You don’t just need to worry about who is collecting your data today – but who might have that data at ANY time in the future. Just because you trust your government today doesn’t mean it won’t be overthrown and that data used against you. People have used collected data to round up kill opponents and ethnic groups by rival governments when they get control. Today, this is true for all data corporations have on you. Medical data, credit data, purchase history, reading and watching history, biometric data such as face capture/finger prints, etc. Data breaches and digital hijacking means almost any entity in the world can soon have all your personal information to use as they wish from discrimination to blackmail.

23andMe was a noble idea that has, in fact, turned into the very nightmare every security and medical records expert predicted. A commercial company that promised to keep people’s sensitive genetic data safe finds itself facing bankruptcy and is now going to sell all your data for pennies on the dollar to the highest bidder.

Once your data is recorded and out of your hands – it pretty much exists forever. Even with the best intentions – companies go bankrupt, governments see major shift in who controls them, copies are found on discarded hardware, workers have laptops with your data stolen, hackers break in and steal data to be posted and sold on the dark web.

Tips?

1. Don’t give any website any optional information not absolutely required.
2. Do not use your real name/birthday/info except on sites like banks/taxes/etc that absolutely require it. Make up fake names/birthdays and use a junk email account for sites that don’t absolutely require your real information.
3. If you wouldn’t want all your friends, family, everyone you work with, a lawyer/police, loan officer, or anyone else to know something – don’t put record it or put it on the internet.
4. The default answer to using one of those new financing/medical sites should be NO. There’s been lots of startup financing, banking, and investing companies popping up – and going belly up just as fast. When bankruptcy hits one of these companies (and most do fail) – most restrictions against selling your data can go out the door.

Articles:

• https://fortune.com/2025/03/28/23andme-bankruptcy-chapter-11-genetic-data-medical-ancestry-dna-silicon-valley-delete/
• https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2024/09/23andme-dna-data-privacy-sale/680057/
• https://www.forbes.com/sites/larsdaniel/2024/10/15/did-you-give-your-dna-to-23andme-heres-why-you-might-regret-it-soon/