Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com) has a 3.8 out of 5 rating on OK.one, based on 202 user reviews collected here. It is listed under Hobbies & Crafts and its reputation is mixed. 70% of reviews are 4 stars or higher and 18% are 1 star; The business has replied to 98% of negative reviews. Last updated 2026-08-10.
Scam artist of a platform hidden behind successful software
Hi Will, we're sorry to hear about your experience. We aim to be transparent about our services and billing, and we'd like to help resolve any issues you've encountered. Please reach out to our support team for additional assistance - Live Chat Link: https://support.ancestry.com/s/contactsupport Phone Support: https://support.ancestry.com/s/phonesupport
being able to see my family history was cool. i was able to go back pretty far on one side, but not the other. i didn't use this enough to justify the monthly cost, so i canceled only to find out they charge a $25 cancelation fee!! what?? that's just dumb.
Hi Beth, thanks for reaching out. We're sorry for the misunderstanding surrounding your subscription cancellation fee. We strive to be transparent about plan terms, and we’d like to review your account details with you. Please visit our online Help Center to get in touch with our support team!
I needed to tell Ancestry that one of its pieces of central information was incorrect - the name of one town. Whenever you search for anything to do with that town in any of Ancestry's records, the search option for the name of that town is incorrect. I spoke with Seán at Ancestry.com, he understood my problem straight away and promised to get the error corrected.
Hi Chris, thank you so much for taking the time to share your feedback! We're glad to hear that Seán was able to assist you quickly and ensure the town name correction gets passed along to be updated. We truly appreciate members like you who help us keep our database records as accurate as possible!
It's a more straight forward app to use, plus I have already gotten in touch with and met relatives who would have been lost to time. I also believe it's more accurate with both DNA and records to verify potential family members.
Hi Donna! Thank you for the wonderful 5-star review. We're delighted to hear that our DNA tools and record accuracy helped you locate and connect with family members you might have otherwise missed. Wishing you many more exciting discoveries!
Some information are correct while other matches are not correct. For example, 2nd cousins are showing as first cousins and nieces are showing as first cousins. It seems like first cousin is a default match which can be misleading. ,
Thank you for sharing this, Lorraine. DNA match relationships are estimated based on shared centimorgans, which can sometimes overlap between relationships like first cousins and nieces. We have a support article with more information on how we determine these ranges here: https://bit.ly/3QDu1ps
Misleading “Famous Ancestor” feature has destroyed my confidence in Ancestry I have spent considerable time building my family tree on Ancestry and have also provided the company with my DNA data. I therefore expected its features to distinguish clearly between verified evidence, user-generated speculation and possible hints. Instead, Ancestry’s app has started presenting alleged “Famous Ancestor” connections as established facts. It told me, “Did you know you are related to Daniel Baker?” and placed the result beneath the heading “Your famous ancestor”. There are two major problems. First, Ancestry’s own relationship description said Daniel Baker was supposedly my “half 6th cousin 6x removed”. A distant cousin is not an ancestor. Second, the connection was traced through a long chain of unsupported and apparently incorrect relationships, including highly questionable early family-tree entries. There was no prominent warning explaining that the result may have been assembled from unverified user-created trees, that Ancestry had not validated each parent-child relationship, or that DNA evidence had not necessarily been used. This is not an isolated technical error. Other users have reported similarly impossible connections involving step-relatives, confused identities, incorrect parents and people supposedly having children after their deaths. Ancestry is a paid genealogy service, not a novelty horoscope app. Presenting speculative crowd-sourced connections with language such as “Did you know” gives them an authority they do not deserve. It risks contaminating genuine family research and misleading users who understandably assume that Ancestry has performed some meaningful verification. I have now lost confidence in the reliability and integrity of the platform and am seeking cancellation and a refund. At an absolute minimum, this feature should be labelled clearly as an unverified possible connection, with the evidence supporting every generational link available for inspection. Until Ancestry addresses this, I cannot recommend the service.
Hi Stuart and thank you for reaching out to us with this review. We are truly sorry to hear of the frustration and disappointment this particular feature is causing you and are eager to address the matter with you. Please be advised that Famous Ancestor suggestions are based on the information in your family tree and how it connects to other members' trees. Because these suggestions rely on existing research, their accuracy can vary depending on the quality and completeness of the information available across those trees. We appreciate and understand your feedback on the feature and would encourage you to share your thoughts and insights on the matter directly with our developers via the following link: https://ancestry.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_eaMJAIOG9lwk709. Your feedback as a long-time member is invaluable to us and we are always looking for ways that we can improve our services and our member experience. We regret to hear that you have lost confidence in Ancestry because of this feature and understand that you now wish to cancel your subscription. While we are sorry to see you go, we respect your decision. We'd recommend giving our customer support team a call on the number listed below and one of our agents will be happy to discuss this matter with you over the phone. +44 800 032 6469 Monday - Friday: 9:00 am - 9:00 pm GMT Saturday - Sunday: 12:00 pm - 9:00 pm GMT
Your questions were all short and to the point.
Thank you for the feedback, Robert! We’re glad your experience was straightforward and efficient.
the information received and contact with family
Thank you for taking the time to leave a review, Denise! We're glad Ancestry has helped you connect with records and family.
I enjoy receiving hints from actual documents by the program that appear to the right of the person's name. It allows less time hunting and pecking through the myriad of names that don't matter. I don't like using a personal tree, because so often they are sloppy and in accurate. I wish there was a way to count those out altogether. I like the ability to see who one's extended family is thru DNA testing, etc. However, I don't have much use, because of my tree being private. It's wonderful that it can find duplicates and mistakes.
This has been quite the journey of nearly 20 years for both sides of my family. My maternal grandmother would not talk about our ancestors and my paternal side did not talk of our ancestors. However we had an aunt who kept a lot of information on that side, which was passed down to me. Ancestry helped fill in blanks, going back through several centuries. This is the best tool!
Very great..
Very user friendly. Has helped me to complete a very thorough family tree.
The site is easy to use and is a great tool in researching Family history and finding long lost family
I highly recommend this site. For What I was looking for it suited my needs.
HORRIBLE EXPERIENCE. NEVER SIGN UP FOR TRIAL - EVEN AFTER YOU CANCEL THEY WILL KEEP CHARGING. *Update* I contacted customer support several times & even after they said they would stop they didn't. I had to place a stop payment with my bank.
We're sorry to hear that you're still being charged after cancelling! If you'd like to reach out to our support team, we'd be happy to help however we can. We've linked our contact details below. Thanks for your patience! https://support.ancestry.com/s/contactsupport?language=en_US
Finding out where all of your relativesare from and finding out their occupations. It is just fun to realize where your roots are.
This company has integrity. I paid a multi month membership because I forgot to cancel a free trial. I called to beg for my money back, but I didn't have to do that. I was refunded immediately. These days, that is unheard of. I trust Ancestry and will definitely resume my membership with them soon!
Ancestry always leads to a conclusion. Sometimes not the one I originally think is the correct one, but I know I make accurate decisions from the sources Anccestry.com finds which are relevant to my search criteria. Also, I find the huge number of ancestry trees great sources to find more information faster than if I were just out looking for accurate sources.
The uncomplicated testing.
Over the years I've put in a lot of work and with your help it is worth it. You just have to remember to be accurate w/ Names, Places, and especially w/ dates. If the hint doesn't fit do not use it. The best trees are accurate and truthful. Remember this and you too can build a Top Tree.
202 reviews matching