With each new year, FamilySearch has goals for improving your experience and helping people around the world discover and connect with their families. So what's new on FamilySearch in 2020? Here’s your sneak peek!
This year, FamilySearch will expand its reach by adding more languages and more social capabilities. Some key experiences such as the Family Tree and Memories will also have new and improved functionality.
More Languages
Do you have friends or family members who speak a different language? FamilySearch.org will have support for more languages at the beginning of 2020. The FamilySearch Family Tree, records search, Memories, and other essential site experiences will be made available in the following additional languages:
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Note:The FamilySearch website and Family Tree app are already available in English,Portuguese, French, Italian, German, Spanish, Russian, Traditional Chinese, Japanese, and Korean.
For most users, the FamilySearch site will automatically open in the language that best matches their browser or device settings. You can also change your language on the FamilySearch website using the language menu in the footer.
Faster Access to New Records and Editable Dates and Places in Indexes
FamilySearch is releasing a new tool for viewing recently digitized record images. This feature will help you more easily find images that aren’t yet indexed (or text searchable), which gives you quicker access to new records. FamilySearch has more than 300 cameras working to preserve records worldwide. With the upcoming Explore Images tool, new record images can be made viewable on the site in a matter of days or weeks, instead of going through months or years of processing.
In addition, dates and places in record indexes will soon be editable on FamilySearch.org. This feature is similar to an update in 2019 that allowed users to edit the name fields in indexed records.
Better Merging
With the new year, you will see significant improvements to the merging experience in the FamilyTree. The FamilySearch Family Tree is the world's largest sharedtree—which means that users can merge ancestor profiles (person pages) when they find duplicate profiles. This experience will soon to be streamlined and enhanced.
Updates to Latest Changes and a New Contributions Tab
The Latest Changes log for person pages will be updated in 2020. You will be able to see more details for what has been edited on each person page in your tree view.
Also,a new My Contributions tab is coming soon to the Family Tree app and desktop site. This feature will celebrate what you’ve added to the Family Tree,including source, memories, and persons added. It will also include an overview of changes you have made across the shared tree and a list of the private persons in your private space. (These are the profiles you have created for living persons, which are kept private. Read more about private spaces in the Family Tree here.)
Easier Ways to Find and Sort Memories and Improved “Likes”
A simple but powerful update to Memories will let you add topic tags to photos and documents uploaded to the FamilySearch site and apps. This change essentially allows you to categorize memories you add or have added to your ancestors’ profiles.It will also improve searching within your ancestors’ memories. Imagine that you wanted to find pictures of an ancestor’s past Halloween costumes or holiday celebrations. With this tagging feature, that is much more possible.
The ability to "like" whole albums in FamilySearch Memories will also be available in the new year.Currently, FamilySearch users can "like" individual photos and other memories so they show up in the My Likessection of their Memories gallery. Soon you will be able to do the same with photos you have grouped into albums.
Going Social
In 2020, FamilySearch will add updates to help improve social interactions between users on the FamilySearch website. Family Tree users will also be able to share their ancestors’ person pages on social media websites such as WhatsApp and Facebook.
About FamilySearch
FamilySearch International is the largest genealogy organization in the world. FamilySearch is a nonprofit, volunteer-driven organization sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Millions of people use FamilySearch records, resources, and services to learn more about their family history. To help in this great pursuit, FamilySearch and its predecessors have been actively gathering, preserving, and sharing genealogical records worldwide for more than 100 years.
You can access FamilySearch services and resources for free at FamilySearch.org, through the FamilySearch apps, or by visiting over 5,000 family history centers in 129 countries, including the main Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah.
