How to delete DNA from 23andMe: Is your DNA safe after 23andMe bankruptcy? What to know

23andMe, a popular genetic information company best known for its saliva test kits, announced Sunday it was headed to bankruptcy court.

The news, which comes following the resignation of the company's CEO and co-founder Anne Wojcicki, came with an unusual "consumer alert" from California Attorney General Rob Bonta. In the alert, Bonta urged Californians to invoke their rights to direct 23andMe to "delete their data and destroy any samples of genetic material held by the company."

The company said there will be "no changes" to the way the company stores, manages or protects customer data, but several experts, including Geoffrey Fowler, a Harvard-educated tech columnist for the Washington Post, urged customers to delete their data from the website — or else it could get into the wrong hands.

Here's what to know about the safety of your data on 23andMe, and directions on how to delete it.

Why should I delete my data from 23andMe?

The company, founded in 2006, has been slammed by business and security challenges, and has in recent years been hit by a wave of lawsuits. In 2023, about 7 million customers' personal data was accessed by hackers — including their family trees, birth years and geographic locations. A $30 million settlement was reached in that case.

Earlier this month, three law professors expressed concerns that existing protections may not be enough, calling on Congress to do more to shield consumer data. The authors suggested that if 23andMe went bankrupt, that data would "likely be sold to the highest bidder, a successor company that customers might not want to entrust with their genetic data."

According to the Washington Post, a disclaimer on the 23andMe website says that if ownership changes, data will remain protected "unless and until you are presented with materially new terms."

How to delete DNA from 23andMe

According to the 23andMe website, users can remove their personal information by opting out of the 23andMe data section of account settings. You can follow these steps:

1. Log into your 23andMe account.
2. Go to your Profile, then tap "Settings."
3. Scroll to a section labeled “23andMe Data” at the bottom of the page and click "View." 
4. If you want to download your data for personal storage, choose the option to download it to your device.
5. Scroll to the “Delete Data” section and click "Permanently Delete Data."
6. To confirm your request, you’ll receive an email from 23andMe. Click the link in the email to confirm.

Lori Comstock is a New Jersey-based journalist with the Mid-Atlantic Connect Team.