Important: Please click here to see our Consent to Participate in Matching policy.
When you select to Opt in to Matching on your Account Settings - Privacy & Sharing page, the information that your relevant matches can see about you varies depending on certain information that you have provided, your selected Privacy & Sharing settings, and the tests that you have taken.
If you do not opt in to matching, you will not see your relevant matches nor will they see you on their account.
Note that you will only see matches and their information based on the Privacy & Sharing options your matches have selected.
Self-reported Information
The following self-reported information may be shared with your matches:
Contact Information
The following Contact Information that you entered on your Account Settings - Account Information page may be shared with your matches:
- First and Last Name - The first and last name that you provided.
- Birth Surname - Your surname at birth. For genealogical purposes, it is important for you to include your family name (e.g., maiden name).
- Email Address - The email address you provided.
- Your Personal Story/About Me - The description about you, if entered, in the Your Personal Story field on your Contact Information page.
Genealogy Information
The following information that you entered on your Account Settings - Genealogy page may be shared with your matches:
- Ancestral Surnames - Your surnames and surname locations if entered on your Surnames List.
- Earliest Known Ancestors - The name, birth and death date, and location of your earliest known direct paternal and maternal ancestors if entered on your Earliest Known Ancestors page.
Family Tree
If you created a family tree, it will be shared with your matches if you selected the Only Matches or All FamilyTreeDNA Users option in the Family Tree Sharing section on your Privacy & Sharing page.
Test-dependent Information
The following test-dependent information may be shared with your matches depending on which tests you have taken:
Family Finder™ Test
Family Finder Matches
If you selected a Family Finder Match Level other than None in the Matching Preferences section on your Privacy & Sharing page, you and your Family Finder matches at the selected level(s) will see where on your chromosomes you match and where relatives match each other on the Chromosome Browser.
Ethnicity
If you selected the Opt in to Sharing option in the Origins Sharing section on your Privacy & Sharing page, your ethnicity (myOrigins® percentages) will be shared with your Family Finder matches at the selected match level(s).
Haplogroup from Family Finder
Male test takers may have a Y-DNA haplogroup from their Family Finder test depending on the version of test they have. For those that do, their Y-DNA haplogroup is displayed on your Profile Card and is shared with their DNA matches.
For more information, see the Family Finder Matches Page topic.
mtDNA Tests
mtDNA Haplogroup
If you have taken an mtDNA test, your mtDNA haplogroup is displayed on your Profile Card and is shared with your DNA matches.
mtDNA Information
If you selected an mtDNA Match Level other than None in the Matching Preferences section on your Privacy & Sharing page, you and your maternal line matches at the selected level(s) will see information about how your results match and differ from each other and your common matches.
For more information, see the mtDNA - Matches Page topic.
Y-DNA Tests
Y-DNA Haplogroup
If you have taken a Y-DNA test, your Y-DNA haplogroup is displayed on your Profile Card and is shared with your DNA matches.
Y-DNA Information
If you selected a Y-DNA Match Level other than None in the Matching Preferences section on your Privacy & Sharing page, you and your paternal line matches at the selected level(s) will see information about how your results match differ from each other and between common matches.
For more information, see the Y-DNA - Matches Page and Big Y topics.