Software MacKiev
Depends
Confidence: Medium
Only buy if you are specifically committed to Family Tree Maker for desktop genealogy work synced with Ancestry.
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Comparison
Software MacKiev vs MyHeritage
Software MacKiev and MyHeritage both land on Depends.
MyHeritage
Depends
Confidence: Medium
Reasonable for casual family-tree builders and DNA curiosity, especially European ancestry . but keep a close eye on auto-renewals.
| Compare | Software MacKiev | MyHeritage |
|---|---|---|
| Verdict | Depends | Depends |
| Best for | Serious hobbyist genealogists | Casual family-tree builders |
| Who it's not for | Businesses or teams . pure consumer hobbyist software | Anyone privacy-cautious about DNA data . 92M accounts leaked |
| Privacy | 2020 incident exposed private data of ~60,000 genealogy users; no newer incidents found in reviewed sources.⁶ | Breached: 92.3M user credentials exposed (disclosed 2018); one old client-side CVE.16 |
| Support quality | BBB: 'terrible customer support'; users can't reach them | Billing disputes dominate complaint threads |
| Public sentiment | User sentiment is sharply mixed: hobbyists who commit to Family Tree Maker value its depth, but many report poor support, billing issues, and badly delayed releases.¹ | Opinion is split: hobbyist genealogists find value in it, while a loud segment of users complain about billing, renewals, and pricing.15 |
| Biggest gotcha | Users report waiting days to reach support; even Facebook groups ask how to contact MacKiev | Auto-renewal traps: users report unexpected renewal charges, including a $149 BBB complaint |
Pick Software MacKiev when
- Serious hobbyist genealogists
- Family Tree Maker loyalists
- Ancestry.com users wanting offline desktop trees
When Software MacKiev is not a fit
- Businesses or teams . pure consumer hobbyist software
- Anyone needing responsive vendor support
- Privacy-cautious buyers handling sensitive family data
- Cloud-first users who want web apps, not desktop installs
Pick MyHeritage when
- Casual family-tree builders
- Hobbyist genealogists chasing European records
- DNA relative and adoption searches
- Ethnicity-estimate curiosity
When MyHeritage is not a fit
- Anyone privacy-cautious about DNA data . 92M accounts leaked
- Serious US-focused genealogists . Ancestry's records run deeper
- One-time testers unwilling to pay recurring subscriptions for record access
- Anyone who resents auto-renewal billing . complaints are everywhere
Sources
- Software MacKiev Reviews . Trustpilottrustpilot.comreview
review
- The Software Mackiev Company Reviews . PissedConsumerthe-software-mackiev-company.pissedconsumer.comreview
review
- Genealogy Software Maker Exposes Data on 60,000 Usersinfosecurity-magazine.comsecurity
- Leak Exposes Private Data of Genealogy Service Usersthreatpost.comsecurity
official
- TreeVault Account Info and FAQs (official)support.mackiev.comofficial
- Family Tree Maker Connect . Google Play (official)play.google.comofficial
- How Much Does Family Tree Maker 2024 Cost?familytreemakere.comreview
- MyHeritage official sitemyheritage.comofficial
- MyHeritage pricing pagemyheritage.comofficial
- 855 MyHeritage Reviews . PissedConsumermyheritage.pissedconsumer.comreview
- MyHeritage Data Breach . Have I Been Pwnedhaveibeenpwned.comsecurity