If you logged into your Ancestry account, yet can’t see the DNA results you were expecting to see? In this post, learn the reasons why this might have happened, and what to do about it.
I was inspired to write this article after I received a message from a relative asking if I knew whether Ancestry was now requiring a subscription to view DNA matches. Of course, they are not!
After a few back and forth messages, I realized exactly why my relative couldn’t view their DNA matches. I also realized that there are a variety of reasons why someone might not be able to see their DNA results on the site and that an article addressing these situations could be helpful.
You haven’t set up two-factor authentication
If you haven’t logged into your Ancestry account in several months, you will have to set up a two-factor authentication method before you can see your full DNA results, including your DNA match list. A two-factor authentication is an extra layer of security that requires a code to be delivered to your phone or e-mail before you can gain access to an online account.
This happens to be the exact problem my relative was having. Since she hadn’t logged into her results in more than a year, she had not been prompted to set up the two-factor authentication and could only see her DNA results overview – there was no link to DNA matches available on her account because access was limited.
Ancestry implemented the two-factor authentication requirement shortly after the 23andMe data breach in 2023. All of the major DNA testing companies took steps to further protect the privacy of their DNA customers after news of this was released.
If you haven’t yet set up this privacy protection on your account, you should take steps to do so as soon as you can. You can follow the instructions in this Ancestry support article to get started.
Your access to someone else’s results has been removed
If you had been given access to the DNA results of a friend or relative, but can no longer see them as a option to switch to when viewing DNA results, they may have revoked your access. They may no longer be interested in learning from their results, and therefore removed all of the people who had access to them.
This is a good reminder for everyone to access our DNA test settings page on Ancestry and review the names of everyone with whom we have shared our results. We may not want all of those people, and anyone else who might access their account, to continue to have access to our results.
Some else might “own” your test results on their account
If you took a DNA test with the help of a relative, but didn’t go through the process of setting up an Ancestry account with your own e-mail and password, your results might be on your relative’s account. If you think this might be the case, there is still a workaround available without having to take a new DNA test.
You can create your own Ancestry account, and then request that the relative who manages your results give you access to your results. They can send you an invitation to view your results as an owner or manager (I know – it sounds odd!) from the test settings page on your results to your new Ancestry account.
This way, you’ll be able to login to your own account and see the results without having to go through your relative each time.
You might have taken your DNA test under another account
I know that I’m not the only person who has switched e-mail addresses over the past decade or two. If you have switched e-mail addresses, your account may be associated with your old e-mail address.
Fortunately, the solution for this is easy. All you need to do is login to your Ancestry account with your old e-mail address and update your Account Settings to reflect your new e-mail.
Even though I frequently write about Ancestry, I’m not officially associated with the company, and so I can’t help you login if you have trouble. However, you can visit their support article on the topic of signing in and out, where you can find tips for troubleshooting this and contact information for Ancestry, for help.
You may not have taken an Ancestry DNA test
Believe it or not, I have received many e-mails over the years from readers who took a DNA test, but are not sure which company they tested with. If you are logged in your Ancestry account and don’t see any DNA results, and you are not 100% positive that you tested with Ancestry, consider checking to see if you have accounts with any of the other major testing companies.’
Autosomal DNA testing has been available to consumers for more than ten years, during which time tens of millions of people have taken DNA tests. If I didn’t think about DNA results every day because of this website, I can imagine forgetting exactly which tests I have taken and to which websites I have uploaded my DNA.
The most popular DNA testing companies after Ancestry are 23andMe, Family Tree DNA, and MyHeritage. You can check your e-mail to see if you have received any communication from those companies, or you can visit the login pages of those websites to see if your browser has saved any login information that can help you access your account.
Conclusion
I hope that this article covering the most common reasons people can’t see Ancestry results when they log in to their account has helped you.
If you have any questions about something that you read in this post, be sure to leave a comment in the discussion and someone from the community or myself will try to jump in with an answer.
Thanks for reading today!