SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO – As genetic testing company 23AndMe faces an increasingly uncertain future, California Attorney General Rob Bonta reminded customers that they have the right to tell the company to permanently delete their data.
The company has publicly reported its “financial distress” and said it had a high suspicion in its ability to continue in its recent securities application, the California Attorney General’s Office said in a news release.
In California, the “pill of sensitive consumer data” accumulated by 23AndME will be removed under both the Genetic Information Privacy Act and the California Consumer Protection Act.
“California has a robust privacy law that allows consumers to take control and require companies to delete genetic data,” Bonta said in a statement. “Given the financial distress reported by 23Andme, it reminds us to consider calling Californians their rights and instructing 23andMe to delete the data and destroy samples of genetic material held by the company.”
How to delete 23andMe data
Customers can follow these steps to delete their 23andMe account and personal information:
Log in to your 23andMe account on the company website. Go to the Settings section of your profile. Scroll to the section at the bottom of the page labeled “23andMe Data.” Click (View) next to “23andMe Data.” Please download the data. Scroll to the (Delete Data) section. Click (Delete data permanently). Please check your request. You will receive an email from 23andMe. Click on the link to confirm your removal request.
The website allows customers to instruct the company to destroy stored saliva samples and DNA, or revoke permission to use genetic data for research.
Original issue: March 24th, 2025, 12:49pm EDT
