How To Upload DNA To GEDmatch – A Complete Guide

This is a step-by-step walkthrough on how to upload your DNA to GEDmatch. Before we get to the tutorial, we’ll look at the background of GEDmatch, and what benefits you can get from using the site.

We also discuss some privacy and security aspects you should be aware of.

What is GEDmatch?

GEDmatch is a DNA analysis website that accepts uploads of raw DNA results from the major consumer DNA testing companies, including

• Ancestry
• 23andMe
• MyHeritage
• FamilyTreeDNA
• Living DNA

The site was purchased in 2019 by Verogen, a genomics company based in San Diego. The acquisition included the database of customer-submitted DNA results.

If you want to know more, we have an article about who created GEDmatch and the current owners.

What Do You Get When You Upload Your DNA to GEDmatch?

GEDmatch has a free and paid set of features. I’ll touch briefly on the free features that I most enjoy. There are many other free features on the site, including admixture (ethnicity) tools.

More DNA Relatives

GEDmatch gives you a list of your DNA relatives in their database. So if you tested only with Ancestry, then you will get DNA matches coming from 23andMe or MyHeritage or the other eligible sites.

We’ve got a separate tutorial on using the GEDmatch One To Many Report to research your matches.

As GEDmatch customers can also upload family trees in the form of GEDCOM files, this can enhance your own tree research.

Unfettered Shared Match Analysis

GEDmatch lets you see the shared matches of your shared DNA matches – regardless of whether these second-degree matches share DNA with you. That can be really useful for your genealogy research.

In fact, GEDmatch lets you pull up anybody’s DNA kit and see all their shared matches. Of course, the reverse is also true i.e. other GEDmatch users can run reports on your DNA kit. Does that sound somewhat alarming? Read our section on privacy and security before you submit your DNA.

Chromosome Browser

This is a big draw for Ancestry and LivingDNA customers, as neither site provides a chromosome browser.

Check out what it looks like in this section of our article on chromosome browsers.

Neanderthal and Archaic DNA

23andMe gives you your percentage of Neanderthal DNA. But GEDmatch lets you compare your DNA with a collection of ancient DNA samples found across the world.

We have a tutorial on using GEDmatch to research your Neanderthal and archaic matches. More specifically, we also show how to check out your ancient Irish matches on GEDmatch.

Ancestor Projects

One of the advantages of GEDmatch is that the users tend to be enthusiastic genealogy hobbyists. So, you may be more likely to get responses to your messages. And Gedmatch also has a feature that encourages people to collaborate on common interests.

You can join one or many Gedmatch ancestor projects to get the benefits of the research of many other people.

Paid Features

GEDmatch offers premium features at an all-in price of $10 for a month’s access. I dip in and out of these as I need them. Here are my favorites:

• the surname search across GEDmatch DNA matches with family trees
• creating a GEDmatch superkit from my Ancestry and 23andMe kits

Is It Safe To Upload DNA To GEDmatch?

GEDmatch hit the news in 2018 when the DNA database was used by the FBI to help catch the Golden State Killer. Since then, several aspects of privacy and security have been debated within the genealogical community.

GEDmatch and Law Enforcement

Verogen bought GEDmatch after its initial high-profile involvement with law enforcement agencies. But Verogen itself has a focus on using genetics for forensic investigation into criminal cases. GEDmatch continues to be used actively by law enforcement agencies as part of their investigations.

Some people do not want their DNA kits to be accessed by law enforcement investigators. GEDmatch allows you to opt out of this access when you’re signing up – and indeed, at any time afterward. However, the company is still obliged to comply with legal proceedings. As are the other DNA companies, of course.

But some companies are keener to be involved in forensic matters than others. Ancestry’s default position is to deny law enforcement requests unless there is a court order. In contrast, GEDmatch openly co-operates.

My personal conclusion is this: If I didn’t want your DNA ever to be accessed for law enforcement – I would never submit my DNA to any of these sites. You need to make up your own mind on this.

GEDmatch and Security Issues

GEDmatch suffered a major security breach in 2020. Hackers actually flipped the law-enforcement settings for a while. People who had opted-out were switched to opt-in status. The company took down the website for some days, and have fixed the security vulnerability.

I’ve written a detailed article about this GEDmatch security breach.

Is GEDmatch Accurate?

If you transfer your DNA to GEDmatch, you’ll notice differences between the reported amounts of shared DNA with DNA matches you recognize from the original site. You’ll also notice that your ethnicity reports on GEDmatch are different to the reports on your test site.

But these differences don’t make GEDmatch a bad option. This separate article explains why GEDmatch is a legitimate DNA site.

GEDmatch And Your Email Address

Most of the big DNA testing companies have an internal messaging system through which you make contact with your DNA relatives. You do not have direct access to the emails of your matches – unless they choose to give you the details.

GEDmatch is different. Your list of DNA relatives includes their email addresses. This is a massive benefit in many ways. You don’t have to deal with a cumbersome contact system that doesn’t always seem to work. But you may not want your main email address to be shown to all and sundry.

By default, GEDmatch displays the email you provide when you register for a free account. You can change that at any time after registration. I remember changing mine very sharp-ish when I realized how it was displayed. To be fair, I hadn’t paid enough attention to the sign-up instructions!

Optional: Set Up A Dedicated Email Before Registration

Many people use a dedicated email for GEDmatch. I can see that through my matches with emails like “search4family@gmail.com“.

