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23andMe: Georgia AG urges residents to delete accounts

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Published  April 7, 2025 1:25pm EDT
I-Team
FOX 5 Atlanta

I-Team: 23andMe

23andMe has filed for bankruptcy and experts are warning that the company could sell customers' medical and ancestry data. Dana Fowle has more information about what is happening and advice on how to delete your information.

The Brief

    • The genetic testing company "23andMe" has filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy. This leaves the personal DNA data of 15 million customers in potential limbo.
    • Georgia's Attorney General Christopher Carr urges customers to delete their accounts from the California company's database to keep that information safe during this uncertain time.
    • "23andMe" offers genetic testing kits that have helped to capture serial killers, to find missing family members, to discover unknown ancestry, and to help understand diseases. But there's always been a concern about what happens to that precious stored data when you die, when a company is sold, or if a company folds.

ATLANTA - The genetic testing company 23andMe has filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy. This leaves the personal DNA data of 15 million customers in potential limbo.

PREVIOUS: Georgia AG urging residents to delete 23andMe account after bankruptcy filing

What they're saying:

Attorneys general nationwide, including Georgia's Attorney General Christopher Carr, are calling for customers to remove their data from the 23andMe database. Here's how you can do that. 

  1. Go to your account "settings."
  2. Scroll to the bottom of the page and find "23andMe Data." Click, then "view" it.
  3. Here you can download your data if you'd like to save it before deleting it.
  4. Find the "Delete Data" section and click "Permanently Delete Data."
  5. Confirm it when you get an email from the California-based company 23andMe.

But also consider doing two more things. You may want to notify the company in the "Preferences" section to destroy your genetic samples on file. After that, consider withdrawing consent to use your banked information for research or any other purpose in "Research and Product Consents."

The backstory:

A data breach in 2023 hit the genetic testing company hard. Almost half of the database was affected. The lawsuits started to pile up and the company has struggled ever since. In March, 23andMe filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Often in bankruptcies, parts of a business can be sold to different buyers, but how you can do that when holding genetic material is uncertain.  

The Source

  • This is an I-Team original report based on information from various sources. 

I-TeamConsumerGood Day Atlanta