#delete 23andme data

[anuraxx]

Delete your DNA from 23andMe right now

read more....

[wemlygust]

Reminder to everyone that 23andMe filed for bankruptcy recently, and right now the genetic data of millions of its users is up for sale. We do not know who will buy it or what they will do with it. If:

1) you have ever used one of their DNA tests, and

2) you haven't deleted your 23andMe data yet, then Delete it now! https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/03/how-delete-your-23andme-data

If you yourself have not used 23andMe, but a close relative of yours has, that genetic data on your family member can potentially be used to make inferences about your own data, or to identify you (especially when combined with other data).

So, if you have a close relative who has used 23andMe, ask them to delete their data ASAP!

imagine getting doxxed but its your full dna sequence

[xtruss]

23andMe Just Filed For Bankruptcy. You Should Delete Your Data Now.

— By Max Eddy | March 2025 | The New York Times | WireCutter

A 23andMe Saliva Collection Kit Box. Sarah Kobos/NYT Wirecutter

23andMe, maker of popular DNA Test Kits, announced Sunday that it has filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy and is looking for a buyer. Although the company has promised to continue protecting customer data amidst a possible sale, California’s Attorney General has advised 23andMe users to consider deleting their information.

The company’s decision to declare bankruptcy was not a surprising one. After a 2023 data breach in which attackers gained access to information from close to 7 million customer profiles, 23andMe’s stock price plummeted, and the company settled a class-action lawsuit for $30 million. Co-founder and CEO Anne Wojcicki on social media announced that she is stepping down in order to make a bid for the company, and thanked 23andMe’s 15 million customers.

Those customers should delete their information before it’s sold.

Why You Should Delete Your 23andMe Data

Users of the 23andMe test send the company samples of their saliva to learn about their ancestry and possible health risks. Wojcicki said that 85% of the company’s customers also consent to their Genetic Data being used to research diseases. Unlike with other forms of medical data, few guardrails protect genetic data stored by companies like 23andMe. According to Wirecutter’s guide to home DNA kits, “the vast majority of these companies are not subject to the HIPAA laws governing the privacy of your health and medical records.”

It’s unclear what would happen to that genetic data if 23andMe finds a buyer. Board Chair Mark Jensen issued a company statement saying that 23andMe is “committed to continuing to safeguard customer data and being transparent about the management of user data going forward, and data privacy will be an important consideration in any potential transaction.”

But we think you should delete your data now. California attorney general Rob Bonta issued an urgent consumer alert to remind consumers to consider requesting 23andMe delete their data, revoke access for future testing, and request that their genetic samples be destroyed.

Wirecutter has similarly updated its advice to 23andMe customers: “If you’ve been a customer of 23andMe and are worried, we recommend taking action to protect your genetic data.”

How To Delete Your Data

First, log in to your account and select Settings.

Scroll to the bottom of the page and select 23andMe Data, then View. From there, you can download a copy of your genetic information.

Select Delete Data and then Permanently Delete Data.

In Settings, you can also opt to have your genetic material destroyed.

Navigate to the Research and Product Consents section and revoke permission to allow your genetic material to be used in research projects. Doing so revokes that permission only for future research.

23andMe notes that you have to provide additional verification before your data-deletion request can be processed, and that you must follow instructions detailed in a 23andMe confirmation email for your request to be processed. The company recommends emailing customercare@23andme.com if you have issues submitting the data-deletion request.

The company also says that some “limited information” about customers, including their request to delete their data, will remain stored even after an account is deleted.

Why Your Privacy Is At Risk Even If You Never Used 23andMe

“Genetic data is immutable and can reveal very personal details about you and your family members,” the Electronic Frontier Foundation cautioned in a blog post about 23andMe’s potential sale last year. If your relatives have used 23andMe in the past, your data is also at risk.

Because some DNA is passed on from parent to child, there’s a strong correlation between the genetic material of people within the same family. If anyone in your family has provided a genetic sample to 23andMe (or another DNA test kit maker), the company already knows something about you—even if you’ve never personally given them your data. If you know that a relative has used 23andMe, consider reaching out to ask them to delete their data.

The privacy concerns of giving a company your genetic information are not theoretical and are not exclusive to 23andMe. Law enforcement officers have used genetic profiles from home DNA kit companies in the past. In a 2018 case, law enforcement used a combination of genetic profiles from GEDmatch along with carefully constructed family trees to identify a murderer after 40 years.

Both Wirecutter and the EFF noted that 23andMe does not voluntarily share data with law enforcement and requires a warrant before providing any data on its customers.

Many of 23andMe’s customers have used the service to discover long-lost relatives or piece together family history that might have otherwise remained unknown. It’s unfortunate that the company’s data-security practices and now-uncertain future may undermine those discoveries.

