Ancestry notifications announce updates, summarize recent changes and activity, suggest next steps, and more. Only you can see the notifications for your account.

Viewing notifications

From a browser

Go to Ancestry and sign in.
In the top-right corner, click the bell icon .
When you have unread notifications, you’ll see a red dot with a number inside next to the bell icon. The number tells you how many unread notifications you have.
Look through your list of notifications on the right side of your screen.
- Unread notifications are bolded with a green dot.
- The notifications are sorted by date, with the most recent on top.
- Scrolling down will load earlier notifications if any more are available.
(Optional) click on a notification to go there or view more details, if applicable.

From the app

Open the Ancestry app and sign in.
Tap Discover at the bottom of your screen.
In the top-right corner, tap the bell icon .
You’ll see a green dot next to the bell icon when you have unread notifications.
Look through your list of notifications.
- Unread notifications are marked with a green dot.
- The notifications are sorted by date, with the most recent on top.
- Scrolling down will load earlier notifications if any more are available.
(Optional) tap on a notification to go there or view more details, if applicable.

Marking notifications as read

When you click or tap on a notification, it’s automatically marked as read. Or, from a browser, click the three horizontal dots next to an unread notification and select Mark as read.

If you mark a notification as read, it will stay in your list of notifications for later reference but will no longer appear bolded with a green dot. To remove a notification from your list of notifications, see Dismissing notifications.

Dismissing notifications

When you dismiss a notification, you’re permanently deleting it, which cannot be undone.

Click or tap the three horizontal dots to the right of a notification you want to remove.
Click or tap Dismiss or Dismiss notification.