Good Lifestyle

For many of us, DNA test kits like 23andme and ancestry.com are an attractive gateway to find out more about our genotype and genealogy. Connection with genetic parents To find out how DNA can have an impact on your health on an overview of your wealth, these websites can help you discover a clearer image of yourself and your family tree.

But before spitting in a tube and sending it to a laboratory for tests, you may want to consider what you abandon in return. A retired FBI agent recently warned a Tiktok video warning that DNA testing websites represent a real threat to user confidentiality. And in some cases it might come back to haunt you.

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In the last episode of his "things that I would never do as the FBI" Tiktok Series, former FBI agent Steve Lazarus Express itself against DNA test kits, in particular 23andme and Gedmatch, citing many scenarios in which the volunteering of your DNA could cause more harm than good. Since its publication, the clip has raised more than 6.5 million views, has accumulated nearly 600,000 likes and has been saved by more than 57,700 users.

"Today's subject is these home DNA test kits that promise to put you in contact with family members you could not exist. For me, it's a not difficult. And if you wanted The reason in a word is intimacy, "says Lazarus.

Lazarus notes that if "these companies promise to protect your confidentiality and your data", that does not necessarily prevent everyone from accessing your information, in particular the application of the law.

He refers to a case indicated by The New York Times In 2019, where a Florida detective was legally authorized to carry out "general research of more than a million blindly" records "of the Gedmatch database to reduce its list of" suspects ". AE0FCC31AE342FD3A1346EBB1F342FCB

According to Nyt Article, the order of the court has raised several eyebrows because "the decision of the Florida judge will not only affect the users of these sites, but also huge expanses of the population, including those who have never passed a test DNA. It is because this emerging forensic technique identifies a DNA profile even by distant family relationships. "

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The dangers do not stop there: health insurance companies could also benefit from information from the DNA test kits, warns Lazarus.

"Do you really think that a health insurance company would not want to copy your DNA when it decides whether or not to grant your coverage or allow you to obtain treatment for an existing or preexisting condition?" He defies his disciples.

Finally, there is the risk that the DNA test website will be hacked or bought by another company, whose privacy policy may not reflect the agreement for which you initially signed.

"And if they are taken up by another company that does not share their moral or ethical opinions?" he asks.

With almost everything, there is the potential of improper use, but with regard to the protection of your privacy and more specifically, your DNA, it is a Lazare line is not willing to cross.

"I understand that some people may want [genetic test kits] to find their biological parents or another legitimate reason. But for my money, 23 years old, it's not for me," he concludes.

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