If you prefer a higher level of privacy, then set up a generic email with one of the free account providers. And use that to register with GEDmatch. All communication via this email will be company notifications or messages from other GEDmatch users.

A Step-By-Step Guide On How To Upload DNA to GEDmatch

If you prefer a video walkthrough, I go through the process in this short video.

If you prefer an illustrated guide, read through the rest of this section.

Step 1: Go to the GEDmatch Website

Here is the link to the GEDmatch website. Yes, it looks like it was made by a teenager in 1990. There’s plenty of bells and whistles on the GEDmatch site, just not with the display.

Scroll down towards the end of the page where you’ll find the privacy policy and the registration link. I do advise that you read the privacy policy of any website where you intend to upload your DNA.

However, you don’t need to read the privacy policy at this point. It will be shown to you at a later step during the sign-up process. And if you’re happy to proceed, click the registration link.

Step 2: Register with an Optional Alias

If you don’t provide the optional alias, your DNA matches will see the First & Last Name you enter here.

You do need to provide a genuine email address, as the registration requires confirmation by email. Once you’ve clicked on the link that arrives into your inbox, you’ll be taken to a page congratulating you on a successful registration. Click the login link here to get back to the login page.

Step 3: Log in for the First Time

The first time you log into GEDmatch after registration, you will be shown the Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.

You have three options here. You can either accept the terms of service, reject them, or decide to mull this weighty matter over. Rejection will delete your data. Contemplation must be done outside the GEDmatch site, as you won’t be allowed in unless and until you accept the terms and conditions.

Step 4: Open The “Upload DNA” Page

Once you’ve logged in, you’ll be on the GEDmatch home page. This is a really busy page, full of links and jargon. Don’t get overwhelmed, straight out of the gate.

On the right-hand side of the page in about the middle section, there is a link called “Generic Uploads”. That’s what you want!

The link will pop up a page that offers instructions on downloading your DNA from different DNA sites. If you’d like a tutorial for Ancestry, we’ve got a video walkthrough of downloading your raw DNA from Ancestry.com.

Step 5: Fill In Your Kit Details

The next web page asks you to fill in quite a lot of details that you may not be familiar with. Your mitochondrial haplogroup? Your Y haplogroup? Huh? Don’t worry, you won’t have this information if you tested with Ancestry or some other sites. You can leave these fields blank.

Do provide the name of your Testing company. This is really useful when you’re working with shared matches. You could be particularly interested in a DNA relative whose company where you didn’t test. But if you share matches whose testing company is the same as your own? You may be able to glean good information from their family trees on the source site.

Step 6: Fill in your Consent Details

The bottom section of this screen is important. It defines what you are opting into. This is where you can choose to opt out of the law enforcement program.

You can also opt in and out of research projects.

Step 7: Upload and Wait

When you’ve finished filling out the form, the upload button is at the bottom of the screen. This is where the website shows its age. It needs you to wait for several minutes while the progression bar runs to completion. Don’t close down the page, or you might interrupt the upload process.

A more modern piece of software wouldn’t need so much co-operation from the customer!

Keep Your GEDmatch Kit Number Handy

One minor irritant for me is having to enter my Kit Number multiple times when accessing the many features.

What is your GEDmatch Kit Number?

Every DNA file that you upload to GEDmatch is assigned a unique identifier. This is known as your Kit Number. You’ll see yours displayed on the left-hand side of the home page when you log in.

This is mine.

But I also keep my kit number in a little text file on my laptop. Why? Because when you access the many different features of GEDmatch, you usually have to enter the kit number on a page where it’s not displayed.

An older version of GEDmatch used to “remember” the ID. I wish that trick would come back.

How To Get Started On GEDmatch

I suppose the question for newcomers is…where the heck do you start? There are so many links on the home page, it’s not very clear what you should do.

We have a guide to get you started on GEDmatch by taking you through a practical sequence of using the different tools. You can follow step by step with our overview on how to use GEDmatch.

Uploading Your Family Tree With A GEDCOM File

Have you got a public family tree on Ancestry, MyHeritage, or FamilyTreeDNA? You can transfer a copy to GEDmatch.

This article is a complete guide to downloading your Ancestry tree to a GEDCOM file.

How To Upload Your GEDCOM file to GEDmatch?

You’ll find the links on the right-hand side of the Home page, under the “Family Trees” section.

As you should expect, the details of living people are privatized.

How to Remove Your DNA From GEDmatch

Have you decided you want to delete your DNA from the GEDmatch site? You can do this at any time.

Find your Kit Number on the Home Page. It’s under “Your DNA Resources”.

The little pencil icon opens the Kit Profile Management page. The Kit Removal tab allows you to delete your DNA data from the GEDmatch website.

Enter your password, and hit the Delete button.

What Does GEDmatch Stand For?

The “GED” in GEDmatch is a shortened term for GEnealogical Data.

This is adapted from the common term for a universal file format for family trees: the Genealogical Data Communication file format. In other words, the GEDCOM format.

How Do You Pronounce GEDmatch?

If you watch our videos, you’ll probably hear me use a hard G. I’d only seen the term in written form for several years.

More recently, I’ve learned that the founder intended a soft G i.e. it sounds like jedcom.

I’m trying to get used to that! You may well hear me pronounce it both ways in the same sentence!