Opt-in Policy
Definition
The GEDmatch policy adopted in May 2019 requiring database users to affirmatively consent for their profile to be visible in law-enforcement queries, replacing the previous default-accessible open model.
- Adopted
- May 2019
- Platform
- GEDmatch
- Prior model
- Default-accessible, open to law enforcement
- Trigger event
- Golden State Killer investigation backlash
- Effect
- Only opted-in profiles searchable by law enforcement
Common questions
Why did GEDmatch change its policy in 2019?+
After the Golden State Killer case revealed that investigators had searched the database without users realising it was accessible to law enforcement, GEDmatch faced public and legal pressure to give users explicit control over whether their profile could be matched against crime-scene DNA.
Did the opt-in policy shrink the pool available to investigative genealogists?+
Yes. Most existing users did not proactively opt in, so the searchable pool dropped sharply overnight, which reduced the coverage genetic genealogists could rely on for identifying unknown offenders or remains.
Related terms
- Barbara Rae-Venter
- The genetic genealogist who led the family-tree reconstruction in the Golden State Killer investigation. Previously used the same technique to identify an...
- Centimorgans (cM)
- The unit of genetic map distance used to measure shared DNA between individuals. A first-degree relative shares approximately 2,550 cM; a third...
- CODIS
- The FBI's Combined DNA Index System, the US national STR-based forensic DNA database. Contains profiles from convicted offenders, arrestees, and unidentified crime-scene...
- ForenSeq Kintelligence
- A Verogen (formerly Illumina) forensic SNP genotyping kit targeting approximately 10,000 kinship-informative SNPs, designed to generate profiles compatible with consumer genealogy databases...
- GEDmatch
- A consumer genealogy database founded in 2010, used in the Golden State Killer investigation. Changed from opt-out to opt-in for law-enforcement access...
- Genetic Genealogist
- A specialist who combines DNA match data with traditional genealogical record research to reconstruct family trees. In forensic IGG casework, the genetic...
- Investigative Genetic Genealogy (IGG)
- A forensic identification technique that uploads a crime-scene DNA profile to a consumer genealogy database, identifies partial matches suggesting distant family relationships,...
- Parabon NanoLabs
- A US company that became the primary commercial provider of forensic IGG casework following the Golden State Killer case, offering the Snapshot...
- Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP)
- A position in the genome where a single nucleotide varies between individuals. Consumer DTC genomic tests genotype hundreds of thousands of SNPs;...