Downloading Raw DNA From MyHeritage and FamilyTreeDNA

If you tested with MyHeritage or FamilyTreeDNA, your raw genotype data is yours to export, just as it is with the larger consumer services. Both provide a way to download a plain text file of your results, and once you have it, you can analyze it on your own device without ever handing it back to a website.

The same idea, two interfaces

Underneath their different websites, both services store the same fundamental thing: a table of your genotypes at a curated set of positions. The download feature simply lets you take that table with you. The exact menus differ between the two providers and change over time, so the steps below describe the shape of the process rather than exact labels.

The one constant across both is an identity check. Because a raw DNA file is sensitive, each service confirms it is really you before releasing the data, usually through your account password and sometimes an emailed link.

Downloading from MyHeritage

1. Sign in to your MyHeritage account in a browser.
2. Open your DNA settings - the section that manages your kit and results.
3. Look for the option to manage or export your raw DNA data.
4. Confirm your identity when prompted, typically with your password and an email confirmation.
5. Download the resulting text file.

Downloading from FamilyTreeDNA

1. Sign in to your FamilyTreeDNA account.
2. Go to the area that handles your autosomal DNA results and data.
3. Find the option to download or export your raw data.
4. Verify your identity if asked.
5. Download the file to a private location.

In both cases, if you cannot immediately find the export link, the account settings or help documentation will point to its current home. Providers relocate these controls from time to time, so the wording you see may not match exactly.

What the files look like

The files you receive from either service resemble other consumer exports: a plain text table with a commented header followed by rows of variants. Each row carries a variant identifier, its chromosome, its position, and your genotype. Some services split the two alleles into separate columns; others join them. A typical row looks something like this:

rs4988235	2	136608646	GG

Because the layout is so similar across providers, the same understanding carries over. Our tour of a raw file line by line explains every column, and if you have files from more than one service, our guide to why different services give different ancestry results is useful context for why the same DNA can produce different reports.

One detail worth checking in each file’s header is the genome build, since it determines what the position numbers mean. If you plan to line up variants across files from different providers, confirming they share a build - or converting between them - avoids confusion.

Analyze locally, without re-uploading

Here is the point that makes downloading worthwhile: once the file is on your device, you can analyze it locally and never re-upload it. Many people assume that to explore their DNA they must send it to yet another website. You do not. A raw file is a small text table, and modern tools can read and interpret it entirely in your browser.

That means you can:

• Understand how it works first with on-device DNA analysis.
• Load your file and start exploring at the dashboard.
• Keep everything private, since your genome never leaves your machine.

For the other major providers, our companion guides cover downloading 23andMe raw data and downloading AncestryDNA raw data, so whichever services you have tested with, you can gather your own copies in one place.

Store your copies with care

Once you have exports from one or more providers, treat them as the sensitive files they are: keep them in a private or encrypted location, avoid casual email and chat attachments, and label each with its provider and build so you can tell them apart later.

This guide is educational and is not medical or legal advice.