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The best DNA testing kit
By Amadou Diallo This post was done in partnership with Wirecutter. When readers choose to buy Wirecutter's independently chosen editorial picks, Wirecutter and Engadget may earn affiliate commission. Read the full guide to DNA testing kits. Consumer-oriented DNA testing services come with inherent privacy risks and are bound by few legal guidelines regulating the use of your data. The ramifications of sharing your DNA with for-profit companies are continuously evolving. Opting into a recreational DNA test today will likely have future consequences that no one has even considered yet. If you're comfortable with that, we think AncestryDNA is the most effective service for people who want to learn more about their ethnic roots or find contemporary relatives. We've come to this conclusion after more than 80 hours of research and two-plus years of reporting that included evaluating the results from a test panel representing every major population group. The aptly named AncestryDNA test stood out as the best ancestry DNA test because it presented the test results in a clearer manner than other services and placed the information in a useful historical context. Since all the DNA services we tested provided broadly similar results for the ethnic origins of our panel of testers, AncestryDNA's better reports and interface gave it a clear advantage. Plus, for people seeking distant cousins or even biological parents, the company's claimed DNA database of 10 million customers—twice the size of its closest competitors—increases the odds of successful matches. Unlike the other services we tested, however, AncestryDNA cannot track your maternal and paternal heritage independently or trace your ancient migration path out of Africa. 23andMe offers the same type of ethnicity estimates (and privacy risks) as AncestryDNA at a similar price. With a DNA database of 5 million users, it may offer smaller odds of connecting with unknown relatives, but it does have the most polished site design, which makes navigating the myriad charts, reports, and explanatory documents easier than on competitors' sites. For male testers, 23andMe can provide a look at the ancient migration paths of both maternal and paternal lines independently. And while we don't cover biomedical testing in this guide, 23andMe does offer its customers a suite of reports on potential health indicators as a paid add-on service. FamilyTreeDNA offered broadly similar ethnicity estimates for our testing panel as AncestryDNA and 23andMe. Those concerned about privacy should know that it is the only service we're aware of that is voluntarily providing customer data access to law enforcement. FamilyTreeDNA does, however, provide the most comprehensive suite of testing options, offered as add-ons to the basic ethnicity test, than any service we evaluated. These additional tools should satisfy nearly any genealogy buff looking to explore their connections to early human migration or find relatives from one particular side of their family tree. The company's à la carte approach can quickly add up though. You can easily spend more than three times the testing cost of AncestryDNA or 23andMe.
How secure is DNA testing?
Scientists only mapped the human genome 16 years ago, but today you can get a basic test of your genetic code from Walgreens. It's estimated some 26 million people have already sent their spit to direct-to-consumer DNA-testing companies, and the number is predicted to multiply to 100 million by 2021.
Family Tree DNA offers to trade privacy to catch criminals
The at-home DNA testing company Family Tree DNA is asking customers to share their genetic data to help law enforcement solve crimes. A video featuring Ed Smart, the father of kidnapping victim Elizabeth Smart, attempts to frame the sharing of its genetic database with FBI as a positive. According to MIT Technology Review, the video will air as an ad in San Diego, where police were recently able to solve a 1979 murder after finding a link in a publicly available DNA database. The ad is part of a larger campaign featured prominently on Family Tree DNA's website.
At-home DNA testing company gives the FBI access to its database
The FBI has struck up a partnership with one of the largest at-home DNA testing services, according to BuzzFeed News. Apparently, Family Tree DNA has allowed the agency to access its genealogy database containing the DNA profiles of over a million users. Law enforcement has been using the public's increasing fascination with DNA testing as a tool to crack cases for quite a while now. But this is reportedly the first time a private firm has willingly given authorities access to its repository.
The best DNA ancestry test
By Amadou Diallo This post was done in partnership with Wirecutter, reviews for the real world. When readers choose to buy Wirecutter's independently chosen editorial picks, it may earn affiliate commissions that support its work. Read the full article here. After more than 80 hours of research and reporting, and evaluating results from a panel of testers representing every major population group, we think AncestryDNA is the best DNA testing service for most people who are curious about their ethnic roots or are searching for contemporary relatives. All five DNA services we tested involve compromises, and you should keep in mind that the TV ads for these companies suggest a level of certainty that is well beyond the science upon which current tests are based. But AncestryDNA presents your data in a way that is easier to understand than many of its rivals, makes use of the largest database of DNA participants we've seen, and is among the lowest-priced services we tested.
