23andMe's Bankruptcy Scare and Your DNA Privacy: Chill Out
2025-07-22
Last year's near-bankruptcy of 23andMe sparked a wave of data deletions by concerned users, fueled by media warnings about privacy risks. However, the author argues this panic is unwarranted. 23andMe doesn't possess your entire genome, only a small fraction. This data is used for kinship analysis and disease risk prediction, but current predictions are limited in accuracy and practical use, having minimal impact on health or insurance. The author suggests online activity and social media data pose far greater privacy risks. Focus should be on robust data protection, not the relatively small amount of genetic data held by 23andMe.
Tech
DNA Privacy