Taking a DNA test is a great way to learn more about yourself and your heritage. But most people don’t want DNA testing companies to retain ownership of their raw DNA data. The good news is you can take your test, download your results, and then delete them so they are no longer included in the testing company’s database.
Yes!
Taking a DNA test does not transfer “ownership” of your DNA to a testing company. You send them your sample and they test your sample, but your DNA information remains your own. You own your DNA and you own your DNA test data.
Once you’ve taken a test and you’ve been notified the results are ready for you to view, you should download the information from the testing site. The way you do this varies from site to site.
23andMe allows you to delete your data, but there are some limitations:
To delete your DATA, login into 23andMe:
Click the Settings tab and scroll down the very bottom. Here you will find the “delete your data” option:
If you click the view link, you can see the permanently delete your data option:
Your DNA data will be permanently deleted after 30 days.
Ancestry allows data deletion with the following limitations:
To have Ancestry delete your spit sample, you must call Member Services to do so.
To delete your account, log into your account. Then navigate to:
https://www.ancestry.com/secure/account/delete
This will bring you to the following screen:
Follow the steps to delete your DNA data.
Living DNA requires you to contact them to delete your data/account. There is very little information regarding how their data deletion works and what is retained and how your data is deleted.
You can submit a request at the following URL:
All of DNA deletion at LivingDNA is done manually. Submit a request, and they will take care of it.
MyHeritage has a robust data deletion policy. Their Privacy Policy states:
“The license you grant to us is not perpetual, and it is revocable as you are able at any time to delete your DNA Results and DNA Reports permanently from the Website and to have us destroy your DNA samples.”
Go to the DNA tab on the top menu bar and select “Manage DNA Kits.”
Click the 3 vertical dots on the kit you want to delete the data and select “delete your data”:
GPS Origins states that your sample is destroyed after they extract your DNA data. To delete the DNA data, you must navigate to the following URL:
I contacted HomeDNA, and they let me know that their IT team would have to process the DNA deletion.
What you are downloading is your raw DNA data.
The testing company can continue to use the information compiled from the raw data, as long as it is anonymous and not specific. Any identifying information you gave them, such as your name or address, doesn’t remain with the information they retain. All of your raw data and your identifying information is deleted after you’ve downloaded it.
The raw data provided by DNA testing companies have undergone a general quality review. The information you download is only suitable for informational use and not for medical, diagnostic, or other use.
You can share the information with your doctor if you’d like a medical assessment of the data, but chances are your doctor will encourage you to undergo more thorough testing.
The purpose of downloading your data is so you have it after you’ve deleted it from the testing company’s database.
The simplest answer is privacy. Many people may not be aware of the requirements companies need to follow when you send them your genetic data, according to Mason Marks, M.D., J.D., a visiting fellow at Yale Law School’s Information Society Project and researcher who studies health law and data privacy.
If a testing company’s terms of service don’t specifically prohibit it, these companies can conduct research on your genetic data, sell it, or share it with third parties. There is a chance your information could be used in ways that are harmful to you, even if it seems as if something is completely safe at the time you do it. It’s better to err on the side of caution.
One of the most significant concerns is that insurance companies or employers could use your information against you. The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) prohibits this, but that doesn’t mean it can’t happen.
Law enforcement can also use DNA information against you or someone you care about. There have been instances of police officers and criminal prosecutors using genetic data that’s been uploaded to a genetic database to locate suspects or suspects' relatives.
Some companies even distribute or sell your genetic data to third parties. This is why it’s so important to delete your data as soon as possible. If you wait, companies might have already sold the information. Even if you delete the original version of it now, there are still other companies where it’s stored. And once data has been used for research or otherwise shared with third parties, it generally can’t be deleted. Research using your genetic data, for example, may already be in-progress or completed. Not to mention it would be tough to track down all who gained access to it.
If you’ve submitted your DNA to a testing company and you haven’t already, download your information and then delete it from the database.
Cheap DNA Kits (all under $60). Read our 2021 Guide.
