Guides
Practical how-tos: getting your raw file, understanding its format, and picking where it goes.
You got your AncestryDNA results. Here's what most people never find out
The ethnicity pie chart is the least interesting thing you paid for. What the percentages actually mean, and the five things worth doing next, including the raw file almost nobody downloads.
Best DNA upload sites: where to upload your raw DNA data in 2026
You already paid for the test. Here is an honest map of where that raw file is worth uploading in 2026, what each site does well, what it costs, and what happens to your data.
You downloaded your raw DNA file. Now what?
Inside the zip from 23andMe or AncestryDNA is a 600,000-row text table. How to read a line of it, the three traps to know about, and what the file is actually good for.
VCF files explained: how to open one and what's actually inside
Got a .vcf from a sequencing provider, a clinical lab, or Genotek? It is plain text, and ten minutes of orientation makes it readable. Format, genotypes, and what to do with it.
Inside your 23andMe raw data file: format, columns, and the weird bits
What the genome_*.txt file actually contains: the four columns, the double-dash no-calls, the i-numbered markers, and the strand detail that trips up everyone who googles their letters.
Curious what your DNA says?
Your browser reads your raw DNA file right on your device, so the file itself never leaves it. Out comes a personalized report you can read yourself or hand to your AI.
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