Guides

The guides in the order we suggest you read them. Each one is free, with no sign-up.

1. How to get started5 min read
   List the relatives you knew, ideally ones no longer living, and gather every document about them.
2. How to trace your family history for free9 min read
   Take one question about one relative through Britain’s free records to a checked answer.
3. Which free record site to search: FreeBMD, FreeCEN or FreeREG7 min read
   Search Britain’s three free record sites and save each result’s reference in full.
4. Official certificates: when to buy, and which kind5 min read
   Decide whether an official certificate is worth paying for, and which format to buy.
5. Why AI invents ancestors, and how to catch it6 min read
   Learn how AI turns a guess into a false ancestor, and the two marks that stop it.
6. Before you publish to any shared tree4 min read
   Check each statement before you add it to a family tree that other people can see.
7. One family on a map5 min read
   See how 150 years of one family’s addresses caught a misread word and a wrong photograph.
8. How much it costs5 min read
   Work out what, if anything, this will cost you each month.
9. Backing up and protecting your research4 min read
   Keep three copies of your research so one broken laptop cannot wipe it out.
10. What you need for the AI helper4 min read
    Check you have a computer, an hour a week and, for the optional AI helper, a free account.
11. Before you upload family data to any AI6 min read
    Limit how an AI company can train on your family’s details, before you type a single name.