23andMe Goes Bankrupt: Here’s What Illinois Users Should Do Now

As someone who sent off a DNA sample to 23andMe a few years ago and got an ancestry profile in return, I remember a friend warning me not to do it. It wasn't that he was worried that I would receive a life-changing surprise when I looked at the results (I did), the reason for his warning can be summed up in a single sentence:

"What if someone outside that company manages to get a hold of your DNA profile?"

It turns out that his warning, which I totally ignored because I was focused only on researching my ancestry, is about to become a reality. Now that 23andMe has filed for bankruptcy and is looking for a buyer, we just don't know who is going to get my sample, and the samples of over 15 million other people.

23andMe has stated that if they're involved in a bankruptcy or sale, customers' data may also be sold or transferred. So what should we be doing now?

Worries About Privacy And The Security Of DNA Samples Is Not A New Thing For 23andMe

You may recall that back in 2023, 23andMe was the victim of a data breach in which hackers got access to a number of user accounts that gave them the names, birth years, addresses, ancestry reports, and names of relatives of their customers worldwide.

How important is that information to hackers? NBCChicago.com:

With the announcement of the company’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing this week, security experts say it’s even more unclear where your data could end up and what it could be used for.

“So this is a single source of truth when it comes to our identity, who we are, you know, the connections that we have to people, you meaning our family, our heritage, etcetera, as well as a lot of medical traits. That information alone, you know, if it ever did fall into the wrong hands, could be used to craft some very impressive, you know, phishing campaigns against end consumers,” said Aaron Rose, Security Architect Manager at Checkpoint Software Technologies.

It Seems As Though The Smartest Move A 23andMe User Could Make At This Point Is To Delete Everything And Move On

You could also download any and all of the information in your account, to keep the information for yourself if you see the need for that, but to make sure that no one else grabs your data, you should delete what you consider to be sensitive information.

Here's how, according to USAToday.com:

1. Sign in to your 23andMe account
2. Go to "Account Settings"
3. Click "23andMe Data"
4. Click "View"
5. Click "Delete Data"
6. Click "Permanently Delete Data"
7. Confirm request

After submitting a request, a user will receive an email detailing the 23andMe account deletion policy, in addition to a further request for confirmation. Upon email confirmation, a user will then lose account access.

Once the email confirmation has been completed, users can't request their personal information back, as the deletion process is automatic, according to the 23andMe website.

If you'd prefer some video help: