23andMe is facing implosion. As the once-promising genetic testing company flounders – losing 98% of its $6bn value, all its independent board members, nearly half its staff – many of its 15 million customers are scrambling to delete their DNA data from the company’s archives. I am one of them.
My reluctant path to 23andMe began in 2016, when I ordered a kit in the mail. After letting the box sit on my desk for weeks, I finally spit in a tube and sent it to the company for analysis. I am a technology journalist – I like to think I am thoughtful about what data I share with corporations. When it comes to genetic data, which unlike a password or credit card number cannot ever be changed, I was particularly wary.
