Contacting DNA Matches Now Free on MyHeritage.com

https://blog.myheritage.com/2018/01/contacting-dna-matches-is-now-free/?utm_campaign=MyHeritage%20Friends%3A%20February%202018&utm_source=email

It must be almost #RootsTech time. MyHeritage is announcing new programs right and left. In a blog post dated January 30, 2018 entitled, "Contacting DNA Matches is Now Free," MyHeritage explained as follows:

In response to popular demand, Contacting DNA Matches is now available to all MyHeritage DNA users for free. This remains free for people who uploaded DNA data to MyHeritage, and, for the first time, is also free to users with MyHeritage DNA kits who do not have a subscription plan. We are making this free because this has been a frequent request by our users. In addition, we believe it will benefit the community because more people will be contacting their DNA Matches, resulting in more family reunions, more discoveries, and increased collaboration. 

On the DNA Matches list, click on the “Contact” button for any DNA Match to send a message. If the DNA Match is not the manager of his or her own DNA kit, you have the option to send a message either to the DNA Match or to the person who manages their kit.

By doing this, MyHeritage has effectively openned up their DNA testing results to all 93 million of their users, even those without data subscription plans. This should allow, in a dramatic way, more people to interact and find connections. It also increases the possibility of finding unknown birth parents and other close relatives and then being able to contact them. Here is some more explanation about how this works.

When you send someone a message, they will receive an email from MyHeritage to read your message through the MyHeritage inbox; your email address will not be exposed to them. It is free for the recipient of a message to view it and free to respond. However, remember that some people ignore email or may decide not to respond intentionally! If you do not receive a response, and you believe that the recipient would be highly interested in your message, you can send them another message later, or you can try looking them up using their name on websites like Facebook and LinkedIn. 

Please note that contacting DNA Matches has been made free, but contacting users through some other contexts (e.g., Smart Matches) still requires a subscription.

I am sure there is a lot more to come.