How to Delete Your 23andMe Data • Hacker News Board

Re: How to Delete Your 23andMe Data

#121

Post by tonymet » Thu, Mar 27, 2025, 6:22 PM UTC

kjkjadksj wrote: post #115

tonymet wrote: post #85

For those curious about what actual data they are recording, they use Infinium Global Screening Array which records about 650-750k SNPs (single-nucleotide-polymorphisms) . Obviously this data infers heritage, disease risk, relations. It could be used for discrimination, surveillance, potentially poisoning . Everyone should request their data to be deleted, but this is an engineering forum, and we know what that means…

Poisoning really? All the risks are pretty sci fi. It’s pretty easy otoh to harm someone without bothering analyzing the snp data if that is your intention.

ricin and polonium-210 have many documented cases, likely 10000+ undocumented. It's only scifi until years later when it becomes declassified

Re: How to Delete Your 23andMe Data

#122

Post by robwwilliams » Thu, Mar 27, 2025, 10:14 PM UTC

dahinds wrote: post #80

robwwilliams wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

“In principle” but In 20 years do we gave any cautionary tales? i don’t and follow this area somewhat. Homomorphic encryption is pretty hard to crack.

are you asking about methods to improve privacy of aggregated datasets? They seem to be not super popular with people in the field, I think because they sharply curtail how data can be used compared to having access to datasets with no strong privacy guarantees. I think the maybe more impactful recent shift is toward "trusted research environments" where you get to work with a particular dataset only in a controlled…

Yes, that is the new UKBiobank approach.

Homomorphic encryption enables standard GWAS workflows (not just summary stats) while “sharing” all genotypes and phenotypes. Richard Mott and colleagues have a paper and colleagues on this method;

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32327562/

Re: How to Delete Your 23andMe Data

#123

Post by linsomniac » Fri, Mar 28, 2025, 2:43 PM UTC

beaugunderson wrote: post #103

linsomniac wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Question: How are they going to link the DNA to people? Some will be easier than others, sure. I'm trying to decide how "safe" my data is, since I created a single-use gmail account, with fictitious name, and paid for it with a gift card. I was afraid that some information in there might lead to being uninsurable, so I decided to row away from the rocks. Thankfully, my genetics didn't pop up any red flags, knock on w…

Genetic data like what 23andMe has is enough to guess at your surname, provided any of your relatives have signed up. See Latanya Sweeney's work for more information: https://latanyasweeney.org/work/genomic.html

Well, on top of that I'm adopted. :-)

Re: How to Delete Your 23andMe Data

#124

Post by noman-land » Sun, Mar 30, 2025, 10:31 PM UTC

rohan_ wrote: post #98

cyanydeez wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Have you seen the legal system lately?

sure - so this isn't a unique complaint with 23andMe then? We should be deleting our data from Dropbox, Google, etc...?

Now you're getting it.

Re: How to Delete Your 23andMe Data

#125

Post by Gibbon1 » Sun, Mar 30, 2025, 10:41 PM UTC

noman-land wrote: post #124

rohan_ wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

sure - so this isn't a unique complaint with 23andMe then? We should be deleting our data from Dropbox, Google, etc...?

Now you're getting it.

I never used gmail or Chrome because I didn't want to become dependent on tools controlled by a search and ad company.

I definitely feel now that was the correct instinct.