This article was edited by Caitlin McGarry and Erica Ogg.

— FYI: We've updated this story to clarify the California attorney general's advice for 23andMe users.

— Max Eddy is a Writer who has Covered Privacy and Security—Including Password Managers, VPNs, Security Keys, and More—For Over a Decade.

[vaspider]

23andme declared bankruptcy this past weekend and will be making the news public today (March 24, 2025).

There's no way of knowing where your data on it will go or to whom it might be sold. The best time to have deleted your information there, if you have any information there, was yesterday, the second best time is now.

This is a very legit privacy concern.

[ayeforscotland]

If you have ever used 23andMe, they have now filed for bankruptcy and will be asset stripped. Delete your account information as soon as possible.

[crippled-peeper]

my identical twin called me last night frantically giving me instructions on how to delete my 23andme data and account because it’s not “my” genetic data, it’s “our” genetic data

[girlwithakiwi]

I have been trying to gauge my feelings about some of the “we told you so, people are so stupid!!” tags and comments on this post. I understand the necessity of people needing to read the fine print. I understand that our data, our footprint in the world, is always going to be sold to the highest bidder. I understood all of this before signing up for this.

As others have mentioned, not everyone has the luxury of knowing that they’re 60% Irish and 20% Swedish and 18% Dutch and 2% French, of being able to trace their family heritage back decades to tribes and clans, villages and townships. Some people didn’t do this as a gimmick. Some people wanted some connection, some answer, to where they might have come from.

I’m a Black American, part of the African diaspora that was stolen away. I knew about the slaveowner whose surname I still have—where he came from, the British family that I can trace back to the 1400s. I knew about the French great-great-etc-grandfather of mine, the Louisiana Creoles of my mom’s family. But my ancestors who survived the crossing of the ocean to be enslaved? They created a new identity out of necessity. The countries my family came from? The centuries and centuries of heritage and cultures left behind, stripped away? A mystery.

And I was curious. I read the fine print and I wanted to know. That was a part of me too.

So yes, I get the need for caution. I get the disgust for how transactional this information can be. And I understand the outrage. But try to direct that fury toward the data hoarding companies, not the people trying to catch a glimpse of a ghost in a broken mirror.

not to be all i told you so about ancestry tests but 23 and me went bankrupt and can now legally sell human genetic information to the highest bidder, as per their privacy policy which was signed by approx. 15 million test takers

[hunter-rodrigez]

23 and bankruptcy

March 24th 2025 In case you haven't heard, 23andme just announced they're filing for bankruptcy.

God knows what whoever buys the massive amounts of hoarded DNA data, will do with it.

Anyway, customers are advised to delete their data, even though 23and, of course, keeps a lot of your data even if you delete your account.

[yesornopolls]

Delete your info because they declared bankruptcy

[0sbrain]

if you or someone you know has ever done a 23andme test go delete your profile NOW.

it's never a good idea to trust a company with your genetic data and knowing they're filing for bankruptcy, if you gave that information away, you need to delete as much as possible before they are sold for pieces

here's a step by step guide on how to do so that i found on a Washington Post article

after deletion, the company will keep some of your data anonymized (separated from your name). this is not ideal but deleting whatever you can is better than nothing

posted on march 25th 2025

[dduane]

Folks -- if these people have any of your data, this is a really good time to DELETE IT. They're circling the drain, and there's no way to tell who'll get their mitts on that data once they fully go under.

[darkmaga-returns]

After filing for bankruptcy, 23andMe won permission to sell millions of users’ genetic and medical data to the highest bidder. With AGs across the country urging users to delete their info, Jefferey Jaxen breaks down how your most private data became biotech gold, and what you can do about it.

AIR DATE: April 3, 2025

[macmanx]

“California has robust privacy laws that allow consumers to take control and request that a company delete their genetic data,” said Attorney General Bonta. “Given 23andMe’s reported financial distress, I remind Californians to consider invoking their rights and directing 23andMe to delete their data and destroy any samples of genetic material held by the company.”

[patternwelded-quill]

If you use 23andme, this might be concerning to you. TL;DR: they can sell their DNA data, it's 'protected' and 'secure' but their privacy policy also says they can change that at any time. You're on the auction block for their bankruptcy profit recoup.

[transmutationisms]

what if i texted my estranged fascist bio family members and asked them to delete their stupid dna test data before 23andme sells it to someone who can extrapolate information about me from it

[feyarcher]

If you have ever used 23andMe, you need to immediately go delete your data. It's in bankruptcy and who knows who will be buying the data.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2025/03/24/23andme-dna-privacy-delete/