[BOISE] – Attorney General Raúl Labrador announced the following consumer protection alert to Idaho citizens:

23andMe, a company that offers genetic testing and other genetic services to the public, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Sunday March 23, 2025.  23andMe is commonly known for providing health and ancestry information from genetic samples submitted by consumers.  As a result of the bankruptcy, 23andMe has disclosed that it intends to sell its corporate assets, which would likely include stored genetic data submitted by customers.

“There is nothing more personal than an individual’s genetic information, said Attorney General Labrador, “and allowing that to be sold off to the highest bidder raises serious consumer protection concerns for privacy.  I want to make sure that 23andMe customers in Idaho have every opportunity to protect their genetic data.”

Any consumer who submitted genetic data to 23andMe may have consented to 23andMe storing that data for research purposes.  According to online sources, consumers can withdraw their consent to 23andMe storing their genetic data through the following steps:

  1. Log into your account and navigate to Settings.
  2. Under Settings, scroll to the section titled 23andMe data. Select View.
  3. You may be asked to enter your date of birth for extra security.
  4. In the next section, you’ll be asked which, if any, personal data you’d like to download from the company (onto a personal, not public, computer). Once you’re finished, scroll to the bottom, and select Permanently delete data.
  5. You should then receive an email from 23andMe detailing its account deletion policy and requesting that you confirm your request. Once you confirm you’d like your data deleted, the deletion will begin automatically, and you’ll immediately lose access to your account.

The above information is from the company’s website and an article from MIT Technology Review.

Consumers may also use the Consumer Reports App to request that direct-to-consumer genetic testing companies, including 23andMe, delete any personal data. Permission Slip by CR.

Consumers who have submitted genetic samples to other companies should determine if their genetic information has been stored by that company. If your data has been stored, you may request the company destroy any stored information either through the Consumer Reports App or through the company itself.