This month, we revisited news and new tools from the past year, presenting them chronologically as they were announced throughout the year. That order is mostly followed here.
First, we talked about Ancestry increasing the number of custom groups you can create from 24 to 64. Here are some articles and lectures about using the groups:
https://support.ancestry.com/s/article/Grouping-and-Filtering-AncestryDNA-Matches
https://www.ancestry.com/c/ancestry-blog/dna/sorting-grouping-dna-matches
https://www.familysearch.org/en/rootstech/session/shared-dna-matches-the-only-dna-tool-you-will-ever-need
https://familytreewebinars.com/webinar/solving-a-virginia-mystery-using-dna/
Then, we talked about MyHeritage’s ethnicity estimate updates, their first in several years. See https://blog.myheritage.com/2025/02/introducing-ethnicity-estimate-v2-5-improved-dna-ethnicity-model/ for more details.
Ancestry added the ability to filter your matches by journeys. Read more about journeys here:
https://support.ancestry.com/s/article/AncestryDNA-Communities
And match filtering here: https://support.ancestry.com/s/article/Grouping-and-Filtering-AncestryDNA-Matches
They also added a new Networks feature for Pro Tools users that allows you to organize notes and research that you might not want to put in your tree. Here is some more information:
https://support.ancestry.com/s/article/Networks
https://support.ancestry.com/s/article/Creating-and-Organizing-Networks
https://www.familysearch.org/en/rootstech/session/how-to-use-ancestry-networks
FamilyTreeDNA updated its Matrix tool to show amounts of DNA shared between “In Common With” matches (or shared matches). See:
https://blog.familytreedna.com/family-finder-matrix-update/
They also updated their “mitochondrial DNA tree of humankind,” making a huge update to mtDNA haplogroups from their Million Mito Project. See:
https://blog.familytreedna.com/updated-mtdna-tree-35000-new-branches/
https://blog.familytreedna.com/mtdna-discover-haplogroup-reports/
MyHeritage introduced their Cousin Finder tool, finding other MyHeritage users with your ancestors in their trees. This can be great for “shopping” for collaborators or even future DNA test takers:
https://blog.myheritage.com/2025/03/introducing-cousin-finder-gain-dna-level-insights-without-a-dna-test/
They later updated it to enable you to use the tool for anyone in your tree, not just you: https://blog.myheritage.com/2025/08/cousin-finder-now-available-for-all-individuals-in-the-family-tree/
They also introduced their Ancient Origins tool, looking to trace origins back 10,000 years:
https://blog.myheritage.com/2025/02/introducing-ancient-origins-trace-your-origins-back-10000-years/
AncestryDNA began automatically adding source citations when you connect your DNA matches to your tree. This talks about connecting matches to your tree, though it does not talk about adding the source information: https://support.ancestry.com/s/article/Connecting-AncestryDNA-Matches-to-Your-Tree
DNA Painter released its DNA Matrix Tool, enabling you to see at a glance what your matches share with each other and how that compares to expected DNA amounts for their relationships. He’s also made various improvements to the tool in the months since. See:
https://dnapainter.com/blog/shared-dna-at-a-glance-the-new-dna-matrix-tool/
https://familytreewebinars.com/webinar/shared-dna-at-a-glance-the-new-dna-matrix-tool/
https://dnapainter.com/blog/matrix-tool-improvements/
https://dnapainter.com/blog/new-in-the-matrix-tool-enhanced-charts-sorting-and-more/
23andMe filed for bankruptcy, announced a sale, and a buyer was announced. We’ll spare all of the drama leading up to the sale, but despite all of the potential “the sky is falling” scenarios floated, 23andMe founder Anne Wojcicki and her non-profit TTAM Research Institute purchased 23andMe and are back to business as kinda usual. See:
https://mediacenter.23andme.com/press-releases/23andme-receives-court-approval-sale-ttam-research-institute/
https://mediacenter.23andme.com/press-releases/ttam-research-institute-nonprofit-public-benefit-corporation/
FamilyTreeDNA announced a partnership with WikiTree, enabling you to connect your DNA to your WikiTree:
https://blog.familytreedna.com/connect-wikitree-dna-matches/
Ancestry announced the first iteration of its Matches By Cluster tool for Pro Tools users. This version of the tool, still available as “standard clusters” would automatically group your shared matches who shared 65-1300 cM with you and 20 cM or more with each other. See:
https://www.ancestry.com/c/ancestry-blog/dna/dna-matches-by-cluster
https://support.ancestry.com/s/article/Science-of-Matches-by-Cluster
MyHeritage announced that moving forward, it will be using Whole Genome Sequencing to process its kits. See here for more details:
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251014913163/en/MyHeritage-Upgrades-Its-Consumer-DNA-Tests-to-Whole-Genome-Sequencing
https://cruwys.blogspot.com/2025/10/myheritage-upgrades-its-consumer-dna.html
https://blog.myheritage.com/2025/10/myheritage-upgrades-its-dna-tests-to-whole-genome-sequencing/
Ancestry and 23andMe both released ethnicity estimate updates in October:
https://www.ancestry.com/c/ancestry-blog/dna/ancestrydna-2025-origins-update
https://blog.23andme.com/articles/ancestry-composition-version-7-is-here
Ancestry closed out the year by introducing Custom Clusters, an addition to their matches by cluster tool released earlier in the year. Read more here:
https://support.ancestry.com/s/article/Custom-Match-Clusters
https://support.ancestry.com/s/article/Science-of-Matches-by-Cluster
https://www.ancestry.com/c/ancestry-blog/dna/using-custom-clusters-to-find-dna-matches
MyHeritage released an update to its Theory of Family Relativity tool:
https://blog.myheritage.com/2025/11/major-update-to-theory-of-family-relativity-103-million-theories-added/
23andMe announced an update to its Genetic Groups, adding 267 African genetic groups:
https://blog.23andme.com/articles/a-new-era-for-african-genetic-groups-at-23andme
They also released a new Reconstructed Ancestors tool to 23andMe Premium subscribers. See https://customercare.23andme.com/hc/en-us/articles/35757285869335-23andMe-Reconstructed-Ancestors-Overview for more information
And, finally, FTDNA added new mtDNA haplogroups in a new update to its mtDNA Tree of Humankind: https://blog.familytreedna.com/updated-mtdna-haplogroups-tree-12700-branches/
Thanks for visiting us this year! Happy Holidays!