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How 23andMe Sharing Works

Establishing a sharing connection on 23andMe allows users to view one another's profile names, information from compatible reports, your predicted relationship, and the number of overlapping DNA segments. A sharing connection does not allow either person to search or download the other person's raw data or if applicable, view and download the other person’s Reports Archive.

Sharing Level | Considerations | Additional Notes

Sharing Level

Share Ancestry

  • Information you may have shared about your grandparents’ birthplaces (if you added this information to your profile or completed the Family Origins survey).
  • Information you choose to provide in your profile (such as your current location or your ancestors' family names).
  • Compare your results from your ancestry reports including the Ancestry Composition, Haplogroups, and Neanderthal Ancestry reports. As new ancestry reports are added, your profile will update.
    • Please note that it is possible for your connections to infer your genetic sex via your reports. For example, your included maternal and paternal (if applicable) haplogroup assignments.

Changing Sharing Level

It is important to keep in mind that you have the ability to stop sharing at anytime from within your account.

To stop sharing with a connection:

  1. Go to the Your Connections feature.

  2. Click on the gray gear icon located to the right of your connection’s name.

    Sharing_gear_icon.png

  3. Click the "Remove Connection" button.

    remove_connection.png

 

What should I consider before sharing at 23andMe?
  • When you extend a sharing invitation, your profile name will be included in the sharing invitation. Once sharing has been established between two accounts, both full profile names will be visible in each other’s accounts. You can change your sharing level or stop sharing at any time. Learn more about how sharing works.
  • You would directly be sharing information about ancestral origins, family relationships (including a predicted relationship if applicable) and, if you've chosen that option, health-related information. Some people are comfortable sharing this kind of information, some are not—it's a personal choice.
  • It's possible to learn about your genetic sex or self-reported sex when sharing certain ancestry or health reports.

Generally, we recommend sharing with people you are comfortable with. Sharing allows you to use more of the features on the website and adds a new dimension to what you can learn about yourself and your family. Many customers share openly with each other and have benefited from the experience. As you learn more about genetics and develop a finer sense of the issues involved, you might begin to share more openly yourself.

 

Additional Notes
  • You may not see data for an individual with whom you are sharing if that individual's data has not yet been loaded to their account. Even though you can't see their information, they will be able to see yours. Once their data becomes available, and they have completed any required tasks, you will be able to view it.
  • Information for people already listed in your sharing list may disappear if they decide to discontinue the sharing connection or close their accounts.