Learn how to… delete your 23andMe information

Past the laboratories that course of the saliva samples, the corporate doesn’t share buyer data with anybody else until the person has given permission for it to take action, the spokesperson says, together with employers, insurance coverage corporations, regulation enforcement companies, or any public databases.

“We deal with regulation enforcement inquiries, resembling a legitimate subpoena or courtroom order, with the utmost seriousness. We use all authorized measures to withstand any and all requests in an effort to shield our buyer’s privateness,” the spokesperson says. “Up to now, we’ve efficiently challenged these requests and haven’t launched any data to regulation enforcement.”

For individuals who nonetheless need their information deleted, right here’s the way you go about it.

Learn how to delete your information from 23andMe

  1. Log into your account and navigate to Settings.
  2. Beneath Settings, scroll to the part titled 23andMe information. Choose View.
  3. You might be requested to enter your date of start for additional safety. 
  4. Within the subsequent part, you’ll be requested which, if any, private information you’d prefer to obtain from the corporate (onto a private, not public, pc). When you’re completed, scroll to the underside and choose Completely delete information.
  5. You must then obtain an e-mail from 23andMe detailing its account deletion coverage and requesting that you just verify your request. When you verify you’d like your information to be deleted, the deletion will start routinely and also you’ll instantly lose entry to your account. 

What about your genetic pattern?

Once you arrange your 23andMe account, you’re given the choice both to have your saliva pattern securely destroyed or to have it saved for future testing. For those who’ve beforehand opted to retailer your pattern however now need to delete your 23andMe account, the corporate says, it’ll destroy the pattern for you as a part of the account deletion course of.

What if you wish to hold your genetic information, simply not on 23andMe?

Even if you would like your information taken off 23AndMe, there are explanation why you may nonetheless need to have it hosted on different DNA websites—for genealogical analysis, for instance. And a few folks like the concept of getting their DNA outcomes saved on multiple database in case one thing occurs to anyone firm. That is the place downloading your information comes into play. FamilyTreeDNA, MyHeritage, GEDmatch, and Residing DNA are among the many DNA testing corporations that help you add present DNA outcomes from different corporations, though Ancestry and 23andMe don’t settle for uploads.

Learn how to obtain your uncooked genetic information

  1. Navigate on to you.23andme.com/instruments/information/.
  2. Click on in your profile identify on the highest right-hand nook. Then choose Assets from the menu.
  3. Choose Browse uncooked genotyping information after which Obtain.
  4. Go to Account settings and click on on View beneath 23andMe information.
  5. Enter your date of start for safety functions.
  6. Tick the field indicating that you just perceive the constraints and dangers related to importing your data to third-party websites and press Submit request.

23andMe warns its customers that importing their information to different companies may put genetic information privateness in danger. For instance, unhealthy actors may use another person’s DNA information to create pretend genetic profiles.

They may use these profiles to “match” with a relative and entry private figuring out data and particular DNA variants—resembling details about any illness danger variants you may carry, the spokesperson says, including: “That is one purpose why we don’t assist importing DNA to 23andMe right now.” 

Replace: This text has been up to date to replicate that when requested concerning the nature of the genetic data it retains, 23andMe referred us to its privateness coverage however did not present some other particulars.