Download your raw data before you touch any delete button. Deletion at 23andMe cannot be undone, and the file is the only part of the service you can keep. The order: request the raw data file, check that the zip holds one .txt, store two encrypted copies, then delete the account, destroy the sample and withdraw research consent from Settings.
Why download first
23andMe is not the company you sent your sample to. It filed for Chapter 11 on March 23, 2025, and TTAM Research Institute, a nonprofit founded and led by Anne Wojcicki, completed the $305 million purchase on July 14, 2025 (TTAM press release, NBC News, checked 14 October 2026). It now calls itself the 23andMe Research Institute (board announcement, October 24, 2025, checked 14 October 2026), keeps running, and still serves raw data downloads. Our review of the bankruptcy has the timeline.
The owner is not the reason to download. The reason is that nothing else about the account is in your hands. In 2023, attackers used passwords reused from other sites to enter about 14,000 accounts and read about 5.5 million DNA Relatives profiles and 1.4 million Family Tree profiles, roughly 6.9 million people (23andMe's account of the breach, checked 14 October 2026). It brought a $46.75 million US class settlement, whose approved claims were paid on September 29 and 30, 2026 (settlement administrator, checked 14 October 2026), and a California Attorney General lawsuit against the former company, now Chrome Holding Co. (OAG, May 28, 2026, checked 14 October 2026). About 1.9 million customers, around 15%, asked for deletion in spring 2025 (TechCrunch).
Deletion is permanent. The privacy statement says the process "cannot be canceled, undone, withdrawn, or reversed" (23andMe privacy statement, last updated October 17, 2025, checked 14 October 2026). The account, the reports and the relative matches go the moment you confirm the email. The raw data file is the one asset that survives, and only if you took it first.
How to download your 23andMe raw data
Two routes exist. Menu labels changed more than once since 2025, so match what you see on screen. Our download guide covers AncestryDNA and MyHeritage as well.
The full request, through Settings
- Sign in at 23andme.com, open the profile menu at the top right and choose Settings.
- Scroll to 23andMe Data and click View.
- Confirm the date of birth for the profile.
- Tick the acknowledgement box and submit the request for the raw genotyping file, not imputed or phased data.
- Wait for the email, open its link, confirm your birthdate again and download.
Reported waits range from minutes (GEDmatch) to about a week for US accounts and occasionally 30 days (Gene Food, updated September 2026, checked 14 October 2026). Request it today either way.
The route through Browse Raw Genotyping Data
From the profile menu, open Resources, choose Browse Raw Genotyping Data (some guides show it as Browse Raw Data) and click Download at the top of the page (MIT Technology Review, Genetic Lifehacks). Gene Food describes this as instant; Genetic Lifehacks reports it opens the same request form with a wait of a couple of days (checked 14 October 2026). Try it first and make the Settings request regardless.
Check the file before you delete anything
- The download is a .zip containing one plain-text file whose name begins with the word genome and your name. Anything else: request again.
- Open the .txt in a text editor, not a spreadsheet. After a few comment lines and a header row (rsid, chromosome, position, genotype) come roughly 550,000 to 700,000 data rows (Gene Food).
- Scroll to the end. The rows should run through chromosome 22, X, Y and MT. A file that stops partway is a broken download.
How to store the file
Treat the file like a passport scan: two copies, both encrypted, in two places.
- Encrypt the zip with an encrypted disk image on macOS, BitLocker or 7-Zip with AES-256 on Windows, or a password-manager vault, behind a long passphrase you do not reuse.
- Keep one copy offline on a USB stick, and one in a cloud account, encrypted before upload so the provider only stores an opaque blob.
- Record where both are in your password manager and tell one person you trust.
- Do not email it to yourself, leave it in Downloads, or upload it anywhere to "test" it. Tools that read the file on your own device, including ours, need no upload.
How to delete the account, destroy the sample and leave research
Three separate controls, all under Settings, as described by TechCrunch (checked 14 October 2026); MIT Technology Review confirms the deletion path.
| What you want | Where it is | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Withdraw from research | Settings, then Research and Product Consents | Future studies stop using your data. Research "already performed or published" is not reversed. |
| Destroy the stored saliva sample | Settings, then Preferences; change the sample storage choice | The lab discards the sample. Not reversible. |
| Delete the account and data | Settings, then 23andMe Data, View, Permanently Delete Data; confirm the email | Access ends immediately. Research opt-out and sample discard happen automatically. |
To leave research or discard the sample but keep the account, stop after that row. Deleting the account covers all three: the privacy statement says 23andMe will "automatically opt you out of Research and discard your sample".
