DNA analysis company no longer gives developers access to raw data

US DNA test kit supplier 23andme is shutting down its api, which allowed third parties to access users’ anonymized raw genetic data. The company is going to provide reports instead.

In an email addressed to developers, 23andme reports that access via the api will stop in two weeks. From that moment on, developers will only receive reports prepared by 23andme and will no longer have access to the raw data. Dozens of developers were able to access that genetic data for health apps and weight loss services, among other things, CNBC writes.

As early as 2012, 23andme made its data accessible via the api ‘to allow authorized developers to build a range of new applications and tools for the 23andme community’. The DNA analysis company does not give a reason for stopping the API. The DNA analysis industry is under scrutiny for privacy concerns, especially after it emerged in June that a similar service to 23andme, MyHeritage, had been the victim of a digital hack, which did not, incidentally, involve the capture of any DNA data.

In 2007, the American 23andme was one of the first parties to focus on DNA analysis for consumers. The company has more than 5 million users, who have to send a vial of saliva and then receive information about their origin, appearance and risk of genetic disorders. 23andme recently signed an agreement with GlaxoSmithKline for joint drug research, giving the pharmaceutical giant access to 23andme’s DNA database.