> "23andMe and/or our contracted genotyping laboratory will retain your Genetic Information, date of birth, and sex as required for compliance with applicable legal obligations, [...], even if you chose to delete your account. 23andMe will also retain limited information related to your account and data deletion request, including but not limited to, your email address [...]" - Retention of Personal Information
Does this mean they'll keep DNA and identifiable info even after deleting account?
a note: before you delete it, you may want to request downloads of your data for your own use. The means to do so is on the same page as the deletion request is.
You paid for it, you might as well get your FASTA and VCF out of it!
Please don't give people who chose to give 23andme their DNA over the last 20-something years a hard time. For adoptees, people estranged from their birth family, and people with certain genetic conditions, 23andme has been an important resource.
But none of these apply to the relatives closest to me who made that choice. I mean, yeah, don't go after strangers, that's weirdness. But my own family was so careless about our mutual security.
I think a lot of us fell into this trap simply out of ignorance. We've all, OK most of us, learned a lot in the last 20 years about corporate invasion of privacy and in many cases it's just too late to undo it. All we can do is help others make better choices.
Thank you for saying that out loud. As an adoptee who eventually found their birth father through DNA matching sites, 23andMe and similar sites were a godsend. It would not have been possible to identify him without DNA. No question. And yes, I deleted my data on 23andMe several years ago when it was no longer needed.
For my wife, it meant identifying a mutation that impeded her body’s ability to process folic acid. When she was on prenatal supplements, she became increasingly paranoid about very bizarre things. Being able to identify the root cause made all the difference for us.
I don’t hold it against anyone for wanting to use the service. The technology is amazing. But I will never feel anything but mistrust for any corporation in this country that wants my DNA because like my government I know it can never be trusted. If I lived in a country that valued privacy and strictly enforced it, I would feel differently. Maybe one day we’ll get there but not yet—and that is 100% the fault of these predatory companies who use & abuse their clients.
for less than $100 I found my biological fathers family, the answer to why drugs weren't working for my heart condition (genetic resistance to cardioselective beta blockers), and that my family history wasn't at all what I'd been told.
I'm an (old) adoptee. Early in my life adoptees did not have the right to know who their birthparents were. For those who are curious this is finally a way they can find out. I personally have no real interest because of my personal situation but I have considered signing up to Ancestry in the past.
@mwl My daughter found her birth family in china via a 2nd cousin living in the US contacting her after a match on 23 and me. Much as I distrust giving that much info to any company, it led to something great for her.
Oh God, the stories ... One needs to be savvy about genealogical & genomic research. (Full disclosure: I wrote this article. Never used 23 & Me myself.)
Like all collection services, they're happy to take your info in at breakneck speed, but once you request a copy of it, well, that'll take days. Sometimes weeks. And then they piecemeal it to you in the least digestible form, individual .CSV files. (just completed the download and closed the account)
You can do a lot with the raw CSV data if you're savvy, which they're quick to note was not parsed for errors or accuracy, but this is not the majority of internet citizens. Thanks for the reminder to kill this off. Much appreciated.
if it goes under then the data is the prize for the vultures and it may come without the no strings or rights of the customers data included. Always thought giving your most personal possession to anyone should be done with great care and appropriate paranoia and here it is. Not the first time this has happened alas and probably not the last.
why are people mad if their loved ones did this? People with medical conditions are desperate for answers in the craptastic hell scape of American health care & 23andMe offered help. They contributed to research for genetic conditions & others. I still use some of their health information to show doctors what I’m genetically predisposed to. I was hesitant & bummed to scrub it. It’s informative, interesting, & found relatives. 🤷♀️
in some ugly fashion, that data will absolutely be sold. Whether it's via the entire business being bought out, a fire sale as they are liquidating, or as a business plan to narrowly miss failure of the entire company. Regardless, I promise that data will end up under the control of a new entity sooner than later.
