This page summarizes options available when registering a DNA test kit from 23andMe, and that can managed within a 23andMe account.
If you are not registering a kit, a trial account can be set up to use an older version of the 23andMe website and explore the different features provided to customers. Following the registration of a kit, modifying some Settings for the account can be reached through the menu at the upper-right hand side of the browser window.
Be certain to look at each of the following categories when setting up or managing the account for your kit:
Preferences
Privacy/Sharing
Personal Profile
If you do not already have an account on 23andMe, create an account. Decide what email account you want to use. You will be able to control messaging to your email, from solicitations to contacts from relatives, but here is where you should determine the email account where you want the messages directed. Consider using an email account that can be easily accessed over the web, and that you plan to use for a long time.
If you already have an account, or if you wanted to add your kit to a shared account, Sign In to the account to which you would like to register your kit. Multiple kits can be registered to a single 23andMe account. To view the results of the different kits, use the 'Switch Kits' option on upper-right account menu. Lastly, you need to accept 23andMe's Privacy Policy and Terms of Service, so make sure you have read these and that they are acceptable to you.
By accessing 23andMe Services, you agree to, acknowledge, and represent as follows:
- You understand that information you learn from 23andMe is not designed to independently diagnose, prevent, or treat any condition or disease or to ascertain the state of your health in the absence of medical and clinical information. You understand that the 23andMe services are intended for research, informational, and educational purposes only, and that while 23andMe information might point to a diagnosis or to a possible treatment, it should always be confirmed and supplemented by additional medical and clinical testing and information. You acknowledge that 23andMe urges you to seek the advice of your physician or other health care provider if you have questions or concerns arising from your Genetic Information.
- You give permission to 23andMe, its contractors, successors and assignees to perform genotyping services on the DNA extracted from your saliva sample and you specifically request 23andMe to disclose the results of analyses performed on your DNA to you and to others you specifically authorize.
- You represent that you are eighteen (18) years of age or older if you are providing a saliva sample or accessing your Genetic Information.
- You are guaranteeing that any sample you provide is your saliva; if you are agreeing to these TOS on behalf of a person for whom you have legal authorization, you are confirming that the sample provided will be the sample of that person.
- If you are a customer outside the U.S. providing a saliva sample, you confirm that this act is not subject to any export ban or restriction in the country in which you reside.
- You agree that any saliva sample you provide and all resulting data may be transferred and/or processed outside the country in which you reside.
- You are warranting that you are not an insurance company or an employer attempting to obtain information about an insured person or an employee.
- You are aware that some of the information you receive may provoke strong emotion.
- You take responsibility for all possible consequences resulting from your sharing with others access to your Genetic Information and your Self-Reported Information.
- You understand that all your Personal Information will be stored in 23andMe databases and will be processed in accordance with the 23andMe Privacy Statement.
- Waiver of Property Rights: You understand that by providing any sample, having your Genetic Information processed, accessing your Genetic Information, or providing Self-Reported Information, you acquire no rights in any research or commercial products that may be developed by 23andMe or its collaborating partners. You specifically understand that you will not receive compensation for any research or commercial products that include or result from your Genetic Information or Self-Reported Information.
You agree that you have the authority, under the laws of the state or jurisdiction in which you reside, to provide these representations. In case of breach of any one of these representations 23andMe has the right to suspend or terminate your account and refuse any and all current or future use of the Services (or any portion thereof) and you will defend and indemnify 23andMe and its affiliates against any liability, costs, or damages arising out of the breach of the representation.
Preferences for Participation in the 23andMe Personal Genome Service
These controls can be continuously managed through the Preferences options in the Account Settings.
Control of email from 23andMe and its messaging service can be managed by selecting the different available options. It is better to control messaging through the 23andMe Preferences options, rather than unsubscribing from messages within your email client. The later blocks email from 23andMe web domain and may prevent you from getting email you want, such as a password reset.
With the Research Consent option, you are controlling whether 23andMe can use your personal, genetic and reported data for research purposes. Research using customer data is a major aspect of the 23andMe business model. 23andMe is interested in analyses of customer data to identify genetic markers that influence variation in characteristics among humans. This includes disease related research, for which 23andMe has been awarded major research grants from the National Institutes of Health.
You also must choose the fate of your DNA sample. 23andMe will either store your sample until they deem as a company that they want to destroy it, or you can opt for 23andMe to destroy your sample after it has completed processing.
When results are returned to you, a tutorial on the Health Reports will be provided to you followed by the option to view your Health Reports. The choice to view, or not, your Health Reports can be revisited in the Preferences group of the Account Settings.
Privacy/Sharing
These controls can be continuously managed through the Privacy/Sharing options in the Account Settings.
One feature of the 23andMe website is the option to 'Share Genomes' with other users. For example, you can simply make a request to share genomes with another classmate identified through the person's 23andMe user name. If the person accepts the request, you will each have access to each others Ancestry Composition and you will be able to make direct comparisons of regions shared between your genomes. Health information can be shared also if you like. If you participate in the 'DNA Relatives' feature, individuals listed among your DNA Relatives will request to share genomes with you. These requests can be blocked through the Privacy/Sharing options.
With the 'DNA Relatives Option', you are controlling your participation in the DNA Relatives report on the 23andMe website. Your DNA will be compared with other users in the 23andMe database, and a list of matches will be reported giving an estimate of the relationship and the genetic basis for the match. This is the option where you could discover relatives that you previously had not known about!!! By opting to Not Participate in DNA Relatives 23andMe will not report to you other users that match your sample, and you will not appear as a match in DNA Relatives list of other users. You can decide to opt into DNA Relatives matching at a later date.
DNA Relatives Preferences
For participants in the DNA Relatives feature, different options are available for participation. A link, Update DNA Relatives profile, on the DNA Relatives page as captured below can be used to navigate to these settings.
An option is available to "Share DNA" among 23andMe users. You can request that another 23andMe user shares with you, and others will request that you share with them. These are individual requests and permissions that can be managed through the options available in the "Share and Compare" feature. When managing a DNA Relatives profile, an "Open Sharing" option is available. This enables all of your DNA matches to see your profile information, including your estimated Ancestry Composition, and it also makes your matching segment information open for viewing and analysis. A "Relatives in Common" feature is also enabled by open sharing. On the page of a DNA Relative that is sharing openly, a list of common DNA relatives - each participating in open sharing - is provided.
If you do not opt out of the DNA Relatives matching, controlling your personal profile is important. The Account Settings and the DNA Relatives profile determine the amount of information about you that is available to other users of 23andMe. You can choose to represent your name as a set of initials or various options on the name provided in the Account Settings.
If you no longer want to participate in 23andMe, send a request to close your account. The following is that statement regarding closure of an account from the 23andMe Privacy Statement.
"If you no longer wish to participate in our Services or no longer wish to have your personal information be used, you may close your account by sending a request to Customer Care. When closing an account, we remove all Genetic Information within your account (or profile) within thirty (30) days of our receipt of your request. As stated in any applicable Consent Document, however, Genetic Information and/or Self-Reported Information that you have previously provided and for which you have given consent to use in 23andMe Research cannot be removed from ongoing or completed studies that use the information. Our contracted genotyping laboratory may also retain your Genetic Information as required by local law and we may retain backup copies for a limited period of time pursuant to our data protection policies. In addition, we retain limited Registration Information related to your order history (e.g., name, contact, and transaction data) as long as your account is active or as needed to provide you services, as well as for accounting, audit and compliance purposes."