A DNA kit sends a sample, and an account, to a company you may know little about. For Lithuanian families the questions are practical: what happens to my data if the company changes hands, can I take my results with me, and who can see them. This guide covers DNA test privacy as it stands in October 2026 for the companies most researchers use, MyHeritage, Ancestry, FamilyTreeDNA and 23andMe, using what the companies and reputable reports say. It is a checklist of questions, not a verdict, and it states what we could not verify.
The 23andMe story in short
23andMe filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in March 2025. A bankruptcy court approved the sale of substantially all of its assets, including its genetic database, to TTAM Research Institute, a nonprofit public benefit corporation founded by co-founder Anne Wojcicki, and TTAM completed the acquisition on 14 July 2025, according to several reports. The consumer service continues to operate under TTAM. Reports say TTAM committed to keep the existing privacy policies, to let customers delete their data and to honor research opt-outs, and that it promised not to sell genetic data in a future bankruptcy or change of control. Those commitments come from news and analysis sites, so read the company’s current privacy statement itself.
The earlier breach also matters. A security-focused site reports that a 2023 data breach exposed information on about 6.9 million users, including ancestry results and, for some, raw genotype data. If you tested years ago and have not looked at your settings since, the safest first step is to open your account and review them.
The end of uploads at MyHeritage
A change in a different direction affects how far your data travels. In an update dated August 2025, the MyHeritage blog states that MyHeritage is not currently accepting DNA uploads, and a 2026 guide to upload sites says uploads were switched off in May 2025. Ancestry and 23andMe do not accept uploads from other companies, while FamilyTreeDNA, GEDmatch and Living DNA do, according to a UK firm of professional genealogists and to the 2026 guide. The consequence for privacy is simple: the more places your file goes, the more privacy policies apply to it, so upload only to services whose terms you have read.
Questions to ask before you test or upload
| Question | Why it matters | Where to look |
|---|---|---|
| Who owns the company now, and what happens if it is sold? | 23andMe’s data moved to a new owner in a bankruptcy sale | The company’s privacy statement and recent news |
| Is research participation optional? | A comparison site reports that all four main companies require an affirmative opt-in, though policies change | The consent screens in your account |
| Can law enforcement access results, and under what rules? | The same site says 23andMe requires a subpoena or warrant, and that FamilyTreeDNA has a setting you must check if you do not want law-enforcement matching | Each company’s privacy policy and transparency report |
| Can I download my raw data? | Your file lets you move your results if you choose to | Account settings |
| Can I delete my data and sample? | 23andMe and TTAM have said customers can delete data at any time, according to reports | Account settings, then confirm the steps in writing |
| Who else’s data am I affecting? | DNA is shared with relatives, so your choices can reach family members who did not test | A conversation with relatives before you test |
The comparison details in this table come from a privacy-comparison site that itself labels parts of its 23andMe entry as needing verification, so treat them as pointers to check, not as facts. We did not read every company’s policy in full.
Practical steps for a Lithuanian family researcher
- Decide your goal first, using our guide to choosing a test, so you do not give a sample to a company you will not use.
- Read the privacy statement and consent screens, and make a note of the date you accepted them.
- Download your raw data and keep a copy offline, if the company allows it, as a precaution against a change in service.
- Check your research and matching settings once a year.
- Think before uploading to additional sites, and read their terms.
- Tell relatives who might be matched that results can reveal family links.
What this means for matching and sharing
Matching is the heart of genealogical DNA, as our guide to matches and records explains. It is also the reason that visibility settings matter. If you share a tree, you may be showing a match the names of your parents, your birthplace and your ancestors’ villages, which is useful for research and also personal. A good rule is to share a tree with ancestors back to the nineteenth century, and to keep living people private.
A worked example, invented for illustration
Example (invented, for illustration only): A reader tested with 23andMe several years ago and has not logged in since the sale. She signs in, reads the current privacy statement, checks her research setting and downloads her raw data. She then decides to test at a second company that has more users with Lithuanian roots in her area, reads its terms before consenting, and keeps her tree private to living people. She asks her cousin, who might also be matched, whether he is comfortable with that.
What we could not verify
- The current wording of any company’s privacy policy, which we did not read in full.
- The accuracy of the comparison site’s summary of law-enforcement and research settings.
- Whether MyHeritage will accept uploads again.
- The latest legal developments for 23andMe after the sale, since reports differ in detail.
Note: this article is general information about consumer privacy, not legal advice. Read each company’s own privacy statement before you decide.
Sources include a security-focused report on the 23andMe breach and sale, a news report on the sale, a reference article on 23andMe, a privacy comparison site, a UK firm’s guide to uploading DNA data and a 2026 guide to upload sites. The MyHeritage upload statement comes from its own blog, which we cite in text and do not link.
More guides are in DNA Testing and in the DNA testing hub.
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