How to Download Your MyHeritage Raw DNA Data and Read It for Health (2026)

In your MyHeritage account the export sits under DNA, then Manage DNA kits, then the three-dot menu and Download kit. MyHeritage emails a link that is valid for 24 hours and leads to a .zip holding a text file of more than 600,000 lines. That file is the starting point for a health report produced on your own device, without sending it to anyone.

Before you start#

Five conditions, four of them from MyHeritage's help article How do I download my raw DNA data file or CRAM file from MyHeritage? (checked 13 November 2026):

• Download kit appears only once your DNA results are published.
• Only the manager of the kit can download the file, not the person the kit is assigned to.
• The download works on a computer or an Android device, not on an iPhone or iPad.
• A kit uploaded to MyHeritage from another service cannot be downloaded there: ask the company that tested it (our download guide covers 23andMe, AncestryDNA and four others).
• A new kit has no file yet. The lab takes about 3 to 4 weeks from the day the sample shows as received, 6 to 8 weeks for the DNA 360° kit (MyHeritage on processing times, checked 13 November 2026).

The steps, one by one#

1. Sign in, hover over the DNA tab and choose Manage DNA kits.
2. To the right of the kit, click the three dots and choose Download kit.
3. If the window shows a list called Choose what to download, select DNA data file, then click Continue.
4. Tick the box confirming that you accept responsibility for the downloaded copy and click Continue again. By continuing you accept MyHeritage's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
5. MyHeritage sends an email to the address on your account. Its link is valid for 24 hours; after that, start again from step 1.
6. The link opens a MyHeritage page: enter your password and click Download.
7. Keep the .zip that arrives. The text file inside it is your export.

MyHeritage publishes no delay for the email; it usually arrives within minutes. If nothing comes, check the spam folder and the address on the account. The help article gives one subject line, "Your Specialized genomic CRAM file is ready to download", for both the raw data email and the CRAM email, which looks like a slip in the article: go by the link, not the subject.

When we checked the same article on 14 October 2026 the option was still called Download and there was no list to choose from, so older guides describe a shorter window.

DNA data file or CRAM file: which one you need#

MyHeritage now sequences samples instead of reading them on a chip. Its help centre says that from January 2026 all new samples sent to the lab are processed with whole genome sequencing, at 2x coverage for standard kits, which means each position is read about twice (MyHeritage on the WGS upgrade, checked 13 November 2026). A kit processed this way offers two downloads:

• DNA data file. The standard raw data file, the one other services read and the one this guide is about. A health report needs this file.
• Specialized Genomic CRAM File. The sequencing reads aligned to a reference genome, about 2 GB, downloadable on a computer only and prepared in a few hours, sometimes a day, at no extra cost. MyHeritage says this file "is not intended for medical, health, or legal use". Our generator does not read CRAM files.

Kits processed on the older chip, about 700,000 markers, are not reprocessed and offer only the DNA data file.

What the file looks like#

The help centre describes a tab-delimited text file with a header and five columns (rsID, chromosome, position and the two observed alleles), "about 700,000 pieces of data", reported on the forward strand (How should I interpret my raw DNA data?, dated 21 July 2026, checked 13 November 2026). The exports described by third-party guides, and read by our generator, are a comma-separated file with four columns, RSID, CHROMOSOME, POSITION and RESULT, named MyHeritage_raw_dna_data.csv and running to more than 600,000 rows (Genetic Lifehacks, checked 13 November 2026). A typical line of that CSV, each value in quotes:

"rs4477212","1","82154","AA"

Above the column names sit a dozen comment lines starting with #. In the chip-based exports we have seen they name the chip (GSA) and the reference, build 37. MyHeritage does not say whether the standard file of a sequenced kit lists the same markers as the chip did, so read the header and the row count of yours. Our guide to reading a raw DNA file explains each column.

Check the file before you use it#

• Open it in a text editor, not a spreadsheet. A spreadsheet reformats values and saves the file differently.
• Look at the top. Comment lines starting with #, then the column names, then hundreds of thousands of lines starting with "rs, or rs if your export is tab-delimited.
• Count the lines. A few thousand means an incomplete download: request it again.
• Look for chromosome X, and Y for a male kit. MyHeritage says the raw data file includes Y chromosome data for kits that have it.

Our free file checker does the same in the browser tab: it recognises the provider, counts the markers, says how many catalogue associations your file can be matched against and looks up any rsID. It reads the .zip as downloaded, uploads nothing and needs no account.

What MyHeritage Health covers#

MyHeritage sells health reports as an upgrade to its own DNA test. The list in its help centre (What health conditions does MyHeritage test for?, checked 13 November 2026) has three groups:

• 11 polygenic risk scores for common conditions, among them heart disease, type 2 diabetes, female breast cancer and prostate cancer.
• 21 monogenic risk reports, among them hereditary BRCA cancers (103 variants across BRCA1 and BRCA2), late-onset Alzheimer's disease (two APOE variants), coeliac disease and hereditary hemochromatosis.
• 9 carrier status reports, among them cystic fibrosis (20 CFTR variants), Tay-Sachs disease and Gaucher disease.

Three limits to know:

• Polygenic risk scores are "currently only available to customers whose Ethnicity Estimate shows more than 95% European ancestry", which MyHeritage calls "an industry-wide limitation based on the available scientific data" (Why are some of my health reports missing?, checked 13 November 2026).
• Your answers to the health questionnaire can exclude reports "such as hereditary cancer reports, neurological condition reports, or carrier status reports" (same article).
• The reports need a kit tested by MyHeritage. A 23andMe or AncestryDNA file cannot get them, because MyHeritage no longer takes uploads (see below).

