Do you want to delete your 23andMe genetic data? There is a way, but there is also a catch

The past few months have been bumpy for 23andMe, with the company settling a data breach lawsuit, announcing a round of layoffs, and many former customers asking, Can I delete the genetic data the company has about me? Although it may not be that easy, there are some things you can do.

As we become increasingly aware The amount of personal information collected Online, our genetic information is perhaps the most personal data we can share with anyone, let alone companies. But more than 15 million people have done so using… The famous genetic testing and genealogy tracking company 23andMe.

These concerns have certainly not been allayed by the recent news coming out of the company. Last month, 23andMe announced it would lay off about 40% of its workforce, in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis. Major data leak and Ongoing financial and administrative conflicts In a company that saw its stock price drop by 70 percent. With all of this hovering over the company like a dark cloud, some people who have used 23andMe’s DNA testing services are now looking to bail, concerned about the company’s ability to protect their sensitive genetic information.

About 6.9 million users were affected by the issue Data breachInvestigations found that the hackers responsible for the attack specifically targeted the accounts of users of Chinese or Ashkenazi Jewish heritage, which they posted on the dark web. If you’re ready to close your 23andMe account, read on to learn the sometimes confusing steps you need to take to delete your data from 23andMe.

For more, find out How much will 23andMe pay in the class action settlement? And read about A complex relationship between DNA testing companies and privacy.

Can you delete your 23andMe account?

Yes. If you use 23andMe for DNA testing, you have the option to delete your account and personal information at any time. Once you submit your request, the data deletion process begins “immediately and automatically” and can take about 30 days to complete, a 23andMe spokesperson told CNET. But not all of your data is deleted within 30 days.

What data is deleted after you close your 23andMe account?

The answer to this is more complex. Your 23andMe data will be deleted after you request that your profile be deleted, a company spokesperson told CNET. This process gives you the option to ask the company to dispose of your genetic sample as well, if you initially asked 23andMe to store it. Your information will no longer be usable in any of the Company’s research projects.

However, there is more than that.

“If a customer opts into 23andMe Research, their personal information will not be used in any future research projects,” the spokesperson said. “Please note that data cannot be removed from research that has already been conducted.”

Bay Area news site SFGate It found that genotyping labs that worked on a 23andMe customer’s sample would also retain the customer’s gender, date of birth, and genetic information, even after it was “deleted.”

A 23andMe representative said that by law, labs are required to keep the information for a specific period of time — two to three years — after which it will be deleted. The representative also said that this data is only kept at the genotyping lab, not at 23andMe itself. If the laboratory experiences any type of breach, the data it holds is anonymous—it does not include name, address, email, phone number, or other contact information—and the genetic information included is raw and documented. Unprocessed.

Before deleting your 23andMe account, download your data

Before closing your account, consider saving all of your 23andMe information first, including your raw genotyping data, your DNA relatives, and your ancestral makeup. Some files can take up to 30 days to prepare, so have a plan for how you’ll handle this.

Downloading your raw DNA file will allow you to upload your genetic data to another service to look up family or ethnicity, if you want.

Here’s how to download raw genotyping data and related information:

1. Log in to your 23andMe account.

2. Head to Settings In the browser, scroll to the bottom and click view Next to 23andMe data. In the app, scroll to the bottom of Settings, then tap Access your data Under 23andMe data.

3. Here you can choose what information you want to download before deleting your account, including an overview of your 23andMe reports, your raw ancestral makeup data, your family tree data, and your raw genetic data.

Note: These files come in PDF, TXT, JSON, and other formats, and you’ll need the appropriate applications to view the data. For your DNA profile, 23andMe will email you with a link for you to use to download the data.

You can also recreate everything in spreadsheets, As shown hereOr take screenshots of everything. Some downloads happen instantly, but some can take 30 days, 23andMe said.

How to delete your account and data on 23andMe

The company warns that once you delete your data from 23andMe, unless you download it first, it will be gone. ready? Here’s how to delete your data:

1. Head to Settings Again, scroll down to 23andMe Data, and then click view. You may be asked to verify your date of birth to continue.

2. If you’ve already downloaded all the information you want to keep or capture, scroll down and click Permanently delete data button.

3. 23andMe will send you an email asking you to confirm your order. Once you do this, the company will begin the deletion process and you will lose access to your account. If you ask the company to store your genetic samples, they will dispose of them.

For more, find out How does 23andMe compete with its main competitor, Ancestry?.