The bigger lesson, I believe, is: do not trust tech companies. They are not looking out for our best interests. Of course this applies to many major companies, but we seem to have this naive trust of tech companies with our most sensitive information. Again, and again they've proved to be unworthy of our trust.
slash
in reply to evacide • • •Bill Lamb
in reply to evacide • • •Sean Krueger
in reply to evacide • • •> "23andMe and/or our contracted genotyping laboratory will retain your Genetic Information, date of birth, and sex as required for compliance with applicable legal obligations, [...], even if you chose to delete your account. 23andMe will also retain limited information related to your account and data deletion request, including but not limited to, your email address [...]" - Retention of Personal Information
Does this mean they'll keep DNA and identifiable info even after deleting account?
Tirrimas
in reply to evacide • • •draeath
in reply to evacide • • •a note: before you delete it, you may want to request downloads of your data for your own use. The means to do so is on the same page as the deletion request is.
You paid for it, you might as well get your FASTA and VCF out of it!
evacide
in reply to evacide • • •reshared this
Justin To #НетВойне, I am Jack's Lost 404, Jonathan Lamothe, Boyd Stephen Smith Jr., CatSalad🐈🥗 (D.Burch) :blobcatrainbow: and Shannon Prickett reshared this.
Jack
in reply to evacide • • •Prainbow (she/her) 🏔️Colorado
in reply to evacide • • •Impish4249
in reply to evacide • • •Agreed
I think a lot of us fell into this trap simply out of ignorance. We've all, OK most of us, learned a lot in the last 20 years about corporate invasion of privacy and in many cases it's just too late to undo it. All we can do is help others make better choices.
Shannon Prickett reshared this.
Paul H :tinoflag:
in reply to evacide • • •Daniel Johnson
in reply to evacide • • •Will
in reply to evacide • • •IAintShootinMis
in reply to evacide • • •for less than $100 I found my biological fathers family, the answer to why drugs weren't working for my heart condition (genetic resistance to cardioselective beta blockers), and that my family history wasn't at all what I'd been told.
I didn't ask for any of the rest of this.
silfra
in reply to evacide • • •Dan is voting for Harris
in reply to evacide • • •Kenneth
in reply to evacide • • •Oh God, the stories ... One needs to be savvy about genealogical & genomic research. (Full disclosure: I wrote this article. Never used 23 & Me myself.)
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right_…
American nonprofit organization
Contributors to Wikimedia projects (Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.)b00tl00ps
in reply to evacide • • •Like all collection services, they're happy to take your info in at breakneck speed, but once you request a copy of it, well, that'll take days. Sometimes weeks. And then they piecemeal it to you in the least digestible form, individual .CSV files. (just completed the download and closed the account)
You can do a lot with the raw CSV data if you're savvy, which they're quick to note was not parsed for errors or accuracy, but this is not the majority of internet citizens. Thanks for the reminder to kill this off. Much appreciated.
Jonathan Lamothe
in reply to b00tl00ps • •Visikde
in reply to evacide • • •When they go the rest of the way bankrupt, they will sell off the data, probably multiple times
Galad
in reply to evacide • • •CheapPontoon
in reply to evacide • • •It's not like they were ever that careful with the data.
usatoday.com/story/money/2024/…
23andMe agrees to $30 million settlement over data breach that affected 6.9 million users
, USA TODAY (USA TODAY)Kyle Judd (he/him)
in reply to evacide • • •Really? What’s wrong with it? I’m curious to know.
Though I was more of an #ancestrydna guy than a 23 & Me user.
Avid Presto
in reply to evacide • • •DEDGirl
in reply to evacide • • •Douglas Grounds
in reply to evacide • • •Sensitive content
pillsubtlety
in reply to evacide • • •“Andy Kill, a spokesperson for 23andMe”
Possibly the worst name for a spokesperson
Goiterzan/Amygdalai Lama
in reply to evacide • • •done.
Been on my to do list for ages.
JacobRPG+ 🫘
in reply to evacide • • •Mister Moo 🐮
in reply to evacide • • •Suzanne she/her
in reply to evacide • • •Expert Plus 🍀
in reply to evacide • • •FlipperPA
in reply to evacide • • •Eye
in reply to evacide • • •NadiaPurge
in reply to evacide • • •NosirrahSec 🏴☠️
in reply to evacide • • •I wish I could log in and tell them to delete the information they have on me that was gleaned from others foolishly disclosing their information :\
Now, if not already, there's pigs and fascists around the world with my genetic information correlated from relatives.