Family Tree DNA (FTDNA) Family Finder “My Origins” Review

I took the Family Tree DNA (FTDNA) “My Origins” Family Finder DNA test in 2016, I also did their Y-DNA test way back in 2011. After having had time to consider my results, study the ever-changing science of genetics, and learn more about each of the DNA testing companies in depth, here’s my review of what Family Tree DNA’s Family Finder test has to offer.

My review is based on 11 categories. I’ve rated and reviewed each of these individually also providing an overall, global score for the Family Tree DNA (FTDNA) Family Finder test, the results of which are called “My Origins.” Below are my star ratings for each category, the individual categories themselves are explained beyond that.

Review Categories Explained

“My Origins” User Interface

The user interface at Family Tree DNA is much to be desired. Although it is certainly “functional,” it does not inspire exploration for fun or meet many modern design standards – it’s just not cool. In fact, what you find on FTDNA is the same site that I first logged on to back in 2011! As a positive, the site is very stable, it has never crashed on me over the last 7 years and is free of any discernible glitches.

The main page does its job in that it allows you to access all of the features available and lays them out in a fairly logical manner; however, it all greets you on one big splash page. I would prefer to see more of a tabbed layout with better-defined, color-coded areas demarcating each functional option. The user experience is also lacking any images, the site still relies on small icons to differentiate between, say, a Y-DNA test and an mtDNA test. That’s definitely outmoded, it’s time for an upgrade.

“My Origins” Raw DNA

The thing that sets FTDNA apart from other testing sites is that it allows you to easily download your raw DNA in 6 different formats. The best thing is that the download link is not embedded 5 storeys underground, but right in the main section where your test results are. Brilliant!

This feature is very important to genetic genealogists who use testing companies to compare against larger databases such as GEDmatch. FTDNA’s raw DNA works seamlessly with GEDmatch’s great but clunky website.

“My Origins” Chromosome Browser

While Family Tree DNA did not get many 5-stars in my rating, this feature is an unquestionable 5. FTDNA’s chromosome browser, I would estimate, is largely responsible for its market success and is the key feature that has made its My Origins autosomal testing so desirable.

Not only are you able to browse all 22 pairs of autosomes (your autosomal DNA), our X chromosomes are also included – 1 per guy, 2 per girl.

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If you want to brush up on your genetic terminology, you can do so here in my full article: “Understanding Basic Genetics: Making Sense of Genes, Genomes, and Chromosomes.”

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The Chromosome Browser also allows you to compare your DNA strands to every person on your match list. That’s powerful! You can select different ranges like “close relatives” or “speculative relatives” or “confirmed relatives,” in fact there are 12 different categories to choose from. Within each category you can select matches and it will display them as color-coded overlays onto your own chromosomes.

“My Origins” Total Ethnicity Percent Accuracy

The My Origins results of FTDNA’s Family Finder test are displayed as both a percentage total and as “clusters,” or sub-regional results. This breakdown seems to be standard across all testing companies. I’ve tested at 2 sites (FTDNA and Ancestry) and I’ve gotten the same results, I’m European.

The power of this may go unnoticed to most; however, there are many people out there who are taking these tests who are adopted or who are unsure of who their birth parents are and having your total ethnicity percent available is tantamount to a successful genealogical investigation in terms of your paper trail. 5 stars from me for being accurate on this feature.

“My Origins” Regional Ethnicity Percent Accuracy

What I was not entirely satisfied with was the (sub) regional ethnicity percent allocation according to “clusters.” Knowing my actual genealogy in terms of my European roots differed a bit in terms of what my stated results were. Look, I get the whole notion of the inaccuracies of DNA testing as a predictable ‘science’ against the backdrop of modern populations, especially in the US; however, my results at Ancestry were DIFFERENT from my FTDNA results, although the percent total was the same.

