Recently, CRI Genetics got their hands slapped badly by the Federal Trade Commission, to the tune of $700,000, and barred from continuing several deceptive practices.
Please read the FTC press release, here and the actual 40-page FTC report detailing CRI’s deceptive activities, here.
You can read the Better Business Bureau string of complaints about the same things at CRI, here.
The range and magnitude of CRI’s misrepresentation to customers and potential customers to convince them to purchase DNA tests is astounding.
I’ve known for a very long time that CRI was “shady,” at best, and have discouraged people from testing there.
Tall Tales
You might ask yourself why CRI is so successful at selling these tall tales.
The answer is that people believe what they are told, and CRI “appears” to give you so much more than the other testing companies. CRI also spams the news waves with “testimonials,” ads, and articles about their successes. For example, google “CRI genetics oldest DNA in America.”
Any extraordinary claim should be a huge red flag. As genealogists, we know that extraordinary claims require extraordinary scrutiny and extraordinary confirming evidence.
For example, a YouTube video was shown in my feed a couple years ago where CRI genetics claimed to be able to trace one’s ancestry back 52 generations.
Yes, 52. That’s not a typo.
Apparently, the FTC noticed the same thing because they mention exactly that and a whole lot more in their press release. Here’s a snippet:
The complaint charges that CRI violated the FTC Act, California’s Unfair Competition Law, Business and Professions Code, and the state’s False Advertising Law, Business and Professions code in several ways. First, CRI allegedly made false claims on its websites and social media that its ancestry reports were more accurate and detailed than other major DNA testing companies, such as Ancestry DNA and 23andMe.
The agencies say that CRI also misrepresented that its ancestry testing reports would show consumers exactly where their relatives are from and when they were there dating back 50 plus generations, with an accuracy rate of more than 90 percent. The company ran ads featuring a prominent genetic scientist who developed CRI’s algorithm for matching DNA, which it falsely claimed was patented, according to the complaint.
When customers receive results from CRI, regardless of how inaccurate they are, customers LIKE what they are told. From the customer’s perspective, they received more than from reputable companies.
I can’t tell you how many people have been upset with me and others when we explain after the fact that, no, they do NOT have whatever CRI was claiming.
Let me give you an example.
Let’s say that CRI says they can track your DNA 17,000 years in the past. What CRI doesn’t say is that they are referring to either a mitochondrial DNA or a Y-DNA base-level or high-level haplogroup. Genealogists can get that exact same thing PLUS matching and a lot more if they take mitochondrial or Y DNA tests. With some vendors, (FamilyTreeDNA and 23andMe), they can obtain their extracted haplogroups from autosomal tests.
For Y DNA and mitochondrial tests, 17,000 years is NOT genealogically useful, even though it might make the tester feel “special,” depending on how CRI presents the information. The full sequence mitochondrial DNA test and the Big Y-700 both get you a LOT closer in time than 20,000 years, both provide matching, and both are useful genealogically.
I will also say that some shady companies pay people for positive reviews, testimonials, and inclusion in articles. This is exactly why I do not accept paid advertising or include any vendor’s product for pay, although I do include affiliate links for some companies that I deem to be reputable. All of my affiliate links are listed at the bottom of every article, so you never have to wonder. Almost every company offers affiliate links, but I only include companies that I use and trust, regardless of whether or not they offer affiliate programs.
Whenever I see one of the CRI testimonial videos, I wonder how much the person was paid.
Sometimes Older is Not Better
Sometimes, “older” is actually not “better.” It depends on the context. I have my father’s Y DNA back into the 1700s and my own mitochondrial DNA into Germany in the 1600s and 1700s. I can also track both back further in time using partial or base-level haplogroups, and have.
Base-level haplogroups give much “older” results than more refined haplogroups. For example, mitochondrial haplogroup J1 is about 27,000 years old, J1c, its subgroup, is about 13,000 years old, J1c2 is about 9700 years old, and J1c2f is about 2000 years old, according to Behar’s 2012 paper. J1 is not a “better” haplogroup than J1c2f – certainly not for genealogy.
Using that same logic, that older is better, forget about 17,000 years – we can take you back all the way to Y-line Adam and mitochondrial Eve from whom we all descend.
I wrote about my mitochondrial DNA lineage, here, and my father’s Y-DNA, here and here.
Why Don’t Influencers Say More?
You might be asking yourself why bloggers and influencers haven’t specifically called CRI (and others) out.
The answer is litigation.
No one wants to get sued. Regardless of whether you can “win” or not, the legal fees are exorbitant, and yes, at least one shady company (not CRI) has a history of litigation.
So, when we provide a list of reputable companies, trust us.
