23andMe Bankruptcy: Safeguard Your Data Now

In today’s online world, it’s more important than ever to protect your identity. Data breaches are becoming the norm and could lead to a personal disaster. So now, with the bankruptcy filing of 23andMe, you have to take extra steps to protect yourself.

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23andMe Files for Bankruptcy

23andMe is a biotechnology company that provides DNA testing services. With a saliva sample, they can provide you with insights into your ancestry, genetic traits, health risks, and inherited conditions. Sounds great. They have done a lot of good work, but this comes with a downside: your data is at risk.

It’s crucial to protect your information. Just imagine the wrecking ball a hacker can take to your credit score. I’ve experienced this myself, but because of my name. Having a common name, like Alex Hernandez in Miami, as my mom would say, ‘throw a rock and you’ll hit ten of us.’ She was always sarcastic. Now you know where I get that trait from.

I’ve even been served with lawsuits that had nothing to do with me. I was once rejected for a car loan because they said I had five foreclosures in the Florida Keys. I’ve never owned property in Key Largo, so I had to clean up that mess to get my car loan. This leads to today’s blog post and why I’m finally going to take the step of freezing my credit.

Freezing Your Credit. Protecting Your Identity

I’ve been talking about it for a while, so it’s time to practice what I preach. But I’m being honest: I just don’t trust the chaos and incompetence of DOGE, especially with their access to our sensitive Social Security information. Seeing Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth texting war plans via a Signal chat, which included The Atlantic journalist Jeffrey Goldberg, is enough to concern me about how the government is handling our information.

Freezing your credit is simple enough. Nobody can get credit in your name while it’s frozen, not even you. You can do this through the three major credit bureaus: Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. Contact information is available at the end of this post.

With 23andMe filing for bankruptcy, your data is at risk, so it might be a good time to freeze your credit. Now, how this information is being obtained is not a typical data breach, but I’ll call it a legal data breach.

• Credit Reporting Errors and Data Breaches Could Cost You

When an individual or business files for bankruptcy, nonexempt assets are liquidated. In this case, the assets of 23andMe are the data it has on its clients. So, the data and all the other assets of 23andMe are sold at auction to the highest bidder.

For example, referring back to my posts when Red Lobster filed for bankruptcy, the highest bidder got everything: freezers, stainless steel equipment, chairs, and silverware. This is no different. The difference is that we’re talking about a company with your DNA. Now, your DNA could be bought by anyone.

For this reason, I never used 23andMe. I’ve always felt uncomfortable with a company having my DNA. I’m not a conspiracy theorist, but I don’t trust it, and my concerns are well-founded. They were hacked. Millions of profiles were accessed. I’m just not the type of person to voluntarily give a private company my DNA profile. I understand many people have positive stories to tell about finding family, but now anyone can win that auction and have your sensitive DNA profile.

What is the Next Step?

What can you do now to protect yourself if you used 23andMe?  Contact them immediately and tell them to delete your file and all other data. Otherwise, someone will buy that information, and with limited government protections in place, it’s your best option to protect yourself.

Updated on May 6, 2025.

Since 23andMe filed for bankruptcy, they have now agreed to a privacy advocate to protect the DNA data of its customers, per Bloomberg.

Updated May 15, 2025

Notice of Deadline for Filing Cyber Security Incident Proofs of Claims in the 23andMe Bankruptcy Case-

If you were a victim of the Cyber Security Incident, you have until July 14, 2025, to file your claim. Here’s the link to do so. Additional information is available via this court filing. Per Reuters, steps are being taken to protect data.

Updated on May 21, 2025

CBS News is reporting that Regeneron will be buying 23andMe for $256 million.

Updated on July 1, 2025.

Former CEO and co-founder of 23andMe, Anne Wojcicki, will be buying back the company after the bankruptcy court accepted a $305 million offer.

Updated on September 9, 2025

After a warning from the Attorney General’s Office, people are rushing to delete their genetic data, which caused login problems today and a temporary outage on the company’s website. Hopefully, that issue is resolved soon, but since then there have been major hacks you should be aware of.

The first is that the credit reporting bureau TransUnion had a data breach affecting more than 4 million people. Also, as I have been warning for months about DOGE, now a whistleblower complaint confirms what I feared, that our Social Security information could be hacked. Based on the whistleblower’s complaint, DOGE uploaded our sensitive data to the cloud, and there have been hacks. Below are the relevant links you need to learn more about these hacks and protect your data.

• 4.4 Million Exposed in TransUnion Data Breach—Take Action!
• Consider Freezing Your Credit Now Thanks to DOGE
• Credit Reporting Bureaus Contact Information

Colleges and universities can purchase my bankruptcy law textbook directly from Routledge Publishing. For paralegals and students buying single copies, you can do so via Amazon Books. To access my YouTube channel, click this link. You can also listen to my podcast on Spotify.

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Please note that the information on this site does not constitute legal advice and should be considered for informational purposes only.