Posted on 08/08/2020 4:16:13 AM PDT by gattaca
Genealogy websites have become increasingly popular in recent years. These platforms are able to scour the web in search of documents and archival data, which can help users build historically accurate family trees.
There’s also another side to genealogy websites that has attracted attention from privacy advocates: DNA testing. Websites like Ancestry.com can use DNA testing to find matches, but the fact that these platforms store this information on their end means that hackers could try and steal it. Tap or click here to see how Ancestry.com suffered a huge data breach.
Since genealogy websites collect so much data, their user database can be quite valuable in the corporate world. And that’s exactly what’s happening to Ancestry.com thanks to an acquisition by Blackstone — its new parent company. This means if you sent your DNA to Ancestry, Blackstone has it now. Here’s how you can remove it.
Blackstone buys out Ancestry.com According to new reports from Reuters, the multinational private equity firm Blackstone Group has purchased Ancestry.com for the staggering price of $4.7 billion. This acquisition includes all debt accumulated by Ancestry.com as well, which shows just how eager Blackstone is to add the company into its vast portfolio.
Now that Ancestry.com is under new management, you’re probably wondering what kind of company The Blackstone Group is? Well, for starters, Blackstone deals mostly with private equity, credit and hedge fund investments. Most of its properties are in the financial sector, which makes Ancestry.com a curious purchase altogether.
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Email address Enter your email address SIGN ME UP But if you read between the lines, you can see why the website is so valuable. Ancestry.com is the biggest provider of home DNA testing services, which users can apply towards finding genealogy data and personalized health information.
Ancestry.com boasts more than 3 million paying customers from around the world, and the DNA data it manages is highly valuable to anyone who would be interested in selling it to, say, pharmaceutical companies or medical data firms. It’s almost a no-brainer that a big hedge-fund company would want a slice of the pie.
Of course, if you submitted DNA information to Ancestry.com, this also means your data is at risk of being sold or traded. No, this isn’t illegal either. Once you give the information to Ancestry.com, it’s theirs to use. The terms and conditions more or less spell this out. Tap or click here to see a tool that can read the terms and conditions of websites for you.
I don’t want a hedge fund having access to my DNA. How can I remove the data? Thankfully, if you’re a member of Ancestry.com, you don’t have to settle with leaving your DNA data in Blackstone’s hands. The website gives you an option to expunge your DNA results through its settings menu, and all you’ll need to do it is your Ancestry.com username and password.
Follow these steps to remove your DNA data from Ancestry.com:
Tap or click here to visit Ancestry.com’s DNA settings page. Scroll to the bottom of the Settings page and tap Delete next to Delete DNA Test Results And Revoke Consent to Processing. You’ll be asked for your password next to confirm you want your information removed. Enter your password and tap Delete test results and Revoke Consent. Clicking this removes your results permanently from the website. Unfortunately, you’ll end up losing access to anything you might have learned from taking your test, so we’d recommend writing the information down or taking a screenshot or two before continuing.
Then again, it might not even be worth it to take these DNA tests or use genealogy websites going forward. As we’ve seen in the past, they contain a lot of personal data (that can be bought or sold by third parties) for very little in return. Tap or click here to see another scary ancestry website you should remove your data from.
I took the DNA test last summer as well. I discovered things I never knew. I knew I had Dutch and English ancestors because my father was born in Holland, and my mother was born in Canada. My DNA test showed I am 59% England, Wales and Northwestern Europe. What I didn't know was that I am 35% Germanic Empire, 2% Sweden, 2% Norway, and 2% Ireland and Scotland.
My family tree had some very interesting hits as well. I never knew that there was Dutch on my mother's side. They settled in New Amsterdam, although that was far earlier than when my father came here in 1912 with his parents and two brothers. And although you can't verify connections once the DNA line ends, I've found a direct line to a Mayflower passenger and signed of the Mayflower Compact. And I've found connections to British aristocracy and royalty, as well as German, Polish and Czech aristocracy connections. I'm still shocked by some of the connections that were made. My father's tree is very short because they were farmers and laborers. My mother's tree is extensive, and the one where all the connections are from. Neither of my parents knew anything about their ancestors. I was born in 1947, and both sets of grandparents were dead by then. My family tree research started back in 1991 after my mother died. I traveled to Canada to try to track down info, and discovered a family history on one line of her family that gave me info on a DAR Patriot, and the British connection. I also hired a genealogist in Holland to try to fine info on my father's side. When I joined Ancestry.com, all the family lines he gave me connected correctly.
