To share your health records with 23andMe using an Android device, you will need to complete two steps: (1) connect your health records from your provider to Google Health™, and (2) link your health records from Google Health to your 23andMe profile via Health Connect. For more details, explore the topics in this article:
- Before you begin
- Connect your health records to Health Connect using Google Health
- Link your health records to your 23andMe profile
- Frequently asked questions
- Disconnect your health records sharing from 23andMe
Before you begin
- You need an Android device with the Health Connect® app. On newer versions of Android it is built in; on older versions you can install it from the Google Play Store. Health Connect is also embedded in the Google Health™ app, and this is the easiest, most seamless way to share your health records with 23andMe.
- Update your 23andMe app to the latest version from the Google Play Store.
- Health records sharing is only available for some regions and accounts.
Connect your health records to Health Connect using Google Health
This step puts your health records into the Health Connect platform as the interoperability platform to share data between Android apps, and it happens outside the 23andMe app. Health Connect does not fetch records on its own — another app has to write them into it.
Recommended: Use the Google Health app
This is the most reliable way to get your records into Health Connect.
- Install the Google Health app from the Google Play Store, if you do not already have it.
- Open it and sign in with the Google account you use on this device.
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From the Connections icon in the top left, navigate to Connections | Apps and services | Medical records | Get started
- Search for your healthcare provider by name, hospitals, networks, or locations or choose from a list of providers.
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Once you have selected a healthcare provider, tap Connect.
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Sign in to your healthcare provider account using your username and password when prompted. Please note this screen will look different depending on your healthcare provider.
Your healthcare provider username and password are never stored by 23andMe. - Review the healthcare provider's consent form.
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If you choose to authorize permissions, wait for your available records to update. This could take from several minutes to a day the first time you connect a new health provider. Your health provider connection status will show as Verifying your records | Pending during this time and then change to Completed when done.
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You can review your connected medical record details in Google Health by navigating to the Health tab and scrolling to the Medical section. Check that your records appear as entries, and that your healthcare is listed as a Data Source for the respective entry.
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Verify that Google Health has write permissions to Health Connect as the platform to share data between Google Health and external apps such as 23andMe. From the Connections icon in the top left, navigate to Connections | Partner apps | Manage Health Connect | Manage data and access. Choose "Allow All" for the least friction in integrating data to/from Google Health, including fitness and medical records data.
- Your electronic health records are ready to be linked to your 23andMe profile.
Alternative: Your healthcare provider's custom integration
Some healthcare providers' apps or patient portals can write records to Health Connect directly using custom built integrations. If your provider interface offers this support, find its Health Connect or connected-apps setting, and allow your provider to write your records to Health Connect.
Not every health provider's app or patient portal can do this. If you cannot find a Health Connect setting in your provider's app or portal, it most likely does not support a direct connection. Use the Google Health app as recommended above.
Link your health records to your 23andMe profile
- Open the 23andMe app
- Navigate to Health | Lab Results & Vitals.
- Scroll to Today's Data and find the Connect to Health Connect card.
- Tap Connect.
- Android shows a Health Connect screen asking whether to let 23andMe access your medical records.
- The Health Connect screen lists four records types which can be shared with 23andMe, and you can choose which ones you want to share: Conditions, Lab results, Medications, Vital signs
- Turn on the record types you want to share — or use Allow all — then tap Allow. Allow stays greyed out until you turn on at least one record type.
- If you do not want to share any, tap Don't allow.
If you have not connected 23andMe to Health Connect before, the card reads "Track data from your health records and wearable devices", and you will be asked about two things: your activity and fitness data, and your health records. Each is a separate screen — you can accept one and decline the other. If you have already connected for activity data, the card instead reads "To complete set-up, allow 23andMe to receive your health records from your Health Connect app", and you are only asked about health records.
Check that it worked
From Google Health app: View your Health Connect activity history and look for what data has been read by 23andMe app recently. From the Connections icon in the top left, navigate to Connections | Partner apps | 23andMe via Health Connect | Recent access.
From 23andMe app: Once your health records are connected to Google Health and linked to your 23andMe profile, return to Lab Results & Vitals in the 23andMe app and look for new values noted as "Imported lab result". It can take up to a day for records to arrive in the 23andMe app from Google Health.
The Connect to Health Connect card in the 23andMe app disappears once there is nothing left to connect.
Frequently asked questions
What if I do not have my healthcare provider account set up?
If you do not have a username and password for your healthcare provider, you can create one by following the directions on your healthcare provider's website to register for an account.
What if I have already linked my healthcare provider account to Google Health, but it has expired?
You will need to authorize sharing your electronic health records on Google Health again.
- Open Google Health
- From the Connections icon in the top left, navigate to Apps and services | Medical records | Manage connections | Providers
- Select your healthcare provider from the list presented and Log in to reconnect your records to Google Health
New records from my healthcare provider are not showing Google Health
Check that your healthcare provider account is connected and not expired.
There can be a few days delay before new records are made available from your healthcare provider. You should see the records in Google Health within a day of when they become available from the provider.
New records from my healthcare provider are showing in Google Health but not in 23andMe
You should see the records in 23andMe within a day of when they arrive in Google Health.
You can view your Health Connect activity history and look for what data has been read by 23andMe app recently. From the Connections icon in the top left, navigate to Connections | Partner apps | 23andMe via Health Connect | Recent access.
The connection card in 23andMe app disappeared, but no health records appear in 23andMe app
This is most likely because Health Connect has no records to share with 23andMe. Open Google Health app, check that your records appear in Google Health with your health provider as a data source. If you see records, then check that Google Health has write permissions to Health Connect for the data you want to share with 23andMe. For step-by-step details, refer to the instructions in this section Connect your health records to Health Connect using Google Health.
The connection card in 23andMe app says another profile is already connected
Only one 23andMe profile can be connected to Health Connect per device. To connect a different profile, remove the existing connection first:
- Open Google Health
- From the Connections icon in the top left, navigate to Partner Apps | 23andMe via Health Connect
- Under Your health apps, select 23andMe.
- Turn off all of its permissions.
Then reopen the 23andMe app on the profile you want to connect and start again at the step Link your health records to your 23andMe profile. You may need to close and reopen the 23andMe app before the card becomes available.
I tapped Don't allow by mistake when linking records to 23andMe
From the 23andMe app, tap on the Connect to Health card again to revisit the Health Connect permissions and update your permissions or sharing with 23andMe.
Alternatively, from Google Health app, find 23andMe under Partner apps | Health Connect | Your health apps and update your permissions for sharing.
I do not see the Connect to Health Connect card
Check that your 23andMe app is up to date, and that your device has Health Connect with health records support. Health records sharing is only available in some regions for adult accounts, and is being rolled out gradually, so it may not be available to you yet.
How do I remove a health record from my Google Health app?
To learn about connecting and managing your medical records through Google Health, visit this Google Support page for assistance.
How does 23andMe protect my information?
23andMe uses physical, technical, and administrative security measures to protect your information. We regularly review and improve our privacy and security practices to help ensure the safety of your information. Review our Privacy Policy to learn how 23andMe uses and protects your information.
Disconnect your health records sharing from 23andMe
You can stop sharing at any time from the Health Connect app:
- Open the Google Health app.
- Click on the Connections icon in the top left.
- Under Partner apps | Health Connect | Your health apps, select 23andMe.
- Turn off the permissions you no longer want to share, or turn off all of them.
Disconnecting stops 23andMe from receiving new data from Health Connect.