How to delete your 23andMe data

• 23andMe’s business is reeling after a data hack, a lawsuit and a slump in stock prices.
• The company’s problems have led to concerns about how it handles consumers’ genealogical data.
• Here’s how to delete your 23andMe data.

Things went downhill for 23andMe.

After the direct-to-consumer genetic testing company launched in 2006, it seemed to be on a steady climb and a standout among Silicon Valley ventures. As of 2021, according to Crunchbase, it has raised more than $1 billion from investors.

However, a data hack in 2023 triggered a series of problematic obstacles that 23andMe just can’t clear.

News that hackers were selling user data – which included details and birth names – on the dark web emerged in October. The company confirmed in December that hackers accessed ancestry data for just under 7 million users. A data breach notification filed in January said it took 23andMe five months to realize hackers had stolen the data.

The incident led to a class-action lawsuit, which 23andMe settled in September for $30 million, according to Reuters.

Less than a week later, 23andMe’s independent board directors resigned in a letter to CEO and co-founder Anne Wojcicki.

The letter said the executives “wholeheartedly support” 23andMe’s mission, but “it is also clear that we differ on the strategic direction of the company going forward.”

The Wall Street Journal reported that despite revenues of $299 million in 2023 and $219 million in 2024, the company has never turned a profit. Its share price peaked in February 2021, but has fallen steadily since then, hitting an all-time low of 29 cents.

23andMe’s reputation took a further hit among consumers in September, when Wojcicki said in an SEC filing that it has “considered third-party takeover proposals.” She returned to that statement later that month in a separate filing, but the damage was done.

Outlets like The Atlantic have reported that Wojcicki’s potential sale of 23andMe could also mean the sale of user data. The director of cybersecurity at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a nonprofit focused on digital privacy, urged his 186,000 X followers to delete their data from 23andMe. That post garnered more than 531,000 views in three days.

X’s post touched on concerns plaguing the DNA test kit industry: Your private DNA data may not stay private.

“Data is data — once it’s available, it’s very hard to control,” James Hazel, a biomedical researcher, told Business Insider in 2019.

23andMe says the personal data it collects includes registration information such as date of birth, genetic information such as a user’s genotype, sample information such as saliva, and self-reported information.

“Beyond our contracted laboratory, which we work with to process a customer’s sample and deliver their results, customer information will not be shared with any other entity unless they give us consent to do so,” a carrier said. 23andMe told Business Insider.

The spokesperson said the company does not share data with “employers, insurance companies, law enforcement agencies or other public databases.”

Here’s how to ask 23andMe to delete your data

Users who wish to have their personal information removed from 23andMe can opt out in the “23andMe Data” section of their Account Settings. But 23andMe says it is legally required to keep certain information.

“While we will delete most of your personal information, we are required to retain some information to comply with our legal obligation,” the company’s website states.

“23andMe and/or our contracted genotyping lab will retain your genetic information, date of birth and gender as necessary to comply with applicable legal obligations … even if you have chosen to delete your account,” the privacy statement reads of the company.

The privacy statement says 23andMe will also retain some information associated with user accounts, such as email addresses.

For users who participated in 23andMe Research, their genetic data and self-reported information will not be used in future research projects.

“Customers always have the option to delete their account at any time, and once the request is confirmed, we will immediately and automatically begin the deletion process,” the spokesperson said. “Deleting an account and associated data will permanently delete data associated with all profiles in the account. If a customer asks us to store their genetic samples, they will be thrown away.”