How accurate are DNA tests from websites that trace your heritage? – AOL

DALLAS (KDAF) -- We've all seen the commercials, but if you're thinking of sending out your DNA to trace your heritage, you might want to think again.

Yeah - it turns out those DNA testing sites that are supposed to help you discover your ancestry are not as accurate as you'd think.

RELATED: DNA test helps reunite mom, daughter after 50 years

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A woman was reunited with her birth mother 50 years after she was adopted thanks to a DNA test that revealed they had both been searching for each other.

A woman was reunited with her birth mother 50 years after she was adopted thanks to a DNA test that revealed they had both been searching for each other.

A woman was reunited with her birth mother 50 years after she was adopted thanks to a DNA test that revealed they had both been searching for each other.

A woman was reunited with her birth mother 50 years after she was adopted thanks to a DNA test that revealed they had both been searching for each other.

A woman was reunited with her birth mother 50 years after she was adopted thanks to a DNA test that revealed they had both been searching for each other.

A woman was reunited with her birth mother 50 years after she was adopted thanks to a DNA test that revealed they had both been searching for each other.

A woman was reunited with her birth mother 50 years after she was adopted thanks to a DNA test that revealed they had both been searching for each other.

A woman was reunited with her birth mother 50 years after she was adopted thanks to a DNA test that revealed they had both been searching for each other.

A woman was reunited with her birth mother 50 years after she was adopted thanks to a DNA test that revealed they had both been searching for each other.

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Anthropologist Dr. Jonathan Marks joined Morning Dose, Tuesday via-Skye, and he says they're about as accurate as looking in the mirror.

"It's just not your grandfather's science. And what I mean by that is that it's so explicitly labeled as recreational science. It's a way of saying to customers that this result has no legal or scientific standing," Marks said.

At the end of the day, it all depends on what you expect to get out of it. He says it could certainly help reunite you with a long-lost relative, which could be valuable to you.

"You're getting something that's fun, but it's probably not going to tell you, as I said before, any more about yourself, sort of racially, than you can see looking in the mirror," Marks said.

In other words, you might just want to save your time and money.

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How accurate are DNA tests from websites that trace your heritage? - AOL