RIP 23andMe

Earlier this week, the DNA testing company, 23andMe, filed for bankruptcy. I haven’t dug into their financials or done very much research on them, but as a customer myself, it didn’t come as a surprise. Once you buy the kit, which is anywhere from $100-$200, they don’t really get more money out of you. At some point, they started offering an annual 23andMe Premium subscription for $268, which gave you additional reports throughout the year, but their basic reports provided plenty of information for the average consumer.

I think 23andMe missed the mark by not having some sort of physical product. It could’ve really dove into the health aspect and developed some sort of wearable or line of dietary supplements. It needed something to keep the brand top of mind and cement itself in the daily lives of its customers. It could have expanded its testing services to offer other at-home health testing kits like Everlywell.

I used to joke that I don’t care what data all the big tech companies had about me because 23andMe already had my DNA. It turns out that may have some more serious consequences as there’s a risk that insurance companies will buy 23andMe’s data and use it to influence health insurance costs. So now some attorney generals are urging customers to delete their data. I downloaded my reports and then deleted my data. Here’s the how-to video I followed from one of my favorite personal finance influencers, @mrsdowjones.

My parents got me a 23andMe kit when I was a junior in college. I famously read the instructions wrong and somehow did the spit collection incorrectly the first time. My mom was obviously annoyed but was able to get me a new kit. As someone who was adopted with no information on my birth parents, the prospect of learning more about who I was and where I came from was exciting. I was mostly interested in the health reports since I don’t have anyone who can give me any insight into my medical history and any potential future issues. The odds of finding a relative to me felt slim, but you never know what you might find (spoiler alert, I did not find anyone).

I mailed the kit in during spring break before going to Santa Barbara and I don’t recall it taking too long to get the results back, and the website says 3-4 weeks.

WHAT I LEARNED FROM MY 23ANDME

Guess the joke’s on the insurance companies because I’ll give you my results for free.

Health Predisposition Reports

These reports were based on genetic factors that may influence the chances of developing certain health conditions, but they didn’t test for all possible variants that could cause these conditions. So it’s not to say that I won’t develop some health conditions, but the tests didn’t detect any genetic variants for it.

My Results: There were 14 health conditions that were tested, most of which I am not familiar with. There were only 2 conditions that I had variants detected for, but was “not likely at increased risk”: age-related macular degeneration (disease that causes vision loss) and hereditary hemochromatosis (disease that causes the body to absorb too much iron from food). It also said I had a slightly increased risk for celiac disease, which is tragic, but I don’t think I have it. *Knocks on all the wood.*

Carrier Status Reports

There were 46 genetic variants tested that could cause health problems. However, 23andMe does not test all genetic variants, so again I could still be a carrier of a variant that they don’t screen for. Variants tested included Cystic Fibrosis, Usher Syndrome, and Glycogen Storage Disease. So basically a lot of conditions that I think I would’ve already known if I had them by now.

My results: I had no variants detected, how boring!

Wellness Reports

There were 8 reports, and these showed how your DNA can affect your body’s response to diet, exercise, and sleep.

My results:

Alcohol Flush Reaction: unlikely to flush (false? I think I do, but I don’t drink enough to know)
Caffeine Consumption: likely to consume less (true, I rarely have caffeine)
Deep Sleep: more likely to be a deep sleeper (my Fitbit begs to differ)
Genetic Weight: predisposed to weigh about average (true)
Muscle Composition: common in elite power athletes (idk what this means, but everyone I know who has done 23andMe has gotten this result)
Sleep Movement: likely average or less movement (true)
Lactose Intolerance: likely intolerant (false, hoping it stays this way!!)
Saturated Fat and Weight: likely similar weight (I’m not sure what this means)

Ancestry Reports

This gives a composition for your ancestry. The percentages have changed ever so slightly since I took the test in 2018 as the company got more data as more people took the test, but overall there’s nothing shocking here.

My results: I was born in China and can confirm I am in fact Chinese. This report also told me that I have fewer Neanderthal variants than 64% of customers.

Traits Reports

These were kind of fun and showed the genetics behind your appearance, sense, and preferences.

My results:

Ability to match musical pitch: about a 50/50 chance of being able to match a musical pitch (I can)
Asparagus odor detection: likely can smell (true lol)
Bitter taste: likely can taste (true, I didn’t know some people couldn’t?)
Bunions: less likely than average to have had a bunion (so far true)
Cheek dimples: likely no dimples (I have one)
Cilantro taste aversion: slightly higher odds of disliking cilantro (I like cilantro)
Cleft chin: likely no cleft chin (true)
Dandruff: more likely to get dandruff (false)
Earlobe type: likely detached earlobes (true)
Earwax type: likely wet earwax (gross but I think true?)
Eye color: likely brown or hazel eyes (true, brown)
Fear of heights: more likely than average to be afraid of heights (true, crazy that the fear is written in my DNA)
Fear of public speaking: about a 50/50 chance of having a fear of public speaking (I don’t think I have more fear than the average person)
Finger length ratio: likely ring finger longer (false? my middle finger is the longest)
Flat feet: more likely than average to have flat feet (true)
Freckles: likely little freckling (true)
Hair photobleaching: less likely to experience hair photobleaching (false)
Hair texture: likely straight or wavy (true, wavy)
Hair thickness: more likely to have thick hair (true)
Ice cream flavor preference: more likely to prefer vanilla over chocolate ice cream (true)
Light or dark hair: likely dark (true)
Misophonia: average odds of hating chewing sounds (true? Idk I don’t really care)
Mosquito bite frequency: likely bitten more often than others (I knew it!!)
Motion sickness: more likely to experience motion sickness (false)
Newborn hair: likely lots of baby hair (I guess we’ll never know! But based on photos of my 6-month-old head, I think the odds are yes)
Photic sneeze reflex: likely photic sneeze reflex (I think so? I just sneeze on the regular lol)
Red hair: likely no red hair (true)
Skin pigmentation: likely lighter skin (true)
Stretch marks: more likely to have stretch marks (true alas)
Sweet vs. salty: likely prefers salty (a tough one, but I think it’s ultimately true)
Toe length ratio: likely second toe longer (literally had to look at my feet, I think they’re the same length as my big toe)
Unibrow: likely at least a little unibrow (false)
Wake up time: likely to wake up around 9am (false, I think when I was sleeping normally it was more around 7:30/8)
Widow’s peak: likely no widow’s peak (true)

DNA Relatives

You could find relatives if they had also done the 23andMe kit. The amount of joy and pain this company must have caused throughout the years!

My results: The closest relative that I had was a second cousin three times removed, so I shared less than 1% of DNA with them. If you’re wondering what this even means, don’t worry I Googled it and it could mean a few things:

We share great great great great grandparents and they’re 3 generations older than me
We share great grandparents and they’re 3 generations younger than me

I’m honestly not sure how either of those make sense since I’m 27, but I’m guessing it’s the former and they’re just really old?

It will be interesting to see how the rest of 23andMe’s story unfolds over the next few months. More people have become more protective of their privacy, and I can’t imagine a comeback unless something drastic changes.