Do you know what a third cousin twice removed is? RootsTech 2025 is a great place to learn about ancestors and an equally great place to find living relatives. Last year, hundreds of thousands of participants viewed 5.9 million ancestral relationships through Relatives at RootsTech—that's a lot of family connections!
During the conference, use the Relatives at RootsTech 2025 feature to explore your family tree and find relatives you didn’t even know existed. You'll be able to use this feature from both the FamilySearch app and the FamilySearch website.
When Will Relatives at RootsTech 2025 Be Available to Use?
Relatives at RootsTech will be open now through April 11. We want to make sure you have enough time to connect with living relatives!
Once this time frame passes, the feature will be turned off until the next RootsTech. This means Relatives at RootsTech isn’t a permanent feature on the Family Tree app or on the web site. If you want to try it out, be sure to open it during the designated RootsTech window!
How to Use Relatives at RootsTech 2025
To use Relatives at RootsTech on your phone, mobile device, or online, you'll need an account at FamilySearch.org. Don’t worry, a FamilySearch account is free and easy to set up. You can even sign up for an account using your Facebook, Google, or Apple accounts.
Using Relatives at RootsTech on a Phone or Mobile Device
First, you'll need to download the FamilySearch Family Tree app. Once you have the app installed on your device, open the app and log in with your FamilySearch account.
Click the Relatives at RootsTech banner at the top of the screen. You will need to opt in to the experience, and then you’ll see a list of people you’re related to and who are likewise participating in the conference—virtually or in person.
Depending on your privacy settings, you can even send and receive messages and introduce yourself to your new relatives. Who knows, maybe you can help each other with your family history!
Using Relatives at RootsTech 2025 on a Computer
To use the Relatives at RootsTech experience on the FamilySearch web site, just go to www.familysearch.org/connect, log in with your FamilySearch username and password, and start exploring who you're related to!
How Does Relatives at RootsTech Know When I’m Related to Someone?
Full disclosure: Relatives at RootsTech 2025 isn’t magic. Nor does it use a secret Google algorithm or background check to discover all your ancestors. It simply looks at the ancestor information you and other people have entered into the FamilySearch Family Tree and identifies connections.
The more ancestor information you share with Family Tree, the more likely Relatives at RootsTech will find people you’re related to. Those with a deeper ancestral tree in Family Tree will find more cousin connections.
Find More Relatives at RootsTech by Adding Your Ancestor Information to Family Tree
If you’re new to family history, FamilySearch offers a guided tutorial to help you build your tree. During RootsTech, you can also schedule a help session with an experienced volunteer to get personalized, one-on-one guidance.
Remember, try to add as many ancestors as you can to Family Tree. Soon, your family line will connect to other family lines. When that happens, FamilySearch's Relatives at RootsTech experience will immediately begin looking for cousin connections that might interest you.
Be aware that if you don't have many ancestors in Family Tree, Relatives at RootsTech may not work as well. There may be fewer relatives in certain homelands, but even one more person added to Family Tree can benefit so many other people. Have no fear—other experiences in the app will help you find others with your same family name to make those connections.
Relatives at RootsTech 2025 Feature for In Person Attendees
Relatives at RootsTech will work from anywhere in the world. If your 9th cousin 2 times removed is in Brazil, and you’re in the United States, you may get a notification from that cousin in the messaging section that tells you about each other. Pretty cool, right?
For people who attend the conference in Salt Lake, Relatives at RootsTech 2025 will take the experience one step further.
The feature comes with a location toggle that, when turned on, shows other users you’re in the building where the conference is taking place. If you want, you can send a message and perhaps meet your relative in person!
See What People Say about Relatives at RootsTech
People who have used Relatives at RootsTech before love the way it strengthens connections and leads to new discoveries.
Rachel Matheus has used the feature multiple times but had a particularly inspiring experience a couple years ago. “As I was looking at connections with cousins around the world, I found I had cousins on one of my Danish lines that were living in Brazil,” she says. “I had never thought about how my family might have emigrated to places other than where my own immediate ancestors ended up.”
Briana Taylor says she uses the feature to reconnect with relatives she hasn’t talked with recently and introduce herself to those she has never met. “Last year I made a goal to message all of my first and second cousins in Relatives at RootsTech, and I was deeply touched by some of the connections I made,” she says. “I chatted with cousins residing in different countries and met—for the first time—the close cousins I didn’t know I had. I even reconnected my Dad to family he hasn’t talked to in over a decade!”
Christine Kleinert says that with Relatives at RootsTech even distant relationships can turn into meaningful friendships. “One of my 7th cousin’s grandchildren messaged me, wanting to know more about me—because I'm from Germany and ‘that is so cool.’ I loved that this young man, who could be my son, reached out to me and is interested in his ancestors. We are now friends on Facebook and are going to message to get to know more about each other.”
Get Ready for RootsTech 2025!
Have you ever looked out into a giant crowd of people and wondered if you might be related to any of them? Answer: You probably are! And Relatives at RootsTech 2025 can prove it to you.
Don't miss out on the chance to uncover your family history and connect with relatives you never knew about. Sign up for the conference. Download the app. Or visit the FamilySearch Connect page. Then go and share with your friends.
What Is RootsTech?
RootsTech, the largest family history conference in the world, is a place to learn, be inspired, and make connections through family history. Hosted by FamilySearch and sponsored by other leading genealogy organizations, we have hundreds of expert classes, tips and tricks videos, and inspiring stories that can help you experience family history like never before. Visit our on-demand learning library or make plans to join us for our next virtual or in-person conference event.
Related Articles