Used Ancestry. We discovered my sisters are half-sisters to my older brother and I. Mom started cheating after I was born. A real eye-opener. But I am glad we found out. She has been dead for many years now. Before you do this, ask yourself if you want to know.
I’m glad we did. Answers a lot of questions from when I was a kid in the 50’s and 60’s. When my oldest younger sister found out she was 1/2, my youngest sister did her test.
Banks still use that as one of the security layers, when establishing an account.
Having that info up on a genealogy site invites trouble from identity thieves.
So is Blackstone in the identity theft business? Lots of money to be made there. For a fee we will happily ‘protect’ your identity. I always thought companies like ‘Lifelock’ seemed more like extortion rackets than helping you!
Sounds like you are in the 1%. You know how these Marxists feel about 1-percenters. Any way you can change that to 2%? It's all about belonging to the correct oppressed groups.
Seems to me that there are substantial HIPAA issues with selling DNA data. However, using deidentified data might be acceptable if the use is carefully reviewed by an IRB to ensure it does not violate anyone's rights.
I'm leaving my DNA data up at Ancestry.com. It's very useful for learning about my ancestry.
Hmm, we could be related.
My results show 1-2% Bantu, of southern Africa. So do the results of everyone who is descended from my great-grandmother’s family. My great-grandmother used to pass herself off as half Cherokee, which turned out not to be the case. I suspect she used that story because there was less stigma associated with being half Cherokee than with being a mulatto.
Whenever I hear the phrase “your information will be kept confidential “ I literally laugh out loud. If it’s not sold or shared, it will be stolen or hacked. I don’t bank or pay bills online and I will never willingly give up my DNA. George Orwell said we would be enslaved by political thought; Huxley said it would be technology. They were both right.
She’s got a horrible radio show that I had to suffer through on a car ride once.
A lot of family secrets are coming to light, and most people have no idea how emotional that rollercoaster ride is.
I am descended from both slaves and slave holders.
As far as I'm concerned, it's time to stop the obsession with race and instead focus on the individuals. Your distant ancestors don't have any impact on who you are, but your daily decisions make a big difference in the kind of person you are.
The other website is surely gedmatch.com.
The word I think is paranoia.
James apparently suffers from acute paranoia
“”My son and daughter used Ancestry.com. “”
That means your DNA is now out there.
My sister used Ancestry and about 4 months later she get’s a call from an investigator, one month later I get a call from an investigator. Seems my grand father on my mothers side did a little more than just fighting during WWI. Our DNA matched with an individual in Austria and he and I are about the same age.
Allot of folks have found out things they never wanted to know through DNA. How does 15 years of back child support sound!
We ran into some folks who found out that their Mom and/or Dad were really not their Mom and/or Dad; as well as those who had no DNA match with their supposed family tree! Also helped several adopted folks find their biological parents.
Attempting to track ancestry through DNA is a fool’s game, and I feel sorry for people who sucker into advice from supposed experts to get DNA tested to see how they fit into their heritage. Unrecorded adoptions of children whose parents died at young ages used to be as much the rule as the exception. Illegitimacy rates were almost as high as they are today.
And intrinsically, who do we inherit heritage from anyway? .....From DNA contributors or from the people who fashioned a chain of love and stability?
DNA evidence is not nearly as well received in official ancestry data records as it may seem. The people who push the idea that it is are the people trying to sell the service.
"Seems my grandfather on my mother's side did a little more than just fighting during WWI."
So he gave his best for his country?
As far as identification is concerned, there is already enough DNA out there to identify at least 1/2 the population, if not directly then indirectly, by identifying distant relatives and then employing a forensic genealogist. That cat is already out of the bag. I suppose my data could be mined for insurance reasons, but since I am 64 now I am not too worried about that anymore.
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