Analyze your AncestryDNA data in DNAHelper
If you have taken a DNA test with Ancestry, you can download your raw data via the DNA settings and use it directly in DNAHelper — no new test needed.
1. Download the raw data from Ancestry
- Sign in at ancestry.com and go to your DNA settings.
- Select the test you want to download.
- Scroll to the Download or Delete section and choose Download DNA data.
- Confirm that you understand the downloaded copy is not protected by Ancestry’s security measures, and click Continue.
- Verify your account with your password or an email code.
- Ancestry sends an email — it can take up to 24 hours. The link works once and expires after 7 days.
- Click Download DNA Data in the email.
2. The file you get
You get a text file named AncestryDNA.txt (some browsers may deliver it packed as .zip — in that case drop the zip straight in, it is unpacked automatically). Drop the .txt file or the zip into DNAHelper.
3. Analyze the file in DNAHelper
Open app.dnahelper.com and pick the file. The entire analysis — parsing, scoring and display — runs locally in your browser. Your raw data file is never uploaded.
4. Your 24-hour trial
The trial starts automatically when the analysis completes — not when you request the export. You get full access for 24 hours with no registration, email or card. A local summary stays on your device afterwards.
Good to know about Ancestry
- If you request the download multiple times, only the link in the most recent email works.
- Ancestry does not accept raw data uploads from other services — but downloading your own data works.
- Tests analyzed with sequencing (NGS) have a separate VCF export — the standard raw data file is the one that fits DNAHelper.
Limitations
DNAHelper shows genetic traits and research associations for education — not medical diagnoses or advice. What you see depends on which markers your Ancestry file contains.
Other providers: 23andMe · MyHeritage · FamilyTreeDNA
Also: Check your DNA file · Compatibility check · English overview