How to Remove Yourself from Ancestry

DeleteMe’s Ancestry Review

Ancestry.com is a genealogy website that posts personal information online. To remove yourself from Ancestry, you must perform their online opt-out process and confirm your request over email. Your account will be deleted immediately.

Speed: 1, Immediate	Difficulty: 2, Easy

These screenshots were taken directly from the ‘Deleting Your Ancestry Account’ page on Ancestry.com.

1. Go to ancestry.com/secure/account/delete, and sign in to your ancestry account with your email and password.  

2. It will list the subscriptions that will be deleted with your account. Check the box.

3. It will list the tree(s) that will be deleted with your account. Check the box.

4. Then, it will confirm that your DNA testing results will be deleted. Check the boxes and click ‘Next step’.

5. Next, in the pop up box, click ‘Next step’. This will be consenting to the deletion of your account. After this, you will not be able to access your account or undo the deletion, and all of your personal data will be deleted within 30 days. Do not close the box, as you will need to enter a verification code from your email.

6. Open your email in a new tab, where you will find an email with a verification code. The code expires after eight hours, so it’s best to continue with the process right away. Copy the code.

7. Paste the code into the verification box and click ‘Delete account’.

8. You will receive a final email confirming the deletion of your account.

If you want to keep your account, you can just delete your DNA results without deleting your account. We would recommend staying anonymous by putting false information instead of your real personal details. Furthermore, make sure that all of your information is private, and not being shared with a family tree.

Ancestry also owns a data broker site called Rootsweb. Read our removal guide here: How to remove yourself from Rootsweb