WanderRoots
Privacy-first genealogy — Ancestry.com sold user DNA data without consent (settled 2023), 23andMe bankruptcy exposed 14M genetic profiles, Holocaust survivor documentation requires specific privacy architecture, LGBTQ+ family research has safety dimensions mainstream tools ignore.
Community & LifestyleAbout
23andMe filed for bankruptcy in March 2025 — raising immediate questions about what happens to 14 million customers' genetic profiles under new ownership. Ancestry.com reached a settlement in 2023 over sharing user DNA data with third parties without adequate consent. Genetic data is the most sensitive category of personal data: it reveals health risks, family relationships, and ancestry in ways that cannot be changed or revoked. For Holocaust survivor families, for people estranged from hostile biological families, and for LGBTQ+ people whose family history may involve hidden identities and suppressed documentation, genealogy research has safety dimensions that Ancestry and 23andMe are not designed to handle. WanderRoots is local-first genealogy: DNA data never leaves your device, research results are stored locally, and the tool is specifically designed for complicated, dangerous, or suppressed family histories. Active internal research (34 ancestors documented). Genealogy agents built.
Features
- DNA data local-only: 23andMe bankruptcy + Ancestry data sharing — your genetic data never on external servers
- Holocaust survivor documentation: privacy-preserving, dignity-first, trauma-informed research architecture
- Estranged family research: LGBTQ+ people researching biological family they don't know or have left
- Hidden identity research: LGBT ancestors, name changes, immigration-era identity suppression
- Active genealogy agents: 34 ancestors researched internally — research infrastructure proven
- Diaspora community connection: find community through shared history without exposing identity
- Oral history capture: record family stories locally, preserve them without corporate platform dependency
- DNA analysis on-device: if you have 23andMe raw data, analyze it locally — no new DNA submission required
- Complicated family history modes: documentation that handles gaps, secrets, and hostile family members
- Community oral history archive: contribute anonymized historical documentation to shared diaspora record