I’m concerned about the privacy implications of DNA testing services like 23andMe or AncestryDNA. What are the potential risks of sharing our genetic data with those companies, and are there any privacy-focused alternatives available?

  •  neidu2   ( @neidu2@feddit.nl ) 
    link
    fedilink
    53
    edit-2
    6 months ago

    I can easily imagine a reality where insurance companies have access (intentionally or accidentally) and give you a higher premium because they found something that makes you more predisposed to some ailment.

    The above is pure speculation, but it’s only one security breach or bag of money away. It’s never safe to assume that a your data is 100% secure at a (presumably) benign company. As curious as I am regarding certain aspects of my heritage, the fact that I have no control over what they do with the info is keeping me on the bench.

    • Just look at the “monitor your driving for a discount” which th already do.

      My insurance company offered $30/year discount if I used their OBDII monitor. Are you effing kidding me? Thirty freakin dollars? I’d need to see a 50% discount before I even considered it.

    • Insurance companies already extrapolate such data from zip code… So it’s not speculation at all that they’d want an even more accurate metric

      Basically in today’s world, you’d have less than 1% of actors that would take this data and do something productive or beneficial for you or society as a whole… The other 99% will just use this data to make money on the back of others