Trying to decide if I should pull the lever for a DNA analysis kit....

[Sogo]

Ancestry has a big sale going on now until Mother's Day....I've always been curious, but pretty skeptical. Now, my concern is with having my DNA in someone else's possession....

Any thoughts?

[Voltaire2]

1. I regret giving 23andme my DNA

They and everyone else in this enshittified business are selling your DNA data. Stay away.

[DURHAM D]

4. Who do they sell it to? nt

[Voltaire2]

6. anyone with money to buy it.

[DURHAM D]

7. That does not answer the question.

Who is "buying" it? Do you have a link?

[NNadir]

26. Pharma companies.

[Big Blue Marble]

2. Take your concerns seriously.

Research how these companies use and sell your DNA information.
This is not something you can take back once you put it out there.

[DURHAM D]

3. Go for it.

I have learned a lot and not just being introduced to a bunch of cousins.
For instance - I have learned that I don't like cilantro because of Parent # 1's ancestry. Also, I don't remember my dreams because
of my Parent 2.
Also, if my DNA being available to law enforcement helps to solve a murder I am allllllllll for it.

[PeaceWave]

5. Nothing says "I love you" quite like giving the government access to all your family's genetic material.

[DURHAM D]

8. Have you assumed that we all have something to hide? nt

[stopdiggin]

13. the old 'something to hide' shibboleth? Really? Here on DU?

Not to mention that you are volunteering information for not only yourself - but also all of your siblings, your progeny - extended family - second and third cousins, and great uncle Rufus ... But if you feel comfortable speaking for all those people (and the circumstances they live under) ... Because, "nothing to hide!"

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

[DURHAM D]

14. I have no idea what your point is. nt

[stopdiggin]

18. talk to somebody in law, or law enforcement, or social services

or ethics or sociology - about the (really, really tired) nostrum of, "nothing to hide".

[woodsprite]

9. Sure. If you don't mind everybody and their brother running security checks against it.

I'd love to know if I'm truly related to William Hearn the Merchant, but nope to the DNA test. I'll just have to conclude that I am, but my family comes from the leaf on the family tree where the name was removed.

Of course, I've had body parts taken out and sent to Johns Hopkins and MD Anderson for analysis so they already may have mine.

[TexasDem69]

10. Can't speak to whether they sell the DNA results

But my wife did 23 and me and (1) located her birth father (she was adopted) and now has a great relationship with him and his family and (2) was notified of a half-sister through her adoptive father (via an affair) who she is now very best friends with. So be prepared for potential surprises!

[ms liberty]

11. Mine was so boring. 99.9% British Isles, no surprises. My husband

Had 9% Iberian Peninsula, and upon seeing it I went "aha! That's where your skin tone comes from!"

[Croney]

12. I have pros and cons to report.

On the plus side, Ancestry . com proved paternity of a grown child of mine that some doubted. On the negative side, it gave me the surprise gift of a half-brother who turned out to be a RWNJ.

So, I guess it's a crap-shoot.

[stopdiggin]

15. I can see the interest (particularly for those that don't have

a real great picture of 'who and where' ) But I think it is also a good idea to be informed. Pluses and minuses. On a personal level people have spoken of both really positive - and conversely, really negative - 'revelations'. And then there is larger picture of both data and privacy. (which admittedly is kind of a muddle - with us being exposed to some degree pretty much every day - and people just have to decide on their own what they feel comfortable with)

Here's a story about the aftermath of a hack (not the intentional sale) of information - with information about ethnicity being subsequently exploited. And again - this might cause a great deal of anxiety to some - and not at all to others.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/26/business/23andme-hack-data.html

- snip - customers with Chinese and Ashkenazi Jewish heritage that they appeared to have been specifically targeted, or that their personal genetic information had been compiled into “specially curated lists” that were shared and sold on the dark web.
- snip - Later, in response to a request on the forum for access to “Chinese accounts” from someone using the alias “Wuhan,” Golem responded with a link to the profile information of 100,000 Chinese customers, according to the lawsuit. Golem said he had a total of 350,000 profile records of Chinese customers and offered to release the rest of them if there was interest, the lawsuit says.
- snip - On Oct. 17, Golem returned to the forum to say he had data about “wealthy families serving Zionism” that he was offering for sale in the aftermath of the deadly explosion at Al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City, the suit said.

[Easterncedar]

16. Likewise conflicting stories

Someone supposedly looking for an unknown father contacted a distant relative discovered on 23 and me who thought it was good fun, maybe innocently, to suggest it might be a very elderly cousin who was mentally beyond the conversation. The whole thing reeked of scam. It was really scary, and it took some time before the rude, aggressive claimants gave up. On the other hand, I know of two adoptees who were happily united with relatives previously unknown, and their lives were enriched by the connections. I don’t have any questions that need answers, so I wouldn’t do it.

