There's something powerful about discovering where you come from. The moment you find a great-grandparent's name, see a photo of a relative you never knew, or trace your family's migration across continents. It's not just about names and dates. It's about stories. It's about understanding yourself through the people who made you.
MyHeritage has become one of the world's leading platforms for family history, with tens of millions of users and billions of historical records . Whether you're just starting out or you've been researching for years, it offers tools that make tracing your family tree accessible, exciting, and deeply personal.
And the best part? You can try it free.
This guide will walk you through everything you need to know about using MyHeritage to trace your family tree, from getting started to using DNA testing and AI-powered tools that bring your ancestors to life.
Step 1: Setting Up Your Free account
Creating Your Account
Go to MyHeritage and create a free account. The process takes less than a minute. You'll need an email address and a password. Once registered, you're ready to start building .
You can click the button below to get started.
Adding Yourself and Your Family
From the main menu, select "Family Tree" and begin adding your details. Then add your parents, grandparents, and anyone else you know. Don't worry if you have gaps. That's what the research is for .
When you don't have information for a field, simply select "Done" and MyHeritage will set up your tree with what you have. You can always add more later.
Understanding the Color Coding
MyHeritage uses a helpful color-coding system for each of your four grandparent branches :
- Green: Your father's father
- Blue: Your father's mother
- Pink: Your mother's father
- Orange: Your mother's mother
This visual system helps you orient yourself when you've worked back many generations. You'll always know which branch of the family you're looking at.
Country Coding Flags
A useful free feature is Country Coding, which adds small circular flags to your tree showing the country associated with each ancestor . To enable it:
- Select the globe icon in Family View
- Choose "Enable Country Codes"
- By default, flags show birth locations, but you can adjust this to show death or burial locations instead
This creates a quick visual way to see migration patterns across generations. When borders have changed over time, MyHeritage uses geolocation data to display the relevant modern-day country.
Step 2: Bringing Photos to Life
One of MyHeritage's most beloved features is its AI-powered photo tools. These bring family history out of dusty albums and into vivid, moving experiences.
Deep Nostalgia™
This groundbreaking technology animates faces in historical photos, making them blink, turn their heads, and smile. It's both magical and emotional to see ancestors move for the first time .
The feature uses AI to recreate natural movement while maintaining historical accuracy. Users report crying the first time they see a great-grandparent come to life.
Photo Colorization and Enhancement
MyHeritage can automatically colorize black and white photos, making the past feel more present. The Photo Enhancer brings blurry faces into focus, and Photo Repair fixes scratches and damage .
LiveMemory™
This new feature turns photos into AI-powered video clips. Upload multiple photos, and LiveMemory creates an animated video that brings your memories to life, perfect for sharing with family .
Step 3: Navigating the MyHeritage App
The MyHeritage mobile app brings all these features to your phone. Available on both Google Play and the App Store, it has earned impressive ratings with 4.4 stars from over 239,000 reviews on Google Play .
What the App Does
- Syncs with your website family tree automatically
- Allows tree building and record searching on the go
- Provides access to Smart Matches and Record Matches
- Includes all photo tools (colorization, enhancement, animation)
- Shows DNA results
Step 4: Sharing Your Discoveries
Genealogy is richer when shared with family.
Inviting Family Members
To invite relatives to view or contribute to your tree :
- Select "Home" from the main menu
- Choose "Invite family" from the drop-down
- Enter email addresses for people on your tree
- Set permission levels (view only, edit, or full management)
User Experiences: What People Are Saying
MyHeritage has earned an impressive 4.3 out of 5 stars on Trustpilot, with 59% of reviewers awarding five stars . Here's what actual users report.
Positive Experiences:
"Found so much more information about my family history."
"Totally enjoying the process of finding my relatives."
"So happy with this site, it was a gift from my son and I have learned loads. Easy to use and it helps with smart matches etc."
A Groupon reviewer shared: "I bought one for my son and one for myself, amazing deal! I have ancestry but wanted to do one with my son. Having the trial subscription was really nice too, because now I can see what it's like to use theirs instead of ancestry. This one is cheaper and I like it so much better than ancestry. Would definitely recommend!"
Final Thoughts
Tracing your family tree is more than a hobby. It's a journey into who you are. The names you discover become people with stories, struggles, and triumphs. The places they lived become real. The choices they made echo through generations to you.
MyHeritage makes this journey accessible. With billions of records, millions of potential relatives, and tools that bring the past to life, it opens doors that were once closed. The 30-day free trial with a DNA kit gives you a risk-free way to explore whether this journey is for you.
One reviewer captured the feeling perfectly: "MyHeritage is working when I'm not. Amazed at the results" .
The past is waiting. Start exploring.
Start your family history journey: