An investigative genetic genealogy tool
Link Family Trees Together to Solve Kinship Mysteries
CanopyLink is a purpose-built web-based tool for investigative genetic genealogists working unknown parentage cases, cold cases, and complex family research.
Free plan with no card needed. Built with working IGG professionals.
See where your DNA matches' lines meet
Click anyone in the tree and choose Color Match Line. A colored rail runs down the side of their box and every ancestor's, and where two matches' lines meet, a small split dot marks the shared ancestor. Trace a Line keeps the direct line, mother's and father's sides, and the X, Y and mtDNA paths in one menu.
- A color for each match, from the palette or any color you pick
- Shared ancestors tagged where two lines cross
- Free on every plan
Put every record on the map
Record where a source places people, like the town a census found them in. Everyone tagged on it appears on that pin of the Project Map, beside the births and deaths there, so you can see a family settle and move.
- Census and other records pinned next to births and deaths
- A record with only a county is pinned in the middle of that county
- Pins show how many people are there, and the map opens full screen
What is CanopyLink?
Two DNA matches' trees, joined where they share an ancestor.
A secure, web-based platform developed with investigative genetic genealogists. Build, link and analyse family trees to solve unknown parentage cases, support law enforcement investigations and connect DNA relatives, all from your browser.
-
Unknown parentage
Build and link the trees of DNA matches to identify biological parents and extended family.
-
Cold case genealogy
Support law enforcement with secure, well-documented research to help identify persons of interest.
-
Family research
Explore connections between DNA relatives and document each ancestor's life story.
From DNA matches to an answer, in four steps
The same route every case takes, with the tedious parts handled for you.
-
1
Create a project
Start a case from scratch, or import a GEDCOM from another platform.
-
2
Build the trees
Add people, relationships, sources and notes. Each DNA match gets its own anchor.
-
3
Link and analyse
Connect trees where they share an ancestor. Surface duplicates, map places, colour what matters.
-
4
Report and share
Export a PDF of the people who matter, invite your team, or download a GEDCOM.
New in CanopyLink
Recent additions, each one built because a team working real cases asked for it.
Six color themes, light and dark
Default, Ocean, Forest, Plum, Slate and Rosewood. Your theme colors the tree too, follows you to every device, and every one meets the WCAG AA standard for readable text.
Search names and places
The sidebar search finds towns, counties and states as well as people. Type a county to see everyone born, died or recorded there.
Type a place, pick the match
Start typing a town and choose it from the list. The county, state and country fill themselves in, so places stay consistent across the case.
A role for everyone on the team
Viewer, Contributor, Manager and Owner. Give each person their own login with exactly the access they need, instead of sharing one account.
Plus Case Details for every project, Tree Reports as PDFs, merging duplicates with a preview, GEDCOM import and export, DNA inheritance paths, a shared cM calculator, a change log, and more. See every feature
“Taking old school techniques like tether trees and way posting and converting them to software features makes CanopyLink exciting for this old timer. I am so grateful to have access to it for our team at FHD Forensics.”
Start building your trees today
Create a free account and link your first trees in minutes. No card needed.
Encrypted in transit and at rest, private by default, and yours to export. Read the security details