When we tell you that we “don’t recommend” a different company, trust us. We don’t necessarily know who “you” are, so we often don’t feel comfortable saying more.
Not every major influencer likes every company, but if you find one company consistently omitted from everyone’s recommendations – that’s a huge red flag and should cause you to wonder why. It’s not always because they are shady, but it’s likely not a random omission.
If you find a company omitted from my blog articles, trust me. You can also ask about the company, and if I say I don’t recommend them, trust that there’s a good reason.
In essence, trust me as a genealogist. If there was ANY COMPANY anyplace that could responsibly track my ancestry 50+ generations, or 17,000 years as they claimed – I’d absolutely be the first person in line and you would know about it immediately.
Tracking a base-level haplogroup, and tracking my “ancestry” are two entirely different things.
Fortunately, I know what CRI isn’t saying, and how they are trying to bait customers. But others clearly don’t, and this type of behavior gives the entire industry a black eye.
The sad part is that CRI is still out there operating. I’m seeing ads on YouTube, ostensibly as happy customers, and on FaceBook as well.
The articles are still out there too. The FTC report stated that CRI’s gross revenue from 2017-2021 was “as much as 42.8 million,” so maybe a $700,000 fine truly was just a slap on the wrist.
Caveat emptor – buyer beware.
Recommended DNA Testing Companies
I recommend staying with the following testing companies, listed in alphabetical order:
- 23andMe – includes base-level haplogroups (some features currently on pause)
- Ancestry
- FamilyTreeDNA – Family Finder (autosomal including mid-range Y DNA haplogroup) plus Y DNA comprehensive and mitochondrial DNA tests
- MyHeritage
These DNA testing companies are reputable. All provide autosomal tests, including matching and advanced tools. Each one has unique strengths and different business models.
This list does not include or extend to third-party tools, just direct DNA testing companies.
The holiday sales are in full swing, and it’s a great time to purchase a DNA test from one or all of these reputable companies.
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DNA Purchases and Free Uploads
- FamilyTreeDNA – Y, mitochondrial and autosomal DNA testing
- MyHeritage DNA – Autosomal DNA test
- MyHeritage FREE DNA file upload – Upload your DNA file from other vendors free
- AncestryDNA – Autosomal DNA test
- AncestryDNA Plus Traits
- 23andMe Ancestry – Autosomal DNA only, no Health
- 23andMe Ancestry Plus Health
Genealogy Products and Services
- MyHeritage FREE Tree Builder – Genealogy software for your computer
- MyHeritage Subscription with Free Trial
- Legacy Family Tree Webinars – Genealogy and DNA classes, subscription-based, some free
- Legacy Family Tree Software – Genealogy software for your computer
- Newspapers.com – Search newspapers for your ancestors
- NewspaperArchive – Search different newspapers for your ancestors
My Book
- DNA for Native American Genealogy – by Roberta Estes, for those ordering the e-book from anyplace, or paperback within the United States
- DNA for Native American Genealogy – for those ordering the paperback outside the US
Genealogy Books
- Genealogical.com – Lots of wonderful genealogy research books
- American Ancestors – Wonderful selection of genealogy books
Genealogy Research
- Legacy Tree Genealogists – Professional genealogy research
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In all areas, folks underestimate the value of expertise and experience and don’t know how to identify it when it’s available. Education systems need to take this on more aggressively.
Great post–I’ve hard to warn a few folks about CRI’s fluff. But I am curious why you don’t mention LivingDNA. While they leave much to be desired (e.g., usable family trees and ability to search matches for specific haplogroups), they at least have a chromosome browser and their Y and mtDNA haplogroups are quite good considering the low cost (my paternal goes down to a group dated 600-800 CE which helps exclude lots of false positives compared to the “R-M269” result that a basic 37 STR test provides). And they help to identify relatives in the British Isles and Commonwealth which can be quite useful for tracing immigrants to the US. It’s worthy of a recommendation with caveats that it might be hard for novices to use to build a tree out.
I really debated about what to do about LivingDNA, so let me address it here. First, go to this wiki link and read about the controversy and privacy sections. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Living_DNA In that same vein, they teamed with scientists from the POBI project whose policies restrict their data being used by a commercial entity. This has never been addressed by either organization. How did they get that data? Next, keep in mind that they use the Affy chip, which is not compatible with the Illumina chip of any other vendor, making uploads in either direction extremely difficult and like-to-like nearly impossible. Their matching is sometimes unreliable. They have failed to live up to their promises and just recently introduced a chromosome browser which was promised before 2016. I don’t think I have issues with people uploading there, but I would not recommend testing at LivingDNA. As you mentioned, it is restricted for the most part to people from the UK, which could be a benefit.