What a GWAS Catalog report adds#

A Full Human report starts from the same file and a different catalogue: the associations of the NHGRI-EBI GWAS Catalog, filtered to genome-wide significance (p below 5×10⁻⁸), a reported effect size, a trait mapped to a disease and one lead variant per region. That leaves 12,110 lead associations for 409 catalogue traits from 1,020 studies. Each row gives the rsID, your genotype, the risk allele, your copies of it, its frequency, the effect per copy (an odds ratio) and the PubMed link. Each condition gets one of five results compared with the average person: higher odds, lower odds, no meaningful difference, not comparable or not assessable. The rules are on the methodology page, and how to read the health report walks through a table row by row.

What it leaves out: carrier status, rare pathogenic variants (BRCA is not interpreted), pharmacogenomics, ancestry and any clinical polygenic score. MTHFR rs1801133 is not scored; the nutrition report shows it only as a gene highlight with its folate and homocysteine context. APOE rs429358 and rs7412 are in the health catalogue, but the report has no Alzheimer's disease section, and rs429358 prints under abdominal aortic aneurysm, myocardial infarction and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease instead. The sample report shows the result.

In short, MyHeritage Health is the wider of the two on carrier status and tests BRCA; a GWAS report covers more common conditions, shows the study behind every row and needs neither an upgrade nor an upload. Neither is a diagnosis.

MyHeritage no longer accepts other companies' files#

For years MyHeritage took raw data from 23andMe, Ancestry or FamilyTreeDNA for relative matching. Its March 2025 post inviting those uploads now opens with "Update from August 2025: MyHeritage is not currently accepting DNA uploads" (MyHeritage blog, checked 13 November 2026), and the help centre is blunter: "DNA uploads are no longer supported at MyHeritage" (Why can't I upload my DNA data file?, checked 13 November 2026).

Your own MyHeritage file can still be read elsewhere, with a caution from MyHeritage itself: "We can't guarantee that our raw DNA files are compatible with other DNA or genealogy platforms", and it advises checking the security of any site before uploading, two-factor authentication in particular. Promethease, part of MyHeritage since 2019, names customers of 23andMe, Ancestry.com, FamilyTreeDNA and Genos, "etc.", and charges $25 for most reports, with the file uploaded to it (promethease.com, checked 13 November 2026; our Promethease review). Tools that read the file on your device are the alternative; our comparison of 12 tools shows which upload and which do not.

Keeping the file: at MyHeritage and at home#

At MyHeritage, the data stays on the company's servers for as long as the kit exists. In June 2018 MyHeritage reported that the email addresses and hashed passwords of 92,283,889 users had been found outside the company; it said that DNA data is stored on separate systems and that it had "no reason to believe those systems have been compromised" (statement of 4 June 2018).

To delete the data: DNA, then Manage DNA kits, then the three dots and Delete kit. MyHeritage warns that "this is irreversible and your DNA data cannot be recovered!"; the raw data, the DNA Matches and the Ethnicity Estimate go with it. A second vial stored under the BioBank programme is destroyed only on request through the Contact Us form (MyHeritage on deleting DNA data, checked 13 November 2026). Download your export first.

At home, treat the file like an identity document: an encrypted copy, a backup kept offline, never an email attachment. Is it safe to upload raw DNA data? lists the questions to ask before the file goes anywhere, and what to do with raw DNA data goes through the uses.

Next step: read the file for health without uploading it#

Full Human reads the export in your browser: the generator, written in Rust and compiled to WebAssembly, parses the file in memory and writes the PDF on your device. Our servers see your account, your payments, your credit balance and the status of each generation, never the file or the report, and you can verify that yourself in the Network tab of your browser. A report costs £5 with no subscription, and a generation that fails is refunded. The complete report has a section for every category with at least one condition the catalogue can assess for your sex, 14 to 16 sections; a nutrition report exists too. The MyHeritage page sums up what the file gives. Keep the tab open, preferably on a computer, and take the results to a doctor or genetic counsellor.

FAQ#

How long is the MyHeritage download link valid?

24 hours, according to MyHeritage's help centre. Nothing is lost when it expires: go back to Manage DNA kits, request the download again and a new link is sent. Check the spam folder if the email is slow.

How long does MyHeritage take to produce raw data?

The raw data comes out of the lab processing of your sample, which MyHeritage puts at about 3 to 4 weeks from the day the sample is received, 6 to 8 weeks for the DNA 360° kit. The download option appears once the results are published. The download itself is quick: the email usually arrives within minutes.

Do I need the CRAM file for a health report?

No. Choose DNA data file in the download window. The CRAM file holds the sequencing reads of kits processed with whole genome sequencing, weighs about 2 GB and is not a genotype table; MyHeritage says it is not intended for medical or health use, and our generator does not read it.

Does MyHeritage Health work with a 23andMe or AncestryDNA file?

No. MyHeritage's health reports need a kit tested by MyHeritage, and the company stopped accepting other companies' files in August 2025. A 23andMe or AncestryDNA file can be read by a third-party tool instead; Full Human does it in your browser, from the GWAS Catalog, without the file leaving your device.

Does the MyHeritage file contain the variants a health report uses?

Most of them, with gaps. A chip-based file lists about 700,000 variants, and the report only shows the ones your file contains. In a 2024 MyHeritage export we checked, APOE rs7412 and MTHFR rs1801133 were present and APOE rs429358 was not. Chips and versions differ, so look up the rsID you care about in the file checker before drawing a conclusion from its absence.