Ancestry SideView identifies which parent your genetics come from

Ancestry - SideView

Ancestry has unveiled a new technological innovation called SideView, designed to help you find out how much of your genetics comes from different sides of your family.

Billed as being first-of-its-kind technology, Ancestry claims to be able to provide the insight provided without needing a test from a parent. This comes off the back of more than 20 million people contributing to Ancestry’s consumer DNA network.

With SideView, Ancestry is able to measure what DNA you share with relatives in the AncestryDNA database, splitting the results into parental sides. For 90% of AncestryDNA customers, the results are reportedly 95% accurate.

In practice, SideView should be able to inform you which side of the family you inherited different ethnicities from. According to Brian Donnelly, Senior Vice President and General Manager of AncestryDNA, this information has been a popular request.

“Understanding ethnicity and community inheritance in more detail has been the number one request from Ancestry customers for years,” Donnelly said. “…we learned that one in three people don’t feel knowledgeable about their family history and origins and want to learn more.”

Brian Donnelly, Senior Vice President and General Manager of AncestryDNA

SideView works by identifying where sections of DNA overlap with relative matches, which is repeated across different sections to figure out which parts of your DNA were inherited from where.

As the SideView technology progresses, AncestryDNA users will be able to view DNA matches by parental side, including community and ancestral journey patterns for each side, and learn more about inherited DNA.

The ethnicity inheritance aspect of SideView is available now for all AncestryDNA users. Scientists from Ancestry published an academic paper on the technology with all the scientific details.

Ancestry SideView ethnicity

It’s interesting technology and will sate the curiosity of family historians and ancestry enthusiasts. It is worth mentioning, however, that several recent instances causing data privacy concerns have given people pause for thought in regards to home DNA kits. In short: do your research beforehand to ensure you’re comfortable with providing your genetic history over to companies.

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