I think dna chip #1 was compatible with the other websites. Chip #2 is not.
If ftdna could allow #2 for uploads just for the Y tree feature that they are newly implementing. If they could read just the Y on the #2 chip.
They changed from the Illumina chip to the Affy in 2018, so it’s the second chip that’s incompatible.
I was wondering about LivingDNA as well, as I tested there a number of years ago. The V5 chip on 23andMe gave me the same result as LivingDNA, which is much closer to the present.
Hi Jim. See my comment to an earlier question.
I had a lot of hopes for LivingDNA as well. They had a great pitch. Unfortunately, they haven’t been able to deliver on their promises.
I think Livingdna is also a reputable company, but you didn’t mention them.
See my comment to an earlier question, please.
My experience. I ordered my test, the results themselves are fine, a little speculative on some things but no worse than say MyHeritage on that. They did give me 50% German for modern, which is a little high but better than some of the other companies that at some point had me at zero(*Cough* Ancestry and MyHeritage). I have more recent and old Colonial Germanic both sides of my family.
I ordered the “Famous People” test. They gave me what was apparently a Native American A haplo match. Mummy Jaunita and a Mexican actress. I wrote and told them that I had my haplogroup and it was K1b1a not A. They said they were more accurate. I paid $130 to get their maternal test. Result: K1b1a2. That did miff me because they apparently just base the famous people on a minimal number of alleles (I have 199C and 16311C is in A19 … but I have some only found in the K1b1a).
I also originally had an East Asian/Chinese gene in the 4 generations back originally, they said would be recent ancestry, that and some others changed later, that one to 5 generations.
As far as the recent and deeper ancestry, a lot is I think based on the movements of people. A lot of Italian. I do see some occasionally in other tests for my dad, maybe something further back. Just they would go overboard on the ‘most accurate’ thing. Trace back furthest etc. When they apparently are not.
I received a CRI test kit as a Christmas gift last year. My brother in law had done their test and was impressed with all of the ethnicity and famous relatives info. My CRI results were correct only to the point that I am primarily of Irish and German descent, with a ridiculous list of celebrities and a totally wrong list of traits.
I think I will start reading the email I get from them to see if they provide a link to remove my data from their servers and files.
Great article and breakdown on DNA testing companies. Thanks.
And now there’s that notice on MyHeritage when doing chromosomal comparisons: “You’ve reached the maximum daily usage limit for this feature.”
Thanks Roberta. As you did, I strongly suggest that people read the FTC report, and in regards to ethnicity results as commented by several people, to read paragraphs 21 through 25. I take ethnicity test results, at all the companies, with a huge grain of salt, if not a truckload. I understand it is what often sells the most and appeals to everyone’s desire to learn of our origins.
But as the report concludes in paragraph 25, “DNA ancestry tests cannot provide a precise picture of when one’s ancestors lived in a particular geographical area.” In regard to CRI’s test, the report states in paragraph 22, “CRI does not have the largest and most ethnically diverse DNA Reference Datasets by a significant margin compared to several other DNA testing companies in the market.” and in paragraph 24, “consumers who test their DNA with more than one company may find significantly different estimations of their ancestry from each of their tests.”
This last I consider an understatement. Having tested at all the major companies since 2004, I can verify not only do they differ from one to another but also over time within one company, sometimes significantly. These tests may sell the most, but they provide little useful information, especially to those of us searching for ancestors within a genealogical timeframe.
Yes, estimates certainly vary from company to company.
I have yet to hear anyone address the fact, however, that in receiving only half of each parents full complement of DNA, how it is that ethnicity results can be at all accurate in the first place.
There is nothing to say that the half of each parent’s DNA/ethnicity is representative of the whole.
Oh my goodness – what a good thing to know! On the ‘good for me’ side, it was not on your list, so I never gave it a thought!!!!
Thanks Roberta. Great article. I have avoided recommending them as well, but I had missed the news about the FTC decision against them.
Mark.
I sent a strongly worded request to CRI for information about how to get my data deleted. I blind-copied it to Roberta and am giving her permission to post it if she chooses to. I will post follow-up comments when/if I receive a reply.
I received an email reply from the CRI Customer Service Supervisor 12/28/2023 offering me a free one-year “A” Access Membership”. I’m not sure why they think that would make their bogus product any more accurate. They did tell me that to get my kit and personal information deleted, they need my email address and kit number, and that doing so would take 7-10 days.
I will cc my reply to CRI to Roberta and she can do what she wishes with it. I guess it is fortunate for CRI that I do not use social media because if I did, the whole world would know about it. I find false and misleading advertising to be extremely offensive, and when it affects me personally, I have a big mouth and busy keyboard.