How To Upload Raw Ancestry DNA Data | Updated 2025

You ordered an AncestryDNA kit, sent in your sample, and received your results. You may have learned something new about your family history, but if you want to do more with your Ancestry raw DNA, Sequencing offers apps that can help you explore your health, fitness, nutrition, and ancestry in more depth.

Why upload your raw DNA data from AncestryDNA

AncestryDNA gives you ethnicity estimates from a genotyping test, which reads selected spots across your DNA. Once you have that raw data file, there is a lot more you can do with it. By uploading it to Sequencing, you can run additional ancestry, health, fitness, and nutrition apps from the Partner Marketplace, all built on genomics research, using the data you already have.

How to download your raw AncestryDNA data

The first step is to download your raw DNA file from your Ancestry account:

1. Sign in to your account on AncestryDNA.
2. Open Settings from the DNA results area.
3. Find the option to download your raw DNA data.
4. Enter your Ancestry password and check the consent box. Ancestry will email the address on your account with a confirmation link.
5. Open that email and click the button to confirm the download.
6. On the page that opens, start the download. Your AncestryDNA file will save to your computer as a .zip file.

If your Ancestry account holds data for more than one person, repeat these steps for each. Files downloaded from Ancestry all share the same default filename, so open each .zip and rename the file inside with the name of the person it belongs to, right after you download it. Renaming immediately is the easiest way to keep track of which file is whose.

How to upload your raw AncestryDNA data

Once the file is on your computer, uploading it to Sequencing is straightforward:

1. Go to the Sequencing Upload Center.
2. Choose the option to upload from your computer and select the AncestryDNA file you downloaded.
3. Start the upload.

It may take a short time for the file to finish processing and appear in your account.

What to do next

The Partner Marketplace offers free and paid apps that analyze genetic data across categories including health, ancestry, and nutrition. Your AncestryDNA data is compatible with apps across these categories. Here are a couple of ancestry apps to start with.

Genetic Ancestry with Haplogroups

Genetic Ancestry with Haplogroups, by Complete Genome Science, combines haplogroup and haplotype analysis with a detailed admixture analysis. It uses your mitochondrial DNA to determine your maternal haplogroups and, for males, Y chromosome data to determine paternal haplogroups. It is a good way to go deeper than a basic ethnicity estimate.

Explore more ancestry apps

The Ancestry category in the Partner Marketplace includes several other options, such as a World Ancestry Report, an Ancestry Explorer, and a Mitochondrial Ancestry report, so you can compare different approaches to interpreting your heritage. You can browse the full set in the Partner Marketplace.

Keep learning about your DNA

The Sequencing Education Center is a good place to keep up with DNA research and health genomics, with new articles added regularly. For example, did you know your genes can influence how you respond to certain medications? The Education Center explains topics like this in plain language.