23andMe is Updating Ancestry Results Without Telling Users

Dick Eastman · May 23, 2019 · DNA · 3 Comments

An article by Dan Robitzski in the Futurism.com web site at https://futurism.com/23andme-updating-ancestry-results states:

“If you took a genetic ancestry test through a company like 23andMe, you may want to go back and give your results a second look.

“That’s because as the company gathers more data and learns more about genetic trends, it may update the results for your specific DNA and change around where it believes your family came from, according to STAT News. While it makes sense that these companies would eventually hone in on more accurate results, the shifting reports can be a rude shock to people who used the app to figure out their personal identity — only to find, like 23andMe user Leonard Kim, that the results later shift without warning.”

This shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone who reads this newsletter. I wrote an article a few weeks ago that describes the same thing with Ancestry.com’s test results: the company’s DNA ethnic origins reports changed as more and more information was added to the company’s findings of ethnic origins. You can find my earlier report at http://bit.ly/2DN6o8y and a follow-up article at http://bit.ly/2HxniKH.

I had a similar “change of ancestry” with the findings of another DNA test from still another testing company. It seems that such “changes” in your ancestry are not unusual.
In fact, I suspect that every DNA testing company will occasionally change their reports of customers’ ethnic origins as each company adds more and more information to their databases of historic DNA and various human migration patterns.
If you had your DNA tested by ANY company, I would suggest you go back to the testing company’s web site every few months to see if there are any updates to your earlier test results. If so, you might want to trade in your German lederhosen for a Scottish kilt.