DNA Layer doesn't store your raw DNA file — here's why that matters

How DNA Layer handles your data

Your raw DNA file is read locally in your browser. DNA Layer does not store your original raw DNA file — only the derived findings needed to show your health layer are kept, DNA Layer never sells genetic data, and you can delete everything from your account at any time. This is the same architecture regardless of which provider your file came from.

Why this question is coming up more

More people are asking who holds their genetic data long-term and what happens to it if a company’s ownership changes. One reason: in 2025, 23andMe — one of the largest consumer DNA testing companies — filed for bankruptcy, and its business was acquired by a different organisation months later, that same year. The details below are reported factually and cited to primary sources; they are not a comment on 23andMe or TTAM’s current security specifically — they’re the reason this question is worth asking about any provider, including the ones you may already use.

What happened at 23andMe

23andMe filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in March 2025. In July 2025, its Personal Genome Service and Research Services business lines were acquired by TTAM Research Institute — a nonprofit public benefit corporation founded and led by Anne Wojcicki, 23andMe’s original co-founder — through a Section 363 sale under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. As part of TTAM, 23andMe continues to operate: the service did not shut down, and the acquisition covers more than 15 million customers’ genetic data records.

What TTAM committed to

According to TTAM’s own press release, TTAM made binding privacy commitments as part of the acquisition, including maintaining 23andMe’s existing privacy policy, establishing a privacy advisory board, providing two years of free identity theft monitoring, and a commitment not to sell genetic data in any future bankruptcy. TTAM has also stated it will not sell or share customer genetic data with companies or insurers without customer approval, and that customers retain the choice to change their research-participation decision.

A separate, earlier matter: the data breach settlement

Separately from the bankruptcy, a class-action settlement tied to a 2023 data breach reached final court approval, with the bankruptcy court approving a $46.75 million deal in July 2026 for eligible affected customers. That claims process had its own deadline (February 17, 2026), which has already passed — this settlement is closed to new claims. A separate $18 million settlement with 42 state attorneys general, tied to the same underlying breach, was also announced in 2026.

If you already have a 23andMe raw data file

None of the above changes what you can already do with a 23andMe raw data file you have already downloaded. DNA Layer reads that same file — the one from your existing 23andMe account — to build your personalised health layer, under the data-handling approach described above. You do not need to wait for anything above to resolve, and you do not need a new test.

See what DNA Layer adds to your 23andMe file →

Sources

• TTAM Research Institute — acquisition press release
• New York Attorney General — $18 million multistate settlement announcement
• Bloomberg Law — data breach claimants to receive $47 million
• Official class-action settlement site

This page reports publicly available facts as of the date above and is not legal or financial advice; check TTAM’s and 23andMe’s own channels for the current status, since this situation may continue to evolve.