"Beginning December 13, 2017, patrons visiting FamilySearch.org will see a prompt to register for a free FamilySearch account or to sign in to their existing account to continue enjoying all the free expanded benefits FamilySearch has to offer. Since its launch in 1999, FamilySearch has added millions of users, billions of various historical records, and many fun, new features like Family Tree, Memorie…
Why does FamilySearch require me to create a free account and What if I don’t want to create a free account?
Some researchers have voiced frustration with the new FamilySearch requirement to create a free account and be signed in before being permitted to freely search the records.
Change is annoying and so is having one more site where you need to remember your login and password. When I didn't receive a response from FamilySearch in response to my question about the changes, I asked an insider. Okay, I asked my husband. He's worked for Ancestry.com, FamilySearch.org, and now works for MyHeritage.com.
First, here's the official line from FamilySearch:
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