To ask if you're deleting you're 23 and me account

[OptimismvsRealism]

It's probably stupid to keep it isn't it

Gave tests to my parents too in the past so suppose had better tell them too

Exactly. It's absolutely crazy.

But at least you can cancel your credit cards - you can't just change your DNA!

I believe it's to find out if they have any unknown family members out there.

I listened to an amazing programme about it on Radio 4. Some of the stories were fascinating.

I remember one about a woman whi, when she was growing up, felt disconnected from her father. She went on to submit her DNA and was eventually put in touch with her biological father.

I think it was called The Gift because these kits were popular Christmas/birthday presents for a while.

I've considered it but my Dad was a bit of a lad in the 1960s so who knows what it might reveal!

Eh? I wasn t being obtuse in the least, just pointing out it has good uses

Because it's interesting to learn about yourself. There's no reason to be smug about preferring to never know.

Such a shame. I wanted to do it, I’m a real mix of what not with something else thrown in.

Obviously won’t be doing it now.

Not being smug at all, I totally understand being curious - I would just never trust a company with my DNA!

Is it better to write first? More info here.

https://www.23andme.com/en-gb/legal/eu-privacy-notice/

I'm not with 23 and me but a friend did ancestry.

There were no genetic predispositions/ medical info. She found a new cousin and that she was Irish but that was it. It wouldn't have any impact at all.

To find out more about their heritage and family ties.

I can't see the harm. I mean the NHS already holds all sorts of stuff which could be far more dodgy.

Just because 23andme didn't send your friend medical info doesn't mean they don't use the data for that. Unless you opt out, your data is shared with others for medical research purposes. There was a stat somewhere that 80% of users opt into this.

You see, your heritage- a family tree - isn't really accurate because, let's be frank anyone can cheat even great granny Edna, so you never really know your heritage. It found nationalities, I never knew ran in my genetics.

Also you can update the health aspects which in turn helps genetic research, as someone with a rare autoimmune disease, I think it could be quite useful in the future and used correctly.

They can identify certain factors from your dna and if you are more at risk of certain diseases aswell.

She didn't do 23 and me, as I said she did ancestry.

She didn't pay for the medical info option, just the heritage. She's a clinical practitioner herself and had no qualms. Each to their own but it wouldn't particularly bother me either.

Frankly anyone who is prepared to pay to give away their DNA to a private company is an idiot.

This was always going to happen, either a data breach or the terms and conditions would change and suddenly your DNA was going to become the property of god knows who with unknown intentions.

It’s a criminal’s wet dream, and millions of people have played right into their hands.

This sums it up for me as well.

Don't get me wrong, I totally understand wanting to know more about your genetics and where you come from, I just can't imagine trusting some random company with such an important piece of information.

It's not like you can change your DNA if the site is hacked, once it's out there you have no control over it whatsoever.

Ok, did a bit of googling. This is what you need to do.

VPN set to an EU country (important!)
https://datarequests.org/generator/
Ask for erasure from 23andme
Type your full name and email only
Send off their auto form

Supposedly GDPR is defined by locale, that's why the EU-set VPN is important. ProtonVPN is free to download and the Netherlands is an option.