What deletion does and does not cover
Delete means delete from the product, not from every system. The privacy statement says 23andMe and its contracted genotyping laboratory "will retain your Genetic Information, date of birth, and sex as required for compliance with applicable legal obligations", citing the federal CLIA laboratory rules, California Business and Professions Code Section 1265 and CAP accreditation. It also keeps "limited information related to your account and data deletion request" (privacy statement, checked 14 October 2026).
So:
- A copy of your genotype data stays in a regulated laboratory archive for as long as those rules require.
- Data already used in a completed or published study stays in that study.
- Anything you uploaded elsewhere, such as GEDmatch or a third-party app, is untouched. Delete there too.
None of this argues against deleting. It argues for holding your own copy.
Your rights depend on where you live
We describe the law; we do not give legal advice. Check your own situation.
California's Genetic Information Privacy Act (SB 41), in force since January 1, 2022, requires direct-to-consumer genetic testing companies to let consumers access their genetic data, delete their account and genetic data except what the law obliges the company to keep, and have their biological sample destroyed. A revocation of consent must be honored within 30 days, and a stored sample destroyed within 30 days of revoking consent to store it; civil penalties run up to $1,000 per negligent violation and $1,000 to $10,000 per willful violation. The statute is California Civil Code sections 56.18 to 56.186: procedures in section 56.181, penalties in section 56.182 (checked 14 October 2026); SCC Online has the effective date.
In its settlement with Alaska, announced June 30, 2025, TTAM agreed to "perpetually allow former 23andMe customers to request that their information be deleted" (Alaska Department of Law, checked 14 October 2026). In the UK and the EU, the GDPR right to erasure (Article 17, checked 14 October 2026) applies on top.
What you can still do with the file after deleting
The file does not expire. Everything below works from the .txt with no 23andMe account.
- A health report, generated in your browser. Full Human Health reads the .txt or .zip in the browser tab and writes the PDF on your device; nothing is uploaded. One credit is $5 per PDF, no subscription. Every row carries the rsID, your genotype, the risk allele, the effect size and a PubMed link, from 23,220 GWAS Catalog associations across 1,114 conditions and traits. The sample report was built from a 23andMe file.
- What it does not replace. 23andMe's carrier status and pathogenic variant reports go with the account; ours does not cover them, nor drug response. Save those pages first.
- Genealogy matching. GEDmatch accepts 23andMe files; uploading and matching are free, processing takes 12 to 24 hours (GEDmatch). It is an upload with a law-enforcement matching setting, so read its policy first.
- Single-variant lookups. Search the .txt for an rsID such as rs429358 and read the SNPedia or dbSNP entry. No upload, no account.
Our guide to what you can do with raw DNA data marks which uses send the file to a server and which keep it on your device.
FAQ
Should I delete my 23andMe data?
If you no longer use the reports or relative matching, deleting removes your data from a product whose former operator was breached, sold in bankruptcy and sued. Download the raw file first: deletion is irreversible, and a regulated lab archive keeps a copy regardless. If you still value the matches, withdraw research consent and discard the sample instead.
Can you delete 23andMe data?
Yes. Under Settings, open 23andMe Data, click View, choose Permanently Delete Data and confirm the email 23andMe sends. Access ends immediately. The privacy statement says the company and its lab retain your genetic information, date of birth and sex under CLIA, California and CAP rules, plus limited records of the request.
Does deleting 23andMe data destroy the sample?
The privacy statement says that on account deletion 23andMe will "automatically opt you out of Research and discard your sample". You can also discard the sample while keeping the account, under Settings and then Preferences. Either way the choice cannot be reversed; the lab discards the sample after its analysis.
Can I still get health reports after deleting 23andMe?
Yes, from the raw data file, which is why you download it first. Full Human Health generates a PDF health report from that file in your browser for $5, with nothing uploaded, and tools from other makers accept the same file. 23andMe's own reports, including carrier status, go with the account.
Who owns 23andMe now?
TTAM Research Institute, a nonprofit public benefit corporation founded and led by 23andMe co-founder Anne Wojcicki, bought the consumer and research business for $305 million; the sale closed on July 14, 2025. Regeneron's $256 million bid lost. The company now presents itself as the 23andMe Research Institute.
This article is for general information only and is not medical advice. Talk to a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions based on genetic data.
Nothing to breach, sell or hand over
A DNA report from a service that never receives your DNA.
The generator runs in your browser tab. Our servers see your account and payment, never your file or your PDF.
1114 conditions and traits · 17 sections · GWAS Catalog June 2026
Verify it yourself: open the Network tab while a report generates.