Nebula is facing a class action for apparently disclosing detailed genomic data to Meta, Microsoft & Google. The subreddit is also full of reports of people who never received their results years after sending their kits back. There are also concerns about the quality of sequencing and false positives in all DTC genomics testing. Given what happened with 23andme as well and all of this stuff, I'm wary of sending my genetic data to any private company.
Even when the raw results are accurate there is a cottage industry of consultants and snake-oil sellers pushing bad science based on genetic testing results.
Outside of a few rare mutations, most people find their genetic testing results underwhelming or hard to interpret. Many of the SNPs come with mild correlations like “1.3X more likely to get this rare condition” which is extremely alarming to people who don’t understand that 1.3 times a very small number is still a very small number.
The worst are the consultants and websites that take your files and claim to interpret everything about your life or illness based on a couple SNPs. Usually it’s the famous MTHFR variants, most of which have no actual impact on your life because they’re so common. Yet there are numerous Facebook groups and subreddits telling you to spend $100 on some automated website or consultant who will tell you that your MTHFR and COMT SNPs explain everything about you and your ills, along with which supplements you need to take (through their personal branded supplement web shop or affiliate links, of course).
Even better would be to swap identity with someone else who wants to get sequenced...
1. There are already multiple database containing both your parents, you, and a linkage between you and them indicating parentage. So, prior knowledge: Alice and Bob are parents of Charlie.
2. If Charlie's parents have taken a DNA test, there already exists a database linking their DNA to their name. So, prior knowledge: Alice's DNA belongs to Alice, Bob's DNA belongs to Bob.
3. If Charlie takes a DNA test totally anonymously and perfectly untraceably, it will still show up as, child of Alice and Bob's DNA. So, knowledge now includes: Charlie's (anonymous) DNA is the son of Alice and Bob's DNA
4. From these pieces of information, it is trivial to de-anonymize Charlie's DNA, linking it to Charlie's identity: the only person it could belong to is the son of Alice and Bob, and the son of Alice and Bob is already known from point 1.
I think in my case I'm just not that concerned by the hypothetical because my parents haven't done sequencing/genetic screening and also aren't likely to. I guess the main question is how far out in my family tree I have to think about that. (Also has implications for my descendants, I suppose...)
This behavior represents a contemptible lack of respect for users' privacy, but it's important to distinguish it from Nebula selling access to users' genomes.
https://www.classaction.org/media/portillov-nebula-genomics-...
I don't have any evidence they're selling anything but that lawsuit shows pretty sloppy behaviour for a company that should be thinking very deeply about privacy. I guess that's about what you said though :)
If you want to go even cheaper and depending of what you want, you can go for an exome instead of a WGS. And a lot of people are sequencing when they really want genotyping.
But I would not be surprised if someone is already getting $100 WGS.