A cautionary note

**Baeau** · 24th April 18, 10:25 AM

With 23andMe being in town, a local TV Station did a story about this subject. A year +/- back. Privacy, & future use of the information was discussed. No real solutions. They spoke of how the DNA testing companies use the information. Much the way Facebook, et cetera, use their User's information for profitable purposes. The 'experts' interviewed offered an interesting suggestion. If one was concerned with DNA information (only, & not finding family), & their privacy........submit your sample under a false name.

Personal experience, we know of an individual, that was livid (I can't come up with a truly appropriate adjective) at his results. Said individual, sadly, is a very bigoted. OK, extremely, which isn't a strong enough word. His DNA came back & showed a large percentage of an Eastern Mediterranean group, which he had personal issues with. For no reason other than, just because. Needless to say, it wasn't a nice situation. Have no idea where the individual is, & am rather glad of that.

**Father Bill** · 24th April 18, 11:22 AM

Yup. If you can't handle all possible answers....

...don't ask the questions.

**Baeau** · 24th April 18, 11:47 AM

Our line, "Be careful what you wish for"

At the suggestion of Father Bill, I'm adding this in:

Your opening, echoes my thoughts. The same things we have tried to instill in our brood. Being in the middle of Tech Ground Zero, we hear everyone talking about revenue coming from user/customer data, & their profiles. No joke, that was last evening, at a small family run eatery we frequent. 23andMe employees were at the table next to us. HQ is, only, 4 blocks away. Amazing the things one hears. Especially, when they are not quiet after several Margaritas, each. It appears that part of your world, the Confessional, is the only safe place for data? Any thoughts?

We have known many, not happy with their DNA results. The one I mentioned in my reply, is only 1 of several 'dissatified customers' we've encountered. I have difficulty with people's issues. I was brought up colour blind, ethnicity blind, political affiliation blind, et cetera. Or, we feel out of step with reality. My wife, in spite of her parents, shares my views, which we've tried to pass on to the brood. Judging by their varied friends, "We Done Good". Enough of my twaddle.

**LKM** · 25th April 18, 04:26 AM

I have advised many people to research the family tree and the DNA companies before they decide if the testing is for them. There is always the chance with these tests the results will not show an inaccurate depiction of the family history as the same genetic trait could be from several places while most of these tests show where it is most common.

For me: I don't think it's worth the risk or the $100 or more just to find verify my Y-DNA haplogroup when other family have taken the test.

**Father Bill** · 25th April 18, 04:36 AM

A further thought: The news you discover might also be a problem, or even in extreme cases, a tragedy for some of those you love, because part of your DNA is part of theirs too.

Just... use caution and think first.

**Tobus** · 25th April 18, 05:21 AM

I'm often accused of being a technophobe, luddite, or a paranoid hermit because I have always refused to join Myspace, Facebook, Twitter, and all the other popular social media platforms. My stance has always been that it's not a matter of if, but when your personal information will be exploited. Looks like I was right on that count. And my stance on DNA testing has been the same. I can imagine that I'll be proven correct on that matter as well.

Honestly, in this day and age of zero corporate accountability, mass marketing, and contant hacking and selling of private information on the dark web, how could anyone truly believe that their information is safe? It's way too late for most of us to try to retract our names, addresses, phone numbers, banking information, credit card numbers, social security numbers, and other critical personal information from internet databases in which they may reside. We just have to patiently wait for the inevitable day that those companies get hacked and our identities get stolen. But to my knowledge, no one has a sample of my DNA, and I intend to keep it that way. It doesn't matter how curious I am about the genetic results, I just don't see myself crossing that particular rubicon. Once my DNA is "out there", it's too late for whatever could possibly be done with it in the rest of my lifetime. I just don't see it being worth the risk.

**The TALL TN Scot** · 25th April 18, 07:03 AM

I admit that I was curious to try a DNA testing kit, but never got one. My wife thought it would be neat and got me one to commemorate reaching 20 years with the military. While it may be dangerous to have this mindset, I figured, "Why not?" because Uncle Same has had my DNA on file since 1998 and as I have learned, NOTHING is safeguarded against discovery to a party that wants the information badly enough.

Mine came back with some interesting, albeit somewhat generic, information. I haven't really looked into it yet and there may be more pertinent information in the results, but for now I am not overwhelmed.

**FossilHunter** · 25th April 18, 10:19 PM

Originally Posted by Father Bill

A further thought: The news you discover might also be a problem, or even in extreme cases, a tragedy for some of those you love, because part of your DNA is part of theirs too.

Just... use caution and think first.

Are you referring to genetic diseases? In that case it might be better to know.

Unless I misunderstood you.

**Father Bill** · 26th April 18, 12:14 AM

Originally Posted by FossilHunter

Are you referring to genetic diseases? In that case it might be better to know.

Unless I misunderstood you.

That is in my mind, ond of the (few) advantages, although perhaps more rare than we might think. No, I was referring to the sort of thing that comes out as in the last post about the father/ grandfather and all of the family disruption such a discovery could cause.