Jim Rossman: How to delete your 23andMe data while you still can

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I can’t tell you how many of my friends and relatives have sent their saliva off to 23andMe to have their DNA analyzed for genealogy purposes. I was always curious about my genealogy, but hesitant to pay some company to test and then keep my DNA.

It turns out I was right.

On March 23, 23andMe filed for bankruptcy. What was once a $6 billion company is now going to sell itself. They will be using Chapter 11 to facilitate a sale of the company, which includes customer data.

Yep, if you have sent 23andMe your spit, they can and will be selling it to someone else. I would imagine the DNA database is their most valuable asset.

According to 23andMe’s privacy statement, “If we are involved in a bankruptcy, merger, acquisition, reorganization, or sale of assets, your Personal Information may be accessed, sold or transferred as part of that transaction.”

According to the bankruptcy filing, any buyer will be required to comply with applicable law with respect to treatment of customer data. I sure hope so, but nobody has a clue how consumers would be treated if the data is sold.

My advice to 23andMe customers is to ask the company to delete your data while you still can.

To delete your account and remove your data, log into your account at 23andMe.com, then go to the Settings option under your account profile. Click the View button on the upper right.

You’ll see a window asking for your date of birth to continue, then you’ll be presented with a dialog box offering to let you download your data, which isn’t a bad idea, but you certainly want to have a plan for keeping your DNA data safe. Passwords and bank account numbers may come and go, but your DNA data is something that you’ll want to protect until you die.

Alongside the download button, you’ll see a button to request the deletion of your 23andMe account, which will also trigger the destruction of your genetic sample if you opted to keep it in storage.

Even if you do delete your account, 23andMe will retain your genetic information, date of birth and sex as required for applicable legal obligations. They will also retain limited information related to your account and the deletion request as required by law.

The California attorney general has issued a consumer alert to 23andMe customers reminding them of their rights to delete their genetic data (https://oag.ca.gov/news/press-releases/attorney-general-bonta-urgently-issues-consumer-alert-23andme-customers).