With 23andMe's future unclear, what will happen to users' data? Here's how to delete it

Americans curious about their ancestry likely paid for a DNA test through 23andMe.

23andMe is on the brink of a financial collapse. The company — founded in 2006 — is now considered unprofitable, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Despite generating $299 million in revenue in 2023 and $219 million in 2024, the company has remained unprofitable. Its stock price, which peaked in February 2021, has consistently declined, hitting an all-time low of 29 cents.

This leaves 23andMe's 15 million customers wondering what will happen with their DNA data if they go out of business.

6.9 million profiles impacted by 23andMe data breach

The company was hacked in 2023, compromising data in nearly 6.9 million DNA Relatives and Family Tree profiles.

"In early October, we learned that a threat actor accessed a select number of individual 23andMe.com accounts through a process called credential stuffing," according to a 23andMe blog post. "That is, usernames and passwords that were used on 23andMe.com were the same as those used on other websites that have been previously compromised or otherwise available."

Last month, the company reached a settlement of $30 million for the nearly seven million customers whose personal information was breached.

Another reason the company is struggling is the lack of returns from customers. Customers only need to take a single DNA, which makes it difficult for the company to secure consistent revenue.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the company couldn’t turn those single buyers into subscribers.

More: 23andMe agrees to $30 million settlement over data breach that affected 6.9 million users

What will happen to 23andMe users data?

The future of 23andMe user data is uncertain due to the company's current instability. With recent data breaches and board resignations, there's concern about what might happen if the company is sold or goes under.

Users can request data deletion, but it's unclear how data will be handled moving forward.

How can you delete your 23andMe data?

According to the 23andMe website, users can remove their personal information anytime by opting out of the 23andMe data section of account settings. The company says the data is deleted once a user submits and confirms the request.

However, per the privacy statement, 23andMe is legally required to retain certain information.

"23andMe and/or our contracted genotyping laboratory will retain your Genetic Information, date of birth and sex as required for compliance with applicable legal obligations... even if you chose to delete your account," the company's privacy statement says.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Here's how to delete your 23andMe data