10/30/2026
Your DNA has no reset button!
California’s attorney general announced a $6 million settlement with the company formerly known as 23andMe over its 2023 breach, which hit nearly 7 million Americans. (It still needs a judge’s OK.)
The twist: 23andMe went bankrupt and sold customers’ genetic data and spit samples to a nonprofit started by its own cofounder.
You can cancel a stolen credit card in five minutes. You can’t cancel your genome. And your DNA is your kids’ DNA, too.
Do this today:
Got a Frontline letter? Sign up for the free monitoring, for you and your kids. Questions go to 1-800-759-7279.
Freeze your credit at Equifax, Experian, TransUnion and Innovis. It’s free. You can freeze your kids’ credit, too, even if they’ve never had a card.
Used 23andMe? Log in and go to Settings > 23andMe Data > View. Download your data if you want it, then click Permanently Delete Data and confirm through the email they send.
Get your spit sample destroyed under Settings > Preferences. Pull research permission under Research and Product Consents.
Tell your parents and siblings. Their DNA tells on you. (Seriously.)
You can’t un-ring this bell, but you can lock the doors.
TK