Uploading your data to Living DNA

At Living DNA we’re dedicated to helping you to explore your genetic heritage and gain valuable wellbeing insights, but did you know that there’s more than one way to send us your DNA?

The first way is to purchase a kit and send us a swab, but if you’ve already tested your DNA with another service, you can easily upload your raw data to us and reveal more about your DNA.

Let’s learn more about how to upload your raw data to us, join our community, and encourage your friends and family to do the same!

What does “uploading” actually mean?

Let’s start at the beginning.

When you upload a file to a website, you’re essentially sending a copy of it from your computer (or phone, or tablet), to another one. The opposite process - taking a copy of a file from another computer - is called downloading.

In both cases, there’s a copy of the file on both computers so nothing is deleted or moved just by uploading or downloading. It's almost like sending a digital photocopy that can be sent over and over again, without the loss of clarity you’d see with a photocopy of a photocopy of a photocopy - every single file created through up or downloading will be completely identical to the original.

Why upload to Living DNA?

By uploading your existing raw DNA data, you can unlock detailed information without needing to buy a new testing kit, or pay for the testing process again. You already have all the data you need in one helpful file that you can download from the company you tested with.

Once you’ve successfully uploaded your data, there you have access to some free results through Living DNA, and you can purchase upgrades to receive even more. Every upgrade is available individually, meaning that you can create a highly personalised genetic analysis spanning whatever insights you would like about your ancestry, wellbeing, and links to ancient populations.

Discover the historical and geographical context of your lineage and how your ancestors moved through different regions, and how their genes still influence your body today.

How to Upload your DNA Data

Uploading to Living DNA is easy to do, and all you need is your raw data file from another supplier. Just make sure it’s Build 37 autosomal data - you should be able to confirm this with the other supplier before you download it.

Once you have your file, create or log into your Living DNA account at my.livingdna.com, then select "Upload DNA" and follow the instructions on screen to enter your details to create a new profile.

Once your DNA has finished processing - within 48 hours of the upload - the world of DNA will be your oyster! There are so many options available, and we’ve got an exciting schedule ahead with new features in planning. For full upload instructions, please click here for a helpful guide on our support centre.

What are the options?

There’s a lot that you can do once your upload is complete. It all depends on what you’d like to find out!

Completely for free, you will have access to Family Matching, and a basic level of Recent Ancestry results. This will allow you to find out the continent or larger region your recent ancestors have been from, and begin reaching out to relatives you may not know yet with our messaging service.

Recent Ancestry is a great place to start looking at upgrading your profile. With our Recent Ancestry upgrade you can go from just a continent to the full ancestry breakdown covering every region we offer.

Upgrading to Recent Ancestry will also unlock new tools in Family Matching, giving you access to our Shared Maps feature which will let you see which regions are in your matches’ Recent Ancestry results.

If you’re interested in your links to more ancient peoples, you can choose from our Neanderthal and Denisovan, Viking, or Classical (Greek, Roman, and Egyptian) upgrades. Each one will explore the DNA you share with these ancient populations, and what that means for you today.

Or perhaps your interests lie more with fitness and nutrition? Our Wellbeing upgrade offers insights into your genetic predispositions towards nutritional needs and fitness traits. Get personalised recommendations to optimise your well being based on your genetic profile.

Every report we offer is available to you when you upload (except motherline and fatherline), so you can make the most of your raw data.

What files do Living DNA accept?

We do have some restrictions on what you can send us, to make sure we can offer you the best possible results.

We ask that you only upload data from a select few sites. This is because our tech team has worked very hard behind the scenes to make sure our algorithm recognises their formatting. If you have a raw data file from another site, we can’t guarantee that we will be able to analyse it.

The sites we accept data from are:

• AncestryDNA

• 23AndMe

• MyHeritage

• FamilyTreeDNA (family finder)

• Gene by Gene

• Genographic (Geno 2.0)

It’s also important to check that the file you have is in the correct format. Often the easiest way to do this is to check the file extension - the 3 letters after the ‘.’ at the end of the file name. We can only accept files that end in:

• .TXT

• .CSV

• .ZIP

• .GZ

If your file has different letters at the end, please ask the support team at the company you’re downloading from for help. Remember that changing the letters by renaming the file won’t work.

Can I upload my Living DNA file?

We sometimes spot files in the upload queue that are copies of raw data downloaded from Living DNA. While it might seem like we’d be able to process these easily, we actually don’t run them through the analysis when they’re uploaded to us.

Because you already have results from your Living DNA test, we shouldn’t need to upload your data for more information - we can already provide you with everything you need from the original test.

The most common reason we’ve seen our customers uploading Living DNA files to us is that a friend or relative has provided the file. In this instance, you can get access to someone else’s profile with their permission without an upload - please click here for more information.

Start your journey today

Uploading your raw data to Living DNA opens up a world of discovery, whether you’d like to uncover your Recent Ancestry, gain insights into your wellbeing, or connect with family, Living DNA provides all the tools you need. Join us today and encourage your friends and family to do the same, and for the month of July each upgrade will give you a chance to win!

For the whole month of July, each upgrade purchase will enter you into a competition to win a Living DNA package worth £70. *

*Ts & Cs apply

Feel free to share this post with your friends and family to spread the word.

For any questions or assistance with the upload process, contact our friendly support team at help@livingdna.com, and check out the rest of our blog posts to find out more about Living DNA and our upgrades.