Manual method
- On Ancestry’s website open Trees and choose a tree you own. In its left toolbar select More (three dots) > Tree Settings.
- Under Manage your tree choose Export tree, then Export. When generation finishes choose Download Your GEDCOM File.
- Keep the downloaded ZIP and extract a working .ged copy. Save permitted photographs and document images separately, noting their person or source IDs.
- Import a copy into compatible genealogy software and inspect a few generations, accented names and media links.
Coverage and limitations: A shared tree owned by somebody else is not your tree export. The GEDCOM contains tree text and media references, not the image files themselves. This is distinct from account CSVs and DNA data.
Size and time to allow
Illustrative planning size: 1 GB; scenario range 0.01–20 GB. This is a storage-planning example, not a measured average. Your archive may be smaller or larger. One family tree plus roughly 500 separately saved photographs at 2 MB each; GEDCOM text alone is much smaller.
Preparation and hands-on time: Allow 5–20 minutes for setup and inspection; this is an planning allowance. Allow extra time to collect photographs individually; that work can take much longer than exporting the tree.
For the 1 GB example, network transfer alone is approximately:
| Connection download speed | Transfer estimate |
|---|---|
| 10 Mbit/s | 20 min |
| 50 Mbit/s | 4 min |
| 100 Mbit/s | 2 min |
These calculations use decimal GB and 70% of the advertised speed. Tiny transfers can take longer because of startup overhead. Local exports do not need an internet download; use these numbers only for a network transfer. Preparation, retries, extraction, checking and a cloud upload are additional; use upload speed for the latter.
Where and how to keep it
An encrypted USB key can hold this example, but keep another independent copy on an external drive or in private encrypted cloud storage. A USB key alone is easily lost and is not a complete preservation plan.
Create a dated ancestry_tree/YYYY-MM-DD/ folder. Keep received originals unchanged, use a separate working copy, and note the account/profile, selected dates, formats and known gaps in a private README. Compare file sizes, check any supplied checksums, and open sample files from the backup before considering the task finished. Repeat after meaningful additions. Follow the storage, archive-checking and large-file guide.
Sources and review
Public documentation was reviewed on 27 October 2026. No signed-in export or restoration was performed. Account options and availability can change; follow the current provider instructions.