DELShould you delete your 23andMe data? Download your file first
In March 2025, the company holding the DNA of 15 million people filed for bankruptcy. Within three months, 1.9 million of them had asked for their data to be deleted.
23andMe is still here, now owned by a nonprofit. If you are thinking about deleting your account, that is a reasonable choice. Just do one thing first, because deletion is final: download your raw DNA file. It is yours, it is free, and once the account is gone, 23andMe can't send it to you.
What happened to 23andMe?
| When | What happened |
|---|---|
| October 2023 | Hackers break into accounts with passwords leaked from other sites and reach data on 6.9 million users |
| March 2025 | 23andMe files for bankruptcy |
| June 2025 | The interim CEO tells Congress 1.9 million customers have asked to delete their data. The UK fines the company £2.31 million over the 2023 breach |
| July 2025 | TTAM Research Institute, a nonprofit led by co-founder Anne Wojcicki, completes the purchase for $305 million |
When the sale was agreed, TTAM promised to follow 23andMe's existing privacy policy. So if you never deleted your account, your data now sits with TTAM, under the same rules as before.
Should you delete your 23andMe data?
There is no single right answer. It depends on what you want from it.
| Delete it if | Keep it if |
|---|---|
| The breach and the sale cost you your trust | You still use DNA Relatives to find family |
| You never open the app anymore | You want 23andMe's reports to keep updating |
| You don't want your DNA in future research | You are happy to support research with it |
There is also a middle path: keep the account and switch off research. More on that below.
Whatever you decide, the next step is the same.
Step 1: Download your raw DNA file
Your raw file is a plain text table of the roughly 600,000 genetic letters the chip read. Everything 23andMe told you came from it, and you can use it anywhere: on genealogy sites, in other reports, or with your own AI.
Download your 23andMe raw data
at 23andme.com and open Account Settings.
and click View.
and submit the request.
The file is usually ready in about a week, sometimes up to 30 days. You get a .zip file. Keep it as it is.
While you are in Account Settings, download your reports and anything else you want to keep. 23andMe itself recommends this, because after deletion it can't answer requests for your data.
Don't delete your account until the file has arrived and you have opened it once to check it.
Step 2: Decide about research
If you agreed to research when you signed up, you can switch it off in Account Settings without deleting anything. Two things to know:
- What's already in a study stays there. Data already used can't be pulled back.
- New studies won't get it. Your data is left out of any study that starts more than 30 days after you opt out.
Deleting your account also stops your data being used in future research.
Step 3: Delete your account
- Open Account Settings and choose to delete your account.
- 23andMe sends an email explaining what deletion means. Click the link in it to confirm.
- Deletion starts right away and you lose access to the account.
Once you confirm, it can't be stopped or reversed. If you asked 23andMe to store your saliva sample, it is thrown away.
What 23andMe keeps even after you delete
Deleting is not a complete wipe. 23andMe's privacy statement says the company and its lab keep your genetic information, date of birth and sex where the law requires it, even after you delete your account. The main reason is a US law for clinical labs (CLIA). The company also keeps a record of your deletion request.
So deletion removes your account, your reports and your stored sample, and keeps you out of future research. It doesn't make every trace disappear.
What to do with your raw file now
Treat it like a password. Keep the original .zip somewhere private, and delete stray copies from your downloads folder and your email.
If you want to keep learning from it without handing it to another company, use a tool that reads it without keeping it. Helisoma reads the file in your browser, so the file never leaves your device. Only the few hundred markers your report needs are sent to us, and you can delete them yourself in settings. Want to see what else the file can do? Here are 9 ideas worth your time.
Quick answers
Can I get my 23andMe data back after deleting?
No. Once you confirm, the deletion can't be undone, and 23andMe can't send you your data afterward. Download your raw file first.
Does TTAM own my DNA data now?
If you still had an account when the sale closed in July 2025, yes: TTAM bought almost everything 23andMe owned, including the consumer DNA service. It committed to keep 23andMe's privacy policy.
Can I stop research without deleting my account?
Yes. Switch off research consent in Account Settings. Your data stays out of studies that start more than 30 days later.
Is it safe to upload my 23andMe file somewhere else?
That depends on where. Read what each site does with the file: some keep it, some let police search their database, some read it and forget it. Our comparison of DNA upload sites has the details.
Sources
- 23andMe Support. Requesting 23andMe Account Closure. support.23andme.org
- 23andMe Support. Research Participation and Consent. support.23andme.org
- 23andMe. Privacy Statement, last updated May 19, 2026. 23andme.org
- 23andMe. 23andMe reaches agreement for sale of business to TTAM Research Institute. Press release, June 13, 2025. 23andme.org
- The Record. 23andMe leadership grilled by lawmakers. June 11, 2025. therecord.media
- Information Commissioner's Office. ICO fines 23andMe £2.31 million for failing to protect UK users' genetic data. June 17, 2025. ico-newsroom.prgloo.com