And the Mormon connection to these services is definitely a turnoff for me. I don’t want to be “baptized”.

[Easterncedar]

17. Ancestry is owned by Blackstone

A private equity investment group that sells the information.

[bif]

19. I used 23 and me and found the results fascinating

Several surprises including that I'm related to King Louis the 16th of France. At my age, I really don't give a crap who has access to my DNA.

[LudwigPastorius]

20. If somebody wants to sell my DNA, they're going to have to obtain it the old fashioned way.

...dig through my trash for a strand of hair.

(Wait, what did you think I was going to say?)

[Elessar Zappa]

21. As long as you understand

that your DNA results will be sold to medical and other companies plus law enforcement will have your DNA, so if you’ve committed murder I advise against it! Lol j/k but yeah I got the test and the results were interesting.

[Hotler]

22. Think of your DNA as your human PIN number. Do give it out unless ordered to by the courts.

Especially if you have any unsolved crimes in your back ground or in hiding, just saying. Health insurance and pharmaceutical companies would love to get their hands on it. Your DNA and your education are two things nobody can take away from you.

[niyad]

23. Having an aversion to personal information being available to

just about everyone, my thinking is, "Hell NO!!!"

But then I am one of apparently very few people who does not give a damn about my ancestry. I have absolutely zero information past my paternal grandmother, and none past my mother. And I have never cared. Some people think I am rather strange, but, oh well.

[Xolodno]

24. Well, in a previous job....

...I was tasked with ID verification, we wanted to improve what we had for money laundering. Met with several vendors and let me say, privacy laws here in the USA are bullshit. Some of these vendors worked in the USA but incorporated in places like Estonia and not subject to certain laws. Major eye opener, that's when I realized I had no expectation of privacy.

In the case of DNA and tracing your roots, it started as an interesting idea, but invariably, the Execs get greedy and start looking for ways to profit even more. We don't have many laws here in the USA guarding your DNA data as law enforcement has used these companies to find suspects when stumped. I would imagine an offshore company would give you even less protection. Which is too bad, I'd really like to find out how much of which part of the old Russian Empire I'm comprised of.

And of course, "you got nothing to hide". Do you? You don't know that for certain, one night stand after a drunken bar run and you find out you have a kid. And suddenly, you get sued. Some shady cousin of yours does something, and the police are interrogating you. No thanks.

[OldBaldy1701E]

25. Personally, I would not do this.

I know they are going to get their hands on my DNA soon enough (thanks to two major surgeries recently, they may already have it), but I don't see the need to make it any easier for them.

[claudette]

27. A few years

ago I had mine and my family's done through the Geneographic Project at National Geographic. It was amazing what was found. If you are squeamish about privacy, you can opt out of having your information combined with others to see if you have any relatives who have had the testing.

[Arne]

28. I always thought of it as

getting your family crest, a complete scam.

But then again, I'm one of the people that
pooped in a box and sent it in.

[claudette]

32. LOL

[JT45242]

29. Do you have any shady relatives?

Cops are using these sites to get familial matches to crime scenes. It is actually the primary business model for profit of all these sites.

Question is do you want shady cousin arrested. , 🤔

[Doodley]

30. This can be a fascinating journey. I learnt that my grandfather was buried in

America in WW2, even though he lived in England. My aunt (mother's sister) may have had a different father from my mother. A wonderful can of worms to think about! I don't care about the DNA conspiracies. Also my wife is a jew and I am not, but my DNA suggests I am more jewish than her!

[yellowdogintexas]

31. I did mine and confirmed a piece of family history

My grandfather always told us we were direct descendants of President John Tyler. Well, turns out it is true - 6 generations back.

I pretty much knew that the majority of my heritage was British Isles and Germany, although I had a little bit of Iberian. Since all my ancestors were here pre-revolution, we are bound to have acquired some Native American somewhere.

The one I did was My Heritage; I found that ancestry on both sides of my family goes back to Colonial times, and my father's family were in Switzerland in the late 1600s. I also found out there were some huge families

23 & Me can tell you if you carry any genetic disorders. A friend found out his ancestry was Scandinavian and he carries Cystic Fibrosis trait.( This is a good thing to know; if both parents carry it, there is a 25% chance one of their children will be born with CF) CF is most common in persons of Northern European descent. I found out (through donating blood) that I carry Sickle Cell Trait. The blood bank discovered I carried it and would call me if someone with full blown Sickle Cell was having surgery. Now I want to know where it came from!!!! I am very fair and have blue eyes, not your usual suspect for Sickle Cell.