[khomenko]

If 23andMe is acquired by any company (insurance or otherwise) that wants to change the Terms Of Service and / or Privacy Policy, they will have to notify customers, and those customers who don't agree with the changes would have the right (under the current policy) to download their raw data and delete their 23andMe accounts.

Also, the chances of 23andMe getting hacked are much lower than the chances of your friendly neighborhood email marketing company. I know since I built the site.

[dotBen]

Is that your aspiration or something you know for a fact?

I couldn't see anything that indicates this in their Privacy Policy. In fact https://www.23andme.com/about/privacy/#Full says:

Account Closure and Correction of Personal Information

As stated in the 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 23andWe Research will not 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) for accounting and compliance purposes.

Doesn't look like they're interested in totally zero'ing you out of all of their records even if you explicitly request it (acquisition or not).

[jesseendahl]

From the page you cited (https://www.23andme.com/about/privacy/#Full):

Business Transitions

In the event that 23andMe goes through a business transition such as a merger, acquisition by another company, or sale of all or a portion of its assets, your Personal Information will likely be among the assets transferred. In such a case, your information would remain subject to the promises made in any pre-existing Privacy Statement.

From their current privacy policy (https://www.23andme.com/about/privacy/?version=1.1):

Business Transitions

In the event that 23andMe goes through a business transition such as a merger, acquisition by another company, or sale of all or a portion of its assets, your personal information and non-personal information will likely be among the assets transferred. You will be notified in advance via email and prominent notice on our website of any such change in ownership or control of your personal information. We will require an acquiring company or merger agreement to uphold the material terms of this privacy statement, including honoring requests for account deletion.

I think khomenko is correct, with the exception you pointed out (ongoing studies).

[khomenko]

It is something I know for a fact since I worked at 23andMe for 4+ years. Looks like the first responder already found the relevant section and posted it. It's not an ironclad assurance, and there are a few caveats, but these provisions, together with any scrutiny an attempted acquisition would bring (the database is big and well-known enough where it's virtually guaranteed), can provide peace of mind for some. There are certainly risks and I don't advocate that everyone gets tested without considering them, but "insurance company buys 23andMe, gets all the data, and starts discriminating based on it", is a very low-probability event based on what I know.

[dawgr]

It says that I would have to pay 9 dollars a month. Do you know if I can tell them to charge the whole subscription once instead of 9 dollars every month?

[khomenko]

You can "buy it as a gift" and pre-pay the 1-year subscription.

[dawgr]

Damn, I already paid, is there any way I could do it now or it's too late?

[cchen]

Contact [e-mail]