one of the top features we’ve released in recent years, it immediately received praise from users around the world.

This feature scans billions of family tree profiles and historical records to craft detailed theories of how DNA Matches on MyHeritage may be related to each other. Since launching the feature in February, our DNA database has grown by leaps and bounds, our family trees have grown to number 45 million, existing trees have grown, and more historical records have been added to MyHeritage SuperSearch™.

Statistics

Here are some key facts and figures about the update:

• The total number of theories has more than doubled (from 6,384,888 to 14,260,864)
• The number of DNA Matches for which a theory was found has more than doubled (from 4,474,617 to 9,964,321)
• Within each theory, there are often multiple paths that show different ways that we arrive at the same theory and provide supporting evidence to back up the theory. The number of paths found has more than doubled (from 51,887,021 to 115,106,944)
• The number of MyHeritage users who have at least one theory has increased by 46.7%

Invigoration

All MyHeritage users who have taken a MyHeritage DNA test or uploaded DNA results to MyHeritage may now receive new theories. This includes users who previously received theories, users for whom we didn’t find theories when the feature was first launched, and users who have taken a MyHeritage DNA test or uploaded data from another testing company and received results since the release.

If we’ve found theories for you, 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, old and new.

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You will be able to easily distinguish between theories that were previously found and those that we’ve recently found thanks to the “NEW” badge that will appear next to the new theories just added.

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Theory of Family Relativity™ is a premium feature that requires a site subscription on MyHeritage (Premium, PremiumPlus, or Complete). Users who upload their raw DNA data from another testing service to MyHeritage and do not wish to purchase a subscription 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. Users without a subscription 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.

New notification system

A new notification system has been created to update MyHeritage users about new theories as they are discovered, one theory at a time. This email will be sent periodically, as of this week.

 Conclusion

The Theory of Family Relativity™ can break down brick walls for users who are challenged by their DNA Matches and are struggling to figure out their exact connection and solve the mystery of how a particular match fits in their family tree.

We hope you will enjoy the current update that more than doubled the number of theories available and the new notification system. We are getting closer to an automated system that will update theories periodically and we will announce once that is in place.