Consumer DNA testing company 23andMe is facing a number of issues, which have prompted calls for customers to delete their data.
Former board members have departed over CEO Anne Wojcicki’s plans to take the company private, and it is still dealing with the fallout from a major data breach last October, in which the personal data of around 5.5 million customers was accessed.
Meredith Whittaker, president of encrypted messaging platform Signal, has urged people to delete their data, while Jason Kelley, activism director at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, warned that privacy campaigners are concerned about the company’s future and new ownership.
23andMe has warned that deleting a customer’s data is permanent and some will be retained to comply with the company’s legal obligations.
The company also warned that uploading data to other services could put genetic data privacy at risk.