FamilyTreeDNA improved matching
 

FamilyTreeDNA have just updated their DNA matching process. My total number of matches has increased from 2,175 to 8,975. It says it could take up to 24 hours to mark them as paternal or maternal (my Dad's DNA has also been uploaded to the site). I can see some new names near the top of the list, some which I recognise from other sites.

So if you have uploaded your DNA data to FTDNA, it will be worth having another look at your matches. Though apparently some people's totals have gone down, not up!

Thanks, Kite.

I would say the layout's improved a bit; no idea what my old total was, so I don't know if I have more matches.

It's no longer letting me add new notes or edit my previous ones; is anyone else having the same problem?

Yes, I was trying to add a note earlier on with no luck.

OK, I've sent them a bug report.

I must say I find the Ancestry DNA system much easier to use than either FtDNA or MyHeritage: does everyone else find the same?

I'm finding that the ability to sort matches into groups on Ancestry is extremely helpful.

Another thing I only noticed recently with FtDNA (but before the latest changes) is that when you open the matches page, they aren't listed in descending order of shared DNA; you have to select that yourself from the dropdown list. They're listed by default in order of "relationship range".

I dont use FtDNA much, as there are only a dozen matches or so that I can identify. Which has not really increased in the last few years (I think we did the tests in 2017)

I do like the new layout though. I wish I knew how to mark matches Paternal or Maternal, at least that would be a start to try and sort them out.

Apart from my 10 closest matches who mostly belong to my mothers side, and are here in Australia, I cannot really identify anyone else. I recognise some of them as also being Ancestry matches, but they either have no family tree gedcom, no ancestral names, or only ancestral names born in the USA none of which match my ancestral names (and the same on Ancestry).

I generally know who in the family migrated to the US or Australia in the 19th century, and I am fairly certain that very few did so before 1800, so I stumped at how to find the links. Especially those who are supposedly in the 2-4th cousin range.

Just had an email from them with the following update:

"We recently announced exciting updates to the platform and our services, including improvements to our autosomal (Family Finder) matching algorithm. As we continue to refine the recent update to Family Finder matches , some customers may experience fluctuations in their match list as we synchronize matches. We expect to have this sync completed by July 23rd."

This sounds potentially interesting:

"New Feature Coming Soon — Chromosome Painter
Later in July, we’ll be releasing the new Chromosome Painter feature for Family Finder! The Chromosome Painter is another way to explore your myOrigins results. It paints segments of your genome with colors that represent the populations in your results. The Chromosome Painter goes beyond telling you your percentages by revealing from where each DNA segment in your ancestry originates."

This sounds interesting - do you think that it means you can work out where your DNA matches someone else and then where the DNA is likely to originate from?

It might mean a couple of steps - comparing the chromosome matches with another person, then going back to the Chromosome Painter to see what the results tell you?

Maybe that would be helpful as you could potentially work out which family might be the common one - at least for me as my ancestors came to Australia from lots of different places.

I guess it depends how specific it will be.

Di