Frequently asked questions

The short version: qpAdm takes your raw DNA file and returns a formally tested ancestry model with p-values and standard errors. Global25 takes coordinates you already have and returns distances, admixture models and a PCA. If you only have a raw DNA file, you want the first one.

• What does Ancestrify actually offer?

  Two ancestry products. qpAdm (€49.90) takes your raw DNA export and returns a formal admixture model tested against the Allen Ancient DNA Resource, with p-values, standard errors and z-scores. Global25 (€39.90) takes Global25 coordinates you already have and returns distances, admixture models and a PCA across six eras. Both are one-time payments with no subscription.

• What is the difference between qpAdm and Global25 or nMonte percentages?

  Global25 and nMonte percentages are coordinate-fitting estimates: your coordinate is fitted as a weighted mixture of reference coordinates, and some mixture always fits best, whether or not it is historically sensible. qpAdm uses allele-frequency statistics and outgroup populations, and produces a p-value — so a proposed model can be rejected as incompatible with the data. Neither method can prove descent from a named ancient population; qpAdm is the one that can tell you a model does not work.

• Can I upload my raw DNA file?

  Yes, for the qpAdm product. We accept raw-data exports from the major consumer testing companies — 23andMe, AncestryDNA, MyHeritage, FamilyTreeDNA and similar — as .txt, .csv or .zip files up to 50 MB. Files are validated by their actual content rather than by vendor name, so exports following the usual microarray text layout work even where the company is not listed.

• Do you generate Global25 coordinates from raw DNA?

  No. Our Global25 product requires coordinates you already have and rejects raw DNA uploads. Raw DNA goes to the qpAdm product instead.

• Can I run qpAdm models myself?

  No. qpAdm models on Ancestrify are built and reviewed by a scientist before they are published to your report — that is a deliberate design choice, because automated model rotation has a high false-discovery rate. Our self-service Admixture Lab is a Global25 coordinate workspace for distances and mixture modelling; it does not run qpAdm, qpWave, f3 or f4.

• Which reference dataset do you use?

  For qpAdm, the Allen Ancient DNA Resource (AADR) v66 — roughly 23,265 samples across roughly 6,015 distinct population labels — merged against your own genotypes on our infrastructure. For Global25, a curated set of 1,535 populations drawn from 30,386 individual samples.

• Which statistics do I receive?

  A qpAdm report gives you the model's p-value per era, and for every source population its weight, standard error and z-score, plus the right-population set used. A Global25 report gives you ranked distances, admixture proportions with a fit distance, and a PCA scatter of individual samples.

• How long does it take?

  Global25 results are computed automatically and arrive shortly after checkout, after a short holding period that the optional fast-compute add-on removes. qpAdm takes longer by design: merging your genotypes against the AADR panel is a heavy job, and a scientist then builds and checks your model before publishing it.

• What do I receive besides the on-screen report?

  Cinematic ancestry videos rendered on our own servers at 1440x2560 and 60 fps — not encoded on your phone — and shareable image cards in three formats. There is no PDF report.

• Where is my genetic data stored, and under which jurisdiction?

  On infrastructure in the European Union — Germany and Finland — under GDPR. Your raw genetic file is processed only for your own analysis, you can delete it at any time, and both full account deletion and a machine-readable data export are self-service. We do not sell genotype data.

• Do you offer a mobile app?

  No. Ancestrify is web-only and works in a phone browser.

• Is a haplogroup included?

  Every account includes a free Y-DNA clade finder that reads a raw DNA export or VCF and returns a paternal haplogroup against the YFull tree. On a qpAdm report, the paternal haplogroup can also be added as a purchased section.