World Explorer is one of three main membership options, alongside U.S. Discovery and All Access.
What's included
The World Explorer membership gives you access to:
- All U.S. and international records on Ancestry
- All Ancestry Hints for U.S. and international records on Ancestry
- All public member trees on Ancestry
- Message other Ancestry members
- Some additional DNA features, like match relationship tools and DNA inheritance insights
Trials
To learn about trying the World Explorer or other memberships, check out Ancestry Trials.
Managing your membership
You can cancel or modify your membership anytime. Choose an option below for help:
- I want to cancel my membership
- I want to upgrade my membership
- I want to downgrade my membership
- I want to switch to a family plan
Frequently asked questions
Select a question below to view the answer. Select the question again to hide it.
What international records are included with a World Explorer membership?
The World Explorer membership gives you access to all international records available on Ancestry. If the record, database, or collection is on Ancestry, you can see it with a World Explorer membership.
To access records on other sites, like Fold3 and Newspapers.com™, you’ll need the higher All Access membership.
What countries do you have records from?
We have records from many places around the world. For help finding the record collections we have from a specific location, read All Places Ancestry Has Records From.
How do I search records from a specific place?
For help finding records from a specific place, read Searching by Location.
What happens if I cancel my World Explorer membership?
After canceling, you’ll have access to your membership’s benefits until it expires (on the “Expires” date in your Account settings). Once your membership has expired, you'll automatically become a free registered guest. Your trees, DNA, and account won’t be deleted. For more information, read Ancestry Accounts after Cancellation.
Why am I being asked to upgrade or buy a membership if I already have one?
If you're being asked to upgrade or buy a membership, it could be because:
- You’re not signed in. Sign in and try again.
- You’re signed in to the wrong account. If you have multiple accounts or are using a shared device, sign out and sign in to the account with your membership, then try again.
- You need a different membership. Some records are located on our other sites (like Fold3 and Newspapers.com™) and require an All Access membership. Upgrade to a recommended membership and try again.
- You need an additional membership. Features like Tree Checker and Charts & Reports require a Pro Tools membership. Add a Pro Tools membership to access its features.