Californians have the right to direct the company to delete their genetic data OAKLAND — California Attorney General Rob Bonta today issued a consumer alert to customers of 23andMe, a genetic testing and information company. The California-based company has publicly reported that it is in financial distress and stated in securities filings that there is substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern.
Whenever someone mentioned these services to me, I would respond that I didn’t trust them, and was often called paranoid. Maybe I just don’t trust large companies with my most private data, and I don’t know why others would.
The usual retort I heard is because someone in your extended family probably did take a DNA test at some point they “practically already have yours.” At least that’s what redditors parroted all the time.
I don’t know if it is true, because I thought being a couple steps removed from your parents already renders most hereditary DNA unrelated. But I’m just a layman.
Regardless, it still wouldn’t have been my choice to deliberately self own like that. Just turns me into an unwilling victim instead, much better /s.
Exactly half of your nuclear DNA is from your mom and half is from your dad. It’s the same for them with their parents. It goes on and on like that. There’s a really interesting technique called The Leeds Method that allows you to cluster your DNA matches and it basically groups your DNA matches into four main groups, one for each of your grandparents. So you can actually quite clearly, with a bit of family knowledge or research, see more or less how you’re related to a DNA match by comparing who your common matches are.
It’s hard to explain, but you can learn a lot about DNA matches who aren’t your immediate family.
Heres one of a distant cousin (related from a great great great grandfather)
Shit. Guess they had a point.
not only that, but the test isnt going to be useful to a person whos not a geneticist anyways.