DNA Kits are a Hot Seller for the Holiday Season

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https://www.forbes.com/sites/meliss...pite-privacy-concerns-from-some/#4a8fd91c3f9c

DNA test kits are a hot seller this holiday shopping season, despite concerns from some around what happens to consumers’ DNA data after they spit in the test tube and mail it in.

The popular kits use saliva samples or cheek swabs to provide users with information about their ethnic makeup and ancestry and in some cases other genetic traits and health information.

AncestryDNA sold roughly 1.5 million kits from Black Friday to Cyber Monday, about triple what it sold in the same record-breaking period last year. Many of those were sold on Amazon.com, where it was one of the site’s bestselling products on Cyber Monday, an Amazon executive told RetailDive. The normally $99 kit was on sale for $54.99 on Amazon. AncestryDNA said it sold 800% more kits on the site on Cyber Monday than it sold on Amazon for the entire 2016 holiday period thanks in part to a deepened relationship with the e-commerce giant.

“The level of success that we saw this holiday period was surprising to us,” said AncestryDNA spokesman Brandon Borrman. “It just reemphasizes that we’re delivering a product that is really delivering a powerful experience to consumers.”



The company announced in early November that it had reached 6 million people who had taken tests and are in the database.

“If you look at the success that we had and certainly it looks like the whole category had for the holidays, all signs point toward this being a … next major consumer technology market,” Borrman said.

The direct-to-consumer genetic testing market, which includes more than just ancestry-focused tests, was expected to grow from about $70 million in 2015 to $340 million by 2022, according to a report from Credence Research.

Cyber Monday’s sales came on the heels of a press conference held by U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer, who warned consumers that DNA testing services can sell your info to third parties. The Democrat from New York called on the Federal Trade Commission to investigate the companies’ privacy policies.

“When it comes to protecting consumers’ privacy from at-home DNA test kit services, the federal government is behind,” Schumer said in a statement. “Besides, putting your most personal genetic information in the hands of third parties for their exclusive use raises a lot of concerns, from the potential for discrimination by employers all the way to health insurance.”

AncestryDNA shares consumer data with third parties for research on human genetics, health, genealogy and anthropology. Only customers who agree to AncestryDNA’s informed consent are included in the research. The company doesn’t currently share data with insurers, health providers, employers or third-party marketers, and there’s nothing on the radar to do so, according to Borrman. If it ever started, it would only do so with informed customer consent, he said.

While data shared by DNA testing companies for research purposes is anonymized, it could still be hacked and those who access it could use genetic markers to identify its owners, warned Peter Pitts, president and cofounder of the Center for Medicine in the Public Interest and Forbes.com contributor.

A survey commissioned by DNA testing company 23andMe Inc. found that 80% of respondents had privacy concerns about DNA testing and that 88% didn’t know or understand what precautions companies take to secure data. Yet 17% said privacy concerns were the main reason for not trying it. The online survey of 1,000 U.S. adults was conducted in July 2017.

“We’re addressing these concerns by putting privacy and security at the core of our organization,” Kate Black, 23andMe privacy officer, said in a statement in response to questions on the survey.

She said 23andMe strives to be as clear as possible with its policies and publishes a transparency report on data sharing practices online. The company said it doesn’t sell or share data with third parties without customers’ voluntary and informed consent.

GOOD! despite Chuck Schumer's dumb war on DNA testing, people are not listening.
 
I was wondering if it is worth taking another test when I have taken autosomal ftdna test. I have uploaded the results to myheritage, livingdna, geneplaza... Will the results be any different if I choose to take an ancestry test or is it only the ancestry predictions that differ? ? Do they use the same methods when analysing the dna?

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I was wondering if it is worth taking another test when I have taken autosomal ftdna test. I have uploaded the results to myheritage, livingdna, geneplaza... Will the results be any different if I choose to take an ancestry test or is it only the ancestry predictions that differ? ? Do they use the same methods when analysing the dna?

Sent from my LG-H815 using Tapatalk

This thread may be useful for you to read:

https://www.eupedia.com/forum/threa...n-in-results-from-different-testing-companies
 

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