A DNA test creates data that cannot be changed and that describes your relatives as well as you. That makes DNA testing privacy a real consideration, not a formality. The picture also shifts: companies change owners, drop features and update policies. This post summarises the main changes reported in 2025 and 2026, explains what they mean in practice and lists what to check before you test. It covers events at MyHeritage and 23andMe, reports what sources say and takes no side on any company.
23andMe: bankruptcy and a nonprofit owner
23andMe filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2025. A court approved the sale of its assets to TTAM Research Institute, a nonprofit founded and led by 23andMe cofounder Anne Wojcicki, and the acquisition completed in July 2025. According to news reports, TTAM acquired the Personal Genome Service and research operations, and 23andMe continues to offer DNA testing and research services. The company said TTAM would honour existing policies, including letting customers delete their data and opt out of research. See the reporting by Yahoo News and the North Carolina attorney general’s announcement.
Concerns did not disappear. The same reporting notes that the nonprofit did not ask customers for opt-in permission before taking ownership of the data, and that a 2023 data breach affected around seven million customers. Attorneys general of several states took action around the sale, and the agreement included safeguards such as notice to customers before data was transferred and a commitment not to sell or share data with companies or insurers without customer approval. Whether those safeguards are enough is for each person to decide, and customers are free to delete their data.
MyHeritage: uploads ended
MyHeritage’s help centre states, in an article dated July 2026, that DNA uploads are no longer supported, which means you cannot upload data from other testing services and need a MyHeritage DNA kit to receive matches and ethnicity reports there. Third-party reports say uploads were switched off in 2025. For privacy, the practical effect is that if you want to be matched in that database, you provide a new sample, and your data sits in one more place. Check the company’s privacy policy before you do.
Why a company’s future matters
Companies can be sold, merge, change policy or go out of business, and genetic data is an asset in such events. The 23andMe case shows that a customer’s data can pass to a new owner even when the customer did nothing. The main protections are the company’s stated policies, any legal commitments made in a sale and the options you can exercise yourself, such as deleting data and withdrawing from research. Read those options when you test, not after an announcement.
| Question | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Can I delete my account, data and sample? | It lets you withdraw if the company changes owners or policy |
| Is research use optional and reversible? | It decides whether your data is used beyond your own report |
| Can I download my raw data? | It lets you keep a copy and, where allowed, use other services |
| Who can see my matches and tree? | Your settings affect your relatives’ privacy too |
| What happens if the company is sold? | Policies may be honoured or changed by the new owner |
Deleting, downloading and withdrawing
Most services let you do three things that protect your position. You can download your raw data so that you hold a copy. You can opt out of research participation, which controls whether your data contributes to studies. And you can delete your account and ask for your sample to be destroyed. These options differ by company, and some have consequences, such as losing access to your matches. Decide in advance which you would use, and note where the controls are. A downloaded file is yours to keep or to upload where allowed, while deletion removes your data from the company’s systems according to its policy.
Your relatives’ privacy
Your results reveal information about people who never tested, including parents, siblings and cousins. Before you test, think about whether relatives would be comfortable. Some families discover unexpected relationships through DNA, and those discoveries cannot be undone. If you manage a test for an elderly relative, explain what it may reveal and get consent. When you share results with a match, share the minimum needed for the research question.
Practical steps before you test
- Read the privacy policy and the research consent. Choose options deliberately.
- Check how to delete your data. Find the steps before you need them.
- Download your raw data and store it safely. Keep a copy offline if you want one.
- Set your visibility. Decide who can see your matches and tree.
- Talk to relatives. Agree what will be shared.
Invented example: Imagine an invented family, the Brandners, where an uncle tests and the results show a close match to an unknown person. The uncle had not told his siblings he was testing. The discovery raises questions the family did not expect to answer. Had the uncle talked to his siblings first, the family could have agreed how to handle surprises. This is a made-up case to illustrate why consent and conversation matter.
What this means for Austrian family research
You can do Austrian family history without a DNA test, and many researchers do. Paper records are the backbone, and our Austrian genealogy guide shows how to use them. If you do test, make the choice with the privacy facts in front of you, and plan how to use the results with records. The choosing guide compares test types, and the transfer post explains how data can move. For the limits of results, see what DNA can show.
Where to go next
The DNA and Austrian ancestry page gives an overview, and the genealogy records hub compares record platforms, with MyHeritage named first. If DNA touches on a question of citizenship, remember that the citizenship routes rest on documents.
Policies, ownership and laws change. This post reflects what sources reported when we checked in October 2026, and it is not legal advice.
