Simon, since Ancestry specifically mention "Ancestry family trees" and "We are exploring possible relationships with other desktop software solutions that would make it possible for their products to integrate with Ancestry API.", my reading is that they are indeed considering implementing some sort of tree sync with programs other than Family Tree Maker. It is the potential loss of tree sync in 2017 that most people are complaining about, so Ancestry are responding to that concern. "Will third party providers be able to integrate with Ancestry family trees? We are exploring possible relationships with other desktop software solutions that would make it possible for their products to integrate with Ancestry API. Stay tuned." Trevor Rix > As regards 'tree sync': our reading of Ancestry announcements is that they may be discontinuing this altogether, although > it's not 100% clear at this point.