• News
    • Tech News
    • AI
  • Gadgets
    • Apple
    • iPhone
  • Gaming
    • Playstation
    • Xbox
  • Science
    • News
    • Space
  • Streaming
    • Netflix
  • Vehicles
    • Car News
  • Social Media
    • WhatsApp
    • YouTube
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • UNILAD
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
TikTok
Snapchat
WhatsApp
Submit Your Content
Doctor warns people to stop using DNA testing site amid 23andme controversy

Home> Science> News

Updated 11:32 7 Jan 2025 GMTPublished 10:39 7 Jan 2025 GMT

Doctor warns people to stop using DNA testing site amid 23andme controversy

The YouTuber is urging people to delete their information from the site

Rikki Loftus

Rikki Loftus

A doctor is warning people to stop using DNA testing sites amid controversy.

Taking to YouTube, the doctor shared his concerns about DNA testing websites and the incredibly personal information they have on us.

The testing kits were all the rage a few years ago, with millions of people opting to send a spit sample to a lab to find out more about their heritage.

DNA sites like 23andMe were even able to link people to long lost family members.

However, Doctor Mike is now warning people to delete any information they have on these testing websites.

Advert

In a YouTube video, he talked about his concerns over ‘misleading health guidance’, adding: “Almost all my concerns have come to life with the recent disaster at 23andMe.”

Doctor Mike went on to say that the company was ‘once valued [at] more than $6 billion’ but lately ‘things haven’t been going so well’.

He continued: “Initially, the FDA actually banned 23andMe from selling tests that included health information because they couldn’t reliably predict disease risk.”

He added: “Sadly, the FDA was pressured into backtracking on this ban saying 23andMe tests came with clear enough disclaimers for consumers to know that the reports are basically just for fun and shouldn’t be used to make medical decisions.”

Advert

The problem now is that, as the company faces financial issues, the question over what happens to consumers’ data has now been thrown into jeopardy.

The YouTuber is warning people not to use DNA testing sites (YouTube/@DoctorMike)
The YouTuber is warning people not to use DNA testing sites (YouTube/@DoctorMike)

He added: “Their user agreement states that if the company is acquired, user data will likely go to the company that buys it, and if that happened, the new owner could keep their current privacy policies or it could change them. It would be their choice.

“Right now, privacy laws in about 12 states would require customers to give consent before 23andMe could transfer their data to a new owner, but most states don't go that far, and there's no federal law to that effect.”

What can 23andMe users do to protect their data?

Doctor Mike has some suggestions on how to protect your data

Advert

He said: “For starters, remove consent from all types of third party sharing.

“The other critical step is deleting your data ASAP. The website actually has instructions on how to do it.

“One caveat though, 23andMe outsources its genotyping to labs and they're obligated to keep customer’s genetic info as raw data with their sex and date of birth for a couple of years before deleting it. So it’s not instant.”

UNILAD Tech has contacted 23andMe for a comment.

Featured Image Credit: Avishek Das/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images/YouTube/@DoctorMike
Health
Science
DNA
News
Youtube
Social Media

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

7 hours ago
8 hours ago
  • MICROGEN IMAGES/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY/Getty ImagesMICROGEN IMAGES/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY/Getty Images
    7 hours ago

    Archaeologists unearth over a dozen humans buried with hands tied behind backs in bizarre discovery

    The discovery was made in Peru and the humans are thought to date all the way back to 400 BCE

    Science
  • 20th Century Fox20th Century Fox
    7 hours ago

    Explorers find proof of 'ancient aliens' thanks to giant doorway hidden in the mountains

    What could it be concealing?

    Science
  • Tatsiana Volkava / GettyTatsiana Volkava / Getty
    7 hours ago

    Breakthrough 4-in-1 weight-loss jab promises quicker fat burn than Mounjaro or Ozempic alone

    Skinny jabs continue to be all the rage

    Science
  • Westend61 / GettyWestend61 / Getty
    8 hours ago

    Scientists reveal the 36 names least likely to get a job in shocking new study

    Employers are taking first impressions to the extreme

    Science
  • DNA testing site 23andMe speaks out amid 'colossal data breach'
  • Video shows what really happens to your body if you drink seawater
  • DNA data from 15,000,000 people goes on sale after popular testing site goes bankrupt
  • Biohacker Bryan Johnson shocks fans with bizarre picture to celebrate 48th birthday