Investing in DNA testing has become a major trend in recent years. The desire to uncover one’s roots and find out “who we really are” leads thousands of people to send their samples to large corporations. One of the biggest players on the market is MyHeritage. Unfortunately, for users in our part of the world, this investment often turns into expensive disillusionment. Here are the main reasons why you should think twice before purchasing a kit from this company.
1. Ethnicity from an American Perspective: Slav or German?
The biggest stumbling block is the evaluation of ancestry itself. MyHeritage operates on algorithms that view the world through the lens of an American user. For someone in the USA, the label “Eastern European” is an adequate bit of exoticism. For us, however, it is completely insufficient.
In our region, where Slavic, Germanic, and Celtic blood has mixed for centuries, the “Eastern Europe” tag is just one big bucket where everything is thrown together. The result won’t tell you whether Slavic blood flows in your veins or if your roots reach back to Germanic neighbors. The entire evaluation is very superficial and, from a professional genealogical standpoint, almost worthless.
2. Lab in Germany, Software from the USA
Many users are lured by the fact that samples are sent to European laboratories (e.g., in Germany). One would therefore expect European precision and a detailed distinction of local specificities. However, the data is subsequently processed by software that ignores the historical context of the Central European space. The result is just a mix of generic data that tells you nothing new about your family history.
3. Customer Support: A Voice Crying in the Wilderness
If you encounter a technical problem, prepare for a test of patience. User experiences agree on one thing—support practically doesn’t exist. Whether you need to fix an error in your profile or want to transfer kits under another account for family tree management, you often won’t receive an answer even after repeated requests. The corporation collects fees (often around 60 EUR for a basic kit), but individual customer care ends the moment the money leaves your account.
4. Marketing Ideology Instead of Science
Just look at the front pages and promotional materials. MyHeritage tries to profile itself as an inclusive, global platform, which is fine in itself. The problem arises when this marketing pressure on “non-racial ideology” becomes more important than the accuracy of the scientific data itself. The user isn’t paying for pretty pictures and a sense of global belonging, but for specific, accurate information about their ancestors. And this is exactly where the company fails fatally.
5. Health Status: A Lack of Trust
In addition to ethnicity testing, MyHeritage aggressively offers add-on services focused on analyzing health status and genetic predispositions to various diseases. After experiencing their superficial approach to determining ancestry, the fundamental question arises: can such sensitive data be entrusted to a company that cannot accurately distinguish basic European historical contexts? If an algorithm fails in these elementary geographical categories, it is very risky to rely on its interpretation of medical risks, where inaccuracy can have much more serious consequences than just confusion in a family tree.
6. “Scam-like” Billing Practices
To complete the picture of MyHeritage’s practices, one must mention their aggressive business strategy, which in many ways resembles the shady tactics of “scam” dating sites. As bank records confirm, the company repeatedly attempts to automatically withdraw payments (often around 120 EUR / 3,000 CZK) even when the user no longer wants the services or does not actively expect the payment. This “infinite subscription” system is set up so inconspicuously that many customers only learn about the recurring transactions through a notification of a declined payment due to limit exhaustion.
Conclusion: Wasted Money?
If you are looking for a truly detailed analysis of your genetic makeup and are interested in the specifics of your origin in the context of Central Europe, MyHeritage is likely not the right path. It is a massive machine that seems to have grown beyond its own control. There are local alternatives that work with data much more sensitively and understandably for our environment. Before you send them your 60 to 120 Euros, consider whether an “Eastern European label” is truly worth the money. 📁
It is evident that MyHeritage relies on unmonitored automated AI translations without any human oversight. This leads to absurd inconsistencies; for instance, in one DNA test result, they use the Czech term ‘Němka’ (a German woman), while in another, they use ‘Germán’ (a member of the ancient Germanic tribes). In the Czech language, these terms are far from synonymous and carry completely different historical and cultural connotations.
The entire interface feels more like a simplistic game for small children rather than a professional genealogical tool. With such confusing terminology, it fails even in the most fundamental details. It is simply not polished or reliable for serious use.