Traffic to 23andMe’s website spiked 692% as customers rushed to delete their DNA data
Did you go straight to 23andMe’s website to wipe your info? New data shows so did 1.5 million other people.
Giving your genetic data to a random company on the internet does sound potentially risky, and yet, millions of us did exactly that in the 19 years that genetic testing firm 23andMe was live.
Eager to uncover potential hints about their health, understand their ancestry, find their relatives, or purely because they were bored, more than 15 million people became customers of the once trailblazing biotechnology company. But after the company announced this week that it was officially filing for bankruptcy and looking for a buyer after years of financial struggle, the same thought struck journalists, customers, and regulators all at once: what, exactly, is the company going to do with all of that DNA data?
Many people didn’t fancy waiting around to find out.
Indeed, data provided to Sherwood News from Similarweb, a digital market intelligence company, reveals the scale of the panic that set in, with some 1.5 million page visits tracked to 23andMe.com. Compared to the average day for the rest of 2025, that’s up 692%.
Ironically, the company — which was once worth as much as $6 billion — has never been so buzzy. The surge of activity earlier this week even caused the site to crash, with users reporting difficulties as they sought to wipe their genetic information, family trees, and health histories, per the BBC.
In the company’s statement, Mark Jensen, chair and member of the Special Committee of the Board of Directors, was clear to try and assuage customer concerns about the safety of their DNA data:
“After a thorough evaluation of strategic alternatives, we have determined that a court-supervised sale process is the best path forward to maximize the value of the business.”
And (emphasis ours):
“We want to thank our employees for their dedication to 23andMe’s mission. We are committed to supporting them as we move through the process. In addition, we are committed to continuing to safeguard customer data and being transparent about the management of user data going forward, and data privacy will be an important consideration in any potential transaction.”
People, uh, aren’t entirely taking his word for it, with Google Trends data also revealing that searches for 23andMe have overwhelmingly been related to deleting user accounts.
So, how do you delete your 23andMe data? According to CBS News, it’s as easy as:
Log in to your account
Go to “Settings”
Scroll to “23andMe data”
Click “View”
Scroll to “Delete data”
Click “Permanently delete data”
Confirm your request
