Comment by yellowapple | Hacker News Reader

Comment by yellowapple | Hacker News Reader

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> 23andme has basically given up on this part of the business.

The routine emails I get about them allegedly finding new DNA relatives suggest otherwise. The DNA relatives feature is also still pretty prominent in their UI (at least on desktop browsers; haven't looked at the app yet).

That said, it certainly doesn't offer much beyond "these are your relatives; send 'em some messages or something lol". Ancestry probably has a lot more features on that front, which is unsurprising since that's the sort of thing Ancestry was doing long before they even offered DNA sequencing kits like 23andMe does. I don't know if I'd characterize that as 23andMe "giving up", though; more that it's good enough for a product that never intended to enter the genealogy software market in the first place.

The new-DNA-relatives feature is one of the few "growth" things they can continue to bother you with, outside of newly-discovered genome-based indicators for diseases.

I get/got spammed by them about new relatives on the order of "6th cousin who shares 0.3% of your DNA." Thanks, but who cares...

"Give the kits as gifts!" and you can learn about your closer relatives /s-ish

I wonder, do the "relatives" know and agree that their information is sent to other person?

…yes that’s how it works? You opt in and choose what you share. They’re quite explicit about it.

I would say it's a little more murky than that. My anecdotal experience is in the context of Ancestry.com. Effectively, I might not consent to having my information shared but if my uncle, nephew, etc. does it is effectively still being shared.

> You opt in and choose what you share

Until the company gets breached and your choices mean squat. Thanks, no.

Yes. You must opt in. When you opt in, you can elect to show your full name, or just initals (may be other options but I opted in long ago).

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