Geni Reviews

(based on 29 reviews)

69 of 135 people found this review helpful

This is not only a waste of money, but a complete waste of time. Worst site ever! Hard to navigate, and it pretty much just sends you to other sites.

In summary, I would not recommend Geni to a friend.

55 of 120 people found this review helpful

I’ve spent hours uploading my family tree when a curator altered and blocked me from key members of my own family. They even took over my grandparents and parents names. Their DOB, full names etc are exposed.

This is a prime target for id theft. I contacted Geni, who said to contact them directly even though they blocked me. Geni doesn’t want to get involved in these issues for whatever reason.

What started out as a good idea quickly devolved into a privacy nightmare as soon as the curators got involved.

Stay away from this site if you value your privacy and control over your own data.

In summary, I would not recommend Geni to a friend.

131 of 263 people found this review helpful

Geni appeared to have some good features but I did not take time to take advantage due to my initial impressions. When doing a simple family member search on the one day I was a free trial member, Geni could only refer me to 2 other genealogical sites that I'd already researched satisfactorily. (And both of those require credit info to have a 14 day free trial.) I was also turned off by the fact that I was charged $2 on-the-lowdown for starting a Geni 14 day free trial. I got out, a bad experience for me.

In summary, I would not recommend Geni to a friend.

132 of 261 people found this review helpful

The good: the site is free (unless you count a price paid in privacy losses) and works pretty well in terms of not crashing or having similar technical issues. It also would work if you prize social media experiences, or if you want to see if you might be able to find some connection to a celebrity.

The bad: Geni.com offers NO reliable privacy, and changes to purported policies occur frequently. Entries for long ago ancestors or for living relations deemed to be celebrities will be seized upon by volunteer "curators," who have absolutely no qualms about rewriting your family tree to suit themselves. One demanded to take over my family tree, and at another point I found such a person "following" my mother--who, though meritorious in countless ways, could never be deemed a celebrity or otherwise a person of legitimate interest to "curators." You can't undo the damage and you can't delete data except on an entry-by-entry basis.

If you want a free for all with ersatz cousins, this is the site for you.

If you want a reliable place to record genealogical research

In summary, I would not recommend Geni to a friend.

127 of 231 people found this review helpful

You put your family's details onto this site and the next thing you are getting bombarded with Merge Requests from Geni's "Curators" They know nothing of genealogy and have poor research skills but if you do merge your family's details with one of theirs on the off chance there is indeed a link you'll lose control of your own relatives data and there won't be a thing you can do about it

In summary, I would not recommend Geni to a friend.

154 of 281 people found this review helpful

Beware of this business. It is very hard to cancel an account in a manner that saves your annual fee. Geni sends an email in the middle of the night that your credit card will be charged early in the morning. Very bad outfit.

In summary, I would not recommend Geni to a friend.

155 of 297 people found this review helpful

I have had Geni for years and not able to take the time to update and work with it. We just discovered that someone in Hungry - not related at all to the family - now is the "owner" of several immediate family member profiles. Sorry Geni but giving people around the world the ability to become owners of my family records doesn't sit with me. I am deleting all records I can - don't know since the "curator" has taken over them if we will be able to get all of them deleted but I will be trying.

In summary, I would not recommend Geni to a friend.

176 of 353 people found this review helpful

I joined GENi a year ago at the behest of a distant cousin in Europe. Sadly, like the proverbial lamb to the slaughter, I blindly submitted my payment before discovering that that would be the last shared exchange I would ever have with them. On more than 10 different occasions I attempted to log in the purported account I was charged for...and after countless hours of failing, with absolutely no venue for recourse, I realized (as apparently many others have discovered) that I had just thrown away a hundred-plus dollars. It's quite a neat little SCAM they seem are running, and I will now take every opportunity to shout it from the rooftops. Obviously, some people are using the service successfully, but since I have NEVER been able to get ANY RESPONSE back from the black hole that calls its self GENi, I have no idea how many winners compare those of us who are the "very sore" losers. My only advice is to stay as far away from whoever these people are, or at the least, see if your membership can be claimed as a tax deduction. Very angry and very disgruntled, D.A. Normann - Seattle, WA

In summary, I would not recommend Geni to a friend.

193 of 341 people found this review helpful

When I joined Geni.com five years ago it was a platform for storing family data, finding relatives, and sharing information. The company was bought by My Heritage in November of 2012 and since that time they have assigned "curators" to merge family trees -- in violation of their policies -- with much of this information becoming public. Despite my request of one of the "curators" not to alter my tree, he continued to do so. I proceeded to delete almost the entirety of my data, much of which he restored less than a week later. Following my deletions I received notification from two other "curators" that they were "following" me. I now maintain my account (which carries a monthly fee) to monitor activities with respect to my information, however, Geni has blocked my access to information relevant to my extended family. I intend to pursue a legal action against Geni. Should you care to join me as a co-plaintiff, please contact me.

In summary, I would not recommend Geni to a friend.

216 of 412 people found this review helpful

I could find out more information by googling than on Geni. I cancelled my subscription and they charged me $89. Scam is right. I am trying to fight it through my cc company as there is no phone number to call and my emails have gone unanswered.

In summary, I would not recommend Geni to a friend.