BKM Validator
Upload your ThruLines® screenshot and we'll check whether your Best Known Match is valid before you build your network.
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Your information
We save your results so the Network Pattern Checker (Checkpoint 2) can pick up where you left off — no re-entry needed.
Upload your ThruLines® screenshot
The screenshot should show the target ancestor's name, their generational label (e.g., "2nd great-grandfather"), and the candidate match with their cM and segment count. Upload one screenshot at a time — your results will appear below each one.
✂️ Getting the crop right
- Fit the whole line in one shot. The TOP ancestor (with their label, e.g. "2nd great-grandfather") and the match at the bottom (with their cM) both need to be in the same picture.
- Tall tree that won't fit? Zoom your browser out first — hold Ctrl/⌘ and press − a few times — so the whole line shrinks to fit, then take the shot. Or capture it in sections and upload each one; we read across them.
- Only one child under your ancestor, and it's your own line? (labeled grandfather / grandmother / great-grandfather…) Then there's no Best Known Match to find here — screenshot one generation higher, where the aunts, uncles, and their descendants appear.
- Crop close, but don't clip. Trim the browser tabs and toolbars, but never cut off the top ancestor's label or the cM numbers — those are exactly what the check reads.
New to ThruLines®? See a labeled example and glossary
1
2
3
- 1The ancestor you're researching — sits at the TOP, with their generational label (e.g. "2nd great-grandfather"). Your screenshot must show this.
- 2A DNA match — a real person who took a test and connects to you through this ancestor (down toward the bottom).
- 3Their shared cM — how much DNA you share with that match. This is the number the check needs to see.
- ThruLines®
- Ancestry's diagram showing how a DNA match might connect to you through a shared ancestor.
- Best Known Match (BKM)
- A match whose exact place in your tree you're sure of, connecting through ONE line — the anchor you build a network from.
- Shared cM
- Centimorgans — how much DNA you share with a match. More shared cM generally means a closer relationship.
- Generational label
- How the ancestor relates to the tester (e.g. "2nd great-grandfather") — it tells you how far back the line goes.
- Through line
- Which of the ancestor's children the match descends through — the branch that links them to you.
📷 This is a screenshot — a picture you upload. There's nothing to type in.
🔒 Your screenshot will include your DNA matches’ names — that’s expected, since Hazel needs them to check your work. It’s read by our AI and not saved as an image; we keep your confirmed matches only in shortened form (first name + last initial). Please upload just the screenshot this step asks for.
Is that everyone?
Add a Best Known Match by hand
Have a Best Known Match that isn't in your ThruLines® list? Add it here so it's included in your final list.