How it works
How to read your raw DNA data
You already own this file. It takes about five minutes to get it and about thirty seconds to read it here. Nothing is uploaded at any point.
Download your raw data file
Whoever tested you has to give you your raw data, and all the major companies do. It is usually called “raw data” or “raw DNA” and it arrives as a zip file containing one text file.
Unzip it
Double-click the zip. Inside is a single .txt or .csv file, usually 15 to 25 MB. That inner file is the one you want. Do not try to load the zip itself.
Drop it on this site
Open the reader and drag the file in, or click to choose it. It is read by your own browser. There is no upload, no account and no sign-up, and you can watch that in your browser's network tab while it happens.
Answer a few questions about yourself
Before showing you anything, the reader asks whether milk agrees with you, whether coriander tastes like soap, and a few more. This takes about a minute and it is what makes the scorecard possible.
Read your report
Your results appear straight away, in order, with a plain explanation and a source for every one. Nothing is generated on a server, so nothing waits in a queue.
Where the download button is
These menus get rearranged, so treat this as a map rather than a set of directions. If a company has moved things, search their help pages for “raw data”.
| Tested by | Where to find your raw file |
|---|---|
| 23andMe | Sign in, open the menu under your name, then Settings. Scroll to “23andMe Data” and choose Download Raw Data. It arrives by email as a zip. |
| AncestryDNA | Sign in and go to DNA, then Your DNA Results Summary, then Settings. Choose Download DNA Data. You confirm by email and it arrives as a zip. |
| MyHeritage | Sign in, open DNA, then Manage DNA kits. Use the three-dot menu beside your kit and choose Download. You confirm by email. |
| Family Tree DNA | Sign in and open your Family Finder results. Look for Download Raw Data and take the Build 37 autosomal file. |
| TellMeGen | Sign in and open your results. Look for the raw data or download option in your account area. The file arrives as a .csv. |
| Living DNA | Sign in, open your account settings and look for the raw data download. |
Tested somewhere not on this list? Try it anyway. The reader accepts any file laid out like these and tells you plainly if it cannot read yours.
What you get, free and paid
The free report is a real report, not a teaser: 10 markers with full explanations and sources, your file audit and your scorecard. Paying opens the other 60 markers, both ancestral lines and the exports.
| What | Free | Full report, $39 |
|---|---|---|
| Read your file Every format, read in your browser, never uploaded | Yes | Yes |
| File audit Markers read, call rate, coverage per chromosome, which ancestral lines are readable | Yes | Yes |
| Traits and single-gene results Each with your genotype, a plain explanation, an evidence grade and a citation | 10 markers | All 70 markers |
| Prediction scorecard We ask about you first, then score your DNA against your own answers | On the free markers | On every marker with a question |
| How you handle medicines Pharmacogenomics graded against CPIC clinical guidelines, for a doctor to see | — | 16 markers |
| Health-adjacent variants Common, well-established variants with real clinical literature behind them | — | 19 markers |
| Neanderthal and Denisovan DNA Eight published archaic variants, whether you carry each, and what it does | — | 8 markers |
| Maternal line Your mitochondrial haplogroup, traced fork by fork with the evidence at each step | — | Full depth |
| Paternal line Your Y-chromosome haplogroup, if your file has Y markers | — | Full depth |
| Migration map and timeline Both lines drawn on one map, with a dated timeline of every step | — | Both lines |
| APOE Shown only if you ask for it, after reading what it can and cannot say | — | On request |
| Shared ancestry in your own genome How much arrived identical from both parents, how long those stretches are, and what that dates the sharing to | — | Measured |
| What your test did not check Gene by gene, how much of each one your file actually contains | 5 genes | All 25 genes |
| CSV export One row per marker including the ones that could not be read, with sources | — | Yes |
| PDF report A typeset report you can hand to a doctor | — | Yes |
Common questions
Is my DNA really not uploaded?
Yes, and you can check rather than trust us. Open your browser's developer tools before you load the file, switch to the Network tab, and load it. You will see no request carrying your data, because there is no upload endpoint in this application at all.
Do I need an account?
No. There is no sign-up, free or paid. Paying gives you a key that unlocks the report in your browser, and we keep no record linking that key to you.
My file is huge. Will it work?
It reads the file in slices, so a 25 MB chip export and a multi-gigabyte whole-genome file both work without the page freezing.
Will this tell me if I have a disease?
No, and you should be wary of anything that says it will from this kind of file. A clinical laboratory re-tested 49 people's raw consumer files and found 40 per cent of flagged variants were false positives.
Can I use a file from a relative?
Only with their knowledge and permission. Genetic data implicates everyone related to the tested person.
Which testing companies work?
23andMe, AncestryDNA, MyHeritage, Family Tree DNA, TellMeGen and Living DNA are recognised by name, and any file laid out the same way will be read.