I only bring this critique up as I convinced a friend to take the Family Finder test to prove that her mother was who she suspected her to be. Well, her results placed her half way across the world, way outside of her expected region and at variance with her known genealogy! I then insisted that she test with Ancestry and her results proved out as expected. I’m sure this story does not exist in isolation.

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These inconsistencies prompted me to investigate DNA companies as to the databases they test against as an insight into why these anomalies are actually explainable. Here’s my full article on that subject: “Size Does Matter When Comparing DNA Testing Companies.”

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“My Origins” Ethnicity Categories Accuracy

As a corollary to the above category, and a continuation of its issues, are the accuracy of the categories themselves with respect to their weight. Yes it would be dreamy for one’s results to miraculously say “you’re 50% English, 25% French, and 25% Norwegian” but that does not play out in all scenarios. This is not the Wizard of OZ.

What is more common are obfuscated or blanket results like “Western European” or “Eastern European” and the like. While accurate, they are hardly informative. To FTDNA’s credit they did update their admixture algorithms sometime in 2017 and I did notice that my “My Origins” categories results had a higher degree of accuracy than was indicated prior.

Based on people I’ve dialogued with about Family Tree DNA many, including myself, have a mysterious “Scandinavian” percentage in our results which does not appear on other testing sites. We can surmise that these are remnant traces of Viking DNA in our genes; however, since the Vikings raided all of Northern Europe, Western Europe, Eastern Europe and beyond as far as the Americas and Constantinople, to which category do we attribute these percentages?

I have written about DNA trace results and low-confidence regions and explained the mystery of how to interpret them!

“My Origins” Ethnicity Explanations

Accompanying each ethnicity result percentage is an explanation about that historical population. Say you’re curious about that x% Scandinavian, when you click on that line item it will display an explanation of the history “Scandinavia” in terms of population genetics and settlement dynamics.

The explanations themselves are informative but I wouldn’t give them 5 stars because I think there should be links available to find out MORE information. Users should have the ability to delve as deep as they would like into population histories, from the ‘bright shiny object’ user to the more scientifically inclined. This scholarly standard is being met at other DNA testing companies.

“My Origins” Matches Feature

While FTDNA does give you a list of genetic matches and the number of centiMorgans of overlap for each, that’s pretty much all you get. It’s just a big list. There’s really not much to find out about each person on my list, and again, this is my particular user experience; if there are others who have relied solely on this to uncover valuable genealogical information, then more power to you!

The real value of the matches feature is really in comparing those matches against your particular autosomal DNA strand, that’s where its functionality is apparent.

“My Origins” Matches Search

What actually hinders the matches feature is its inability to search out people beyond surnames. There is no search capability to find matches based on location or any other parameter, unlike Ancestry. Again, it’s just a big list and not very practical.

“My Origins” Map Interface

Family Tree DNA’s My Origins map interface is nicely done. It’s clean, clear, and color coded. Your ethnic makeup percentages are displayed in a window on the upper left-hand side of the screen while the map takes up the rest of the space and has color coordinated clusters corresponding with your percentages. As you mouse over individual line items they get highlighted on the map.

What is really nifty is the pin feature at the bottom right of the screen where you can display all of the locations of either your PATERNAL or MATERNAL matches, or both. That is cool beans.

“My Origins” Information Transparency

A huge deal for me is TRANSPARENCY: how the company presents its information and disclaims its limitations. Included in this definition is telling people where to go to find out more information. I feel that FTDNA is somewhat lacking in this respect compared to other DNA testing sites currently on the market.

They simply aren’t up to scratch. There is no adequate description as to the methodology used in determining ethnicity estimates and how FTDNA arrived at the particular percentile weight they are assigning to each of your “clusters.” Other DNA testing companies are now spending more time involving their customers in the process and allowing them to see the magic behind the curtain, so to speak, and I think this is an invaluable part of the discovery process. Whether a company’s methodology holds up to rigorous scrutiny or not, in order to be considered ‘scientific’ one needs to reveal their proofs.