Past the laboratories that course of the saliva samples, the corporate doesn’t share buyer data with anybody else until the consumer has given permission for it to take action, the spokesperson says, together with employers, insurance coverage corporations, legislation enforcement companies, or any public databases.
“We deal with legislation enforcement inquiries, comparable to a legitimate subpoena or court docket order, with the utmost seriousness. We use all authorized measures to withstand any and all requests as a way to shield our buyer’s privateness,” the spokesperson says. “Thus far, we have now efficiently challenged these requests and haven’t launched any data to legislation enforcement.”
For individuals who nonetheless need their knowledge deleted, right here’s the way you go about it.
The way to delete your knowledge from 23andMe
- Log into your account and navigate to Settings.
- Below Settings, scroll to the part titled 23andMe knowledge. Choose View.
- You might be requested to enter your date of beginning for additional safety.
- Within the subsequent part, you’ll be requested which, if any, private knowledge 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 knowledge.
- You need to then obtain an e mail from 23andMe detailing its account deletion coverage and requesting that you just affirm your request. When you affirm you’d like your knowledge to be deleted, the deletion will start mechanically and also you’ll instantly lose entry to your account.
What about your genetic pattern?
While 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. If you happen to’ve beforehand opted to retailer your pattern however now wish to delete your 23andMe account, the corporate says, it should destroy the pattern for you as a part of the account deletion course of.
What if you wish to preserve your genetic knowledge, simply not on 23andMe?
Even if you need your knowledge taken off 23AndMe, there are explanation why you would possibly nonetheless wish to have it hosted on different DNA websites—for genealogical analysis, for instance. And a few folks like the thought of getting their DNA outcomes saved on a couple of database in case one thing occurs to anybody firm. That is the place downloading your knowledge comes into play. FamilyTreeDNA, MyHeritage, GEDmatch, and Dwelling DNA are among the many DNA testing corporations that permit you to add current DNA outcomes from different corporations, though Ancestry and 23andMe don’t settle for uploads.
The way to obtain your uncooked genetic knowledge
- Navigate on to you.23andme.com/instruments/knowledge/.
- Click on in your profile identify on the highest right-hand nook. Then choose Assets from the menu.
- Choose Browse uncooked genotyping knowledge after which Obtain.
- Go to Account settings and click on on View underneath 23andMe knowledge.
- Enter your date of beginning for safety functions.
- Tick the field indicating that you just perceive the restrictions and dangers related to importing your data to third-party websites and press Submit request.
23andMe warns its customers that importing their knowledge to different providers may put genetic knowledge privateness in danger. For instance, dangerous actors may use another person’s DNA knowledge to create faux genetic profiles.
They might use these profiles to “match” with a relative and entry private figuring out data and particular DNA variants—comparable to details about any illness threat variants you would possibly carry, the spokesperson says, including: “That is one motive why we don’t assist importing DNA to 23andMe presently.”
Replace: This text has been up to date to mirror that when requested concerning the nature of the genetic data it retains, 23andMe referred us to its privateness coverage however did not present another particulars.
