--- title: "Creeps Will Soon Be Able to Find Almost Anyone on Genealogy Sites" description: "## DNA Panoptican" date: "2018-10-12" modified: "2018-10-12" authors: - name: "Jon Christian" job_title: "Executive Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jonc" url: "https://futurism.com/neoscope/genealogy-sites-relatives" categories: - "Health & Medicine" tags: - "ancestry" - "dna" - "gedmatch" - "the digest" - "yaniv erlich" --- # Creeps Will Soon Be Able to Find Almost Anyone on Genealogy Sites ![Just two percent of adults would have to upload their DNA to genealogy sites before you could use a DNA sample to find a relative of virtually anyone.]() *\Image: Adobe Stock\* ## DNA Panoptican Earlier this year, police cracked a decades-old murder case by plugging the Golden State Killer's DNA [into a genealogy site]() that included his relatives' genetic samples. It turns out that wasn't some statistical fluke. It's not clear what percentage of people have already uploaded their genetic data to genealogy sites, but right now, you could use these sites to identify a third cousin or closer relative of about 60 percent of people of European descent. That's according to a [paper]() published Thursday in the journal *Nature.* In fact, the paper continued, if just 2 percent of people upload their data to these sites — a milestone we could hit [within three years]() — you'll be able to use them to find a third cousin or closer relative of virtually *anyone*. ## GATTACA Researcher Yaniv Erlich [told *Gizmodo*]() that the Golden State Killer case motivated him to conduct this study. The ingenuity of the detective work impressed him, but he also found himself worrying about the way people could misuse the idea. "Of course, there’s some good news," he told *Gizmodo*. "If someone did something wrong out there, then \[law enforcement\] is going to be able to catch them. But down the road, as things continue to evolve, there could be people who use this for illegitimate reasons." So while genealogy sites might be a boon for police forces, the rest of us might just have to accept the fact that any creep with access to our DNA could track down our family members with relative ease. **READ MORE:** [Ancestry Sites Could Soon Expose Nearly Anyone's Identity, Researchers Say]() \[*Gizmodo*\] ***More on genealogy websites: [A Genealogy Website Led to a Suspected Killer’s Arrest. Here’s What We Know.]()*** ## Author I'm responsible for editing, assigning, and scouting at Futurism, as well as occasionally writing for the site. That work involves keeping an eye on a wide range of narratives and issues, but over the past few years I've become increasingly interested in how AI is shaping the future of media, the web, and information itself. My day-to-day often involves collaborating on reporting and commentary projects bylined by my colleagues, but I try to find time to do my own reporting as well; stories I've broken for Futurism have been cited by publications including the New York Times, the Washington Post, the New Yorker, Wired, Ars Technica, New York Magazine, the Columbia Journalism Review, Bloomberg, and more. I grew up in Southern Vermont and attended Vanderbilt University. Prior to Futurism, I contributed to outlets including the Boston Globe, Vice, Wired, Slate, the Atlantic, the Outline, Ars Technica and more, and did stints in farming and food service. I currently live in Brooklyn, New York, and in my free time I enjoy pinball, word games, cycling, running, and music production. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()