Ancestry: Family History & DNA

This app barely lets you sign in. Then every single time you click on a potential relative it tosses up an error that it isn't available and you need to add it manually. Useless. **EDIT: I am not on an older version, as there is no update available. This app is awful. I am not going to email you when you tried to gaslight me into thinking it was my fault that your app is faulty. Work out the bugs and release the update.

Great until my tree reached 3000 relatives. At that size, my tree takes several minutes to load every time I click something, so I switched to the mobile website; in other words, this app needs some work. The service itself is great, and while it leaves a lot to be desired (a bookmarklet, browser extension or app to save websites as sources; full genome sequencing, Hebrew calendar support for anniversaries, bigger DNA clusters) Ancestry is unmatched in the access it provides and I recommend it.

The app is completely useless. Very limited on what you can do and see. Impossible to navigate to view anything. Doesn't update or refresh to show records you've already added. Have to get on the computer to be able to do anything. The Website is the only way I can use ancestry, which is extremely inconvenient. With this company as large as it is, and how much WE PAY!! I would think they could put together a better app than this!

The app is great, but it glitches a lot. For example, photos sometimes like they're uploading but never show in the person's gallery. I can clear a person's hints, and the green leaf still shows even though there's nothing new. PDFs cannot be easily viewed in the app. Don't ask me how many times I've scrolled 200 pages just for the app to glitch and kick me out of the file. The app also doesn't have a way to upload source info - website only.

Update: I did a reinstall and that seems to have solved the issue with the Android version. Works great now. Back to 5 stars. 😊 Used to be ok, now it sucks. Can't scroll, can't expand to other family members, data displays oddly. Claims I need to add family members who are already there. Very disappointed. I use my iPad now.

Every time there's an update I'm not getting the notifications that there has been updates. I have to wait until my app breaks and I can't load anything to then go find the app in the app store and manually download it. not sure why...Same issue as I had before. One minute all my trees are available, the next minute none of them are loading. New bug: Can't save alternative info as alternative anymore. Even checked, it still saves over the original.

I won't lie, they've done a pretty good job improving this app in terms of UI and hint management. However, there are some major flaws that prevent me from recommending this to anyone. The most significant issue is the constant failure to sync with the website. I can add about 50 people in one day, but none of them will register on the app until you sign out and back in. Very tedious and inconvenient. Also, photos usually display incorrectly in the "leaf" shapes for people. Definitely needs work

It is very difficult to accomplish anything on their app without having to pay more for some type of "subscription". This is after I paid for the kit and DNA test, this seems like bait and switch tatics to me. I paid for their stuff now I can't use it without paying them more, MUCH MORE!! Now I'm left wishing I never participated in all of this mess. SO FRUSTRATING!!

Update--reached out to support for the issue I've described here, and though they haven't been able to replicate the issue, they've been very responsive so kudos for that!! Seems to be buggy now that I've updated the app. Doesn't load the tree, makes it seem like there are 0 people in my tree (I have just over 5,000 in my main tree alone). Once I try accessing the tree, the refresh icon (whatever it's called) just keeps circling and circling and won't let me do anything else in the app.

Info on a family member wouldn't update properly no matter how many times I tried; deleted it to manually reenter everything, and now I've lost every single family member farther up the tree from that member. Can't get it back because everything is locked behind a paywall now. Every little thing is subscription locked and those aren't cheap!!!! Sorry, not paying these ridiculous prices just to do relatively basic research. Fix the app at the very least.

Used to be useful. They ruined it when they made it so you cannot navigate to the person's information and gallery by clicking on the person. Instead, clicking on the person in the tree takes you to a screen that only offers you the option to research further. You know, sometimes, I just want to see the people and read the information I already have. It is awful now. Useless, and I am afraid of their next great idea.

I dislike the new update in the app. Before, you could click on a family member to see the siblings etc & now, you have to use the search button then click on even more items/tabs (each seperately like name,birth/death,marriage) to see their information instead of just clicking on their name to see all info. Please change it back . This deters me from using the app daily as it isn't as easy to navigate.

it's good if you just want to look at your DNA regions/percentages and then nothing else , but quite often the app crashes. I just got updated information, it said "new!" I clicked it, CRASH. So often it will crash, freeze, or just not do what I'm wanting. Its terribly frustrating trying to build your tree and have to keep closing and reopening the app and find where you were working again over and over. and ya'll want me to pay for a subscription but can't even have your app in working order.

Very frustrating to use. UI is not intuitive and you are super limited unless you pay for the highest subscription. I joined so I can view a tree that my mom has done a significant amount of work on. I was hoping I could 'link' myself to that tree but I can't even view it, even after upgrading to the first tier of the paid subscription. Upgraded my subscription package to view traits, and now I can't even see the previous free traits! The page won't load anything.

It's not really easy to use the app. It's slow, and it always bugs out to where I lose my place while deep diving existing hints. I'd recommend more filters being added to the search and sorting by name, such as: alphabetically, by family group (paternal/maternal), century/decade born, etc. This would save a lot of time and make me consider resubscribing.

Gotta say it: Clunky app for a research database. Given test kit and membership prices, one would think the app would have much more visual appeal and better navigability. Membership too expensive for a hobbyist w/no perks for those who have spent thousands on memberships at both tiers. That said.. I've spent countless hours on the app and on the website (since 2011). I only subscribe for a month if I know I'll have the time to truly get my $ worth. This has been bothering me for a long time.

The DNA analysis used to include the parent breakdown, but they have since locked that behind a subscription wall. That seems a little messed up, as in many cases, the one-time DNA analysis service was already purchased when that was included, before it became a subscription-based feature. This means that now, information that you used to have can't be accessed again without paying more. In light of this, I would be wary of Ancestry; more information may become subscription-based over time.

Prior to the most recent update, DNA results were more detailed and less vague. Before, it showed that I was not only German but specifically Volga German and now it doesn't show the specifics. I also question the accuracy of the updated results as the percentages of Scottish and German, which were significantly different, were flip-flopped. Also, the app crashed after a few minutes of working on my family tree and I have to relaunch.

Features that were included when I purchased the test are quickly being removed and hidden behind a paywall. Lots of bugs and random crashes now, too. I'm also constantly being forced to log in when launching the app. I've gone from using the app for an hour, or so, nearly every day, to perhaps twenty minutes a week. Very disappointing.

For some reason, now requires me to enable two-step verification to see matches. I did not want to give more of my information. Enabled it anyway so I can use the service I paid for. But it still tells me that I have to enable it. Works fine on the website, but issue persists on the app. No easy way to contact for help, just a faq. You can email them DIRECTLY, but without a system in place, I would have to go back and forth with my personal email to send account info without a ticket number.