Delete your 23andMe data, N.C. AG warns
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Genetic testing company 23andMe, widely known for its at-home DNA testing kit, filed for bankruptcy Sunday.
Why it matters: That financial distress has sparked a big question for some of the more than 15 million customers who have used the company's services: What does a sale mean for the genetic data 23andMe stores?
Driving the news: North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson urged North Carolinians Tuesday to delete their accounts and health information from the site as soon as possible.
- Jackson's announcement came as the state has been investigating 23andMe since October 2023, Jackson said in a release, over concerns about the possibility that it hadn't done enough to protect customers' information and data.
How it works: In the case of bankruptcy, mergers, acquisitions or other forms of reorganization, 23andMe says, personal information "may be accessed, sold or transferred."
Customers can delete their 23andMe account within their account settings, according to the company's customer care page.
- Scroll to the section titled "23andMe data" and select view. Users can download information they want to keep before permanently deleting their data. More comprehensive instructions are available here.
- After doing so, the user will receive an email asking them to confirm their request to delete their account.
- Some data will be retained to comply with the company's legal obligations, 23andMe notes in its privacy statement.
Go deeper: What else to know about what 23andMe's sale could mean for customer data: