Terms of Service

Welcome to 23andMe Terms of Service

Like the As, Ts, Cs, and Gs that make up your DNA, our Terms of Service (what we call the “Terms”) make up the agreement between 23andMe, Inc. (“23andMe”) and you. These Terms govern your use and access to 23andMe’s products, software, services, and website (including but not limited to text, graphics, images, and other material and information) as accessed from time to time by you, regardless if the use is in connection with an account or not (collectively, the “Services”).

Please read the Terms carefully, and any policies, guidelines, or rules applicable to such Services, as they constitute a legal agreement between 23andMe and you. We also encourage you to review our Privacy Statement for additional information. Of course, if you do not agree with our Terms or any other policies, then do not use the Services. You can delete your account from your Account Settings at any time.

These Terms apply to you if you live in the United States or if you access our Services in the United States. If you live outside the United States, please review the Terms available in the respective region specific to the 23andMe Services you access.

1. Who Can Use the Services

We believe everyone should be able to access, understand, and benefit from their genome. That said, there are a few restrictions about who can use our Services. By using the Services or creating an account, you represent, warrant and agree that:

• You can form a binding contract with 23andMe;
• You are not a person barred from receiving the Services under the laws of the jurisdiction from which you use the Services;
• You are at least 18 years old;
• Any sample you provide to 23andMe is either your own, or the sample of a minor for whom you are a parent or legal guardian, or the sample of a person for whom you are a legally authorized representative;
• The sample you provide is not from a bone marrow or stem cell recipient (Why? Click here more information);
• You are not an insurance company or an employer; and
• You will not use the Services for any investigative forensic genealogy uses.

Other Terms and Conditions

If you choose to use or purchase additional Services for a business or commercial purpose, or any purpose other than personal use, they may have their own terms and conditions. The specific terms and conditions associated with the use or purchase of additional Services are made a part of these Terms by this reference. Just like you agree to these Terms, you agree to abide by those additional terms and conditions too. In the event those additional terms may conflict with or be inconsistent with these Terms, including any arbitration provision or dispute resolution provision, these Terms will control.

The following terms also govern and apply to your use of the Services, and they are incorporated herein by this reference:

• Membership Terms
• Telehealth Terms
• Important Test Info

Each of these terms and conditions may be changed from time to time.

23andMe may make changes to the Terms at any time. If we make a material change to the Terms, we will notify you, such as by posting a notice on our website or sending a message to the email address associated with your account. By continuing to access or use the Services, you agree to be bound by the revised Terms.

Risks and Considerations Regarding 23andMe Services

Once you obtain your Genetic Information, the knowledge is irrevocable. You should not assume that any information provided to you, whether now or as genetic research advances, will be welcome or positive. As research advances, you may need to obtain further Services from 23andMe, your physician, a genetic counselor, or other healthcare provider. We encourage you to talk to a genetic counselor to help you understand your results and testing options.

Some people feel a little anxious about getting genetic health results and you may learn information about yourself that you do not anticipate. This is normal. If you feel very anxious, you should speak to your physician or a genetic counselor prior to collecting your sample for testing. Additionally, you may discover things about yourself that trouble you and that you may not have the ability to control or change (e.g., your father is not genetically your father, surprising facts related to your ancestry, or that someone with your genotype may have a higher than average chance of developing a specific condition or disease).

The laboratory may not be able to process your sample, and the laboratory process may result in errors. The laboratory may not be able to process your sample up to 5% of the time if your saliva does not contain a sufficient volume of DNA, you do not provide enough saliva, or the results from processing do not meet our standards for accuracy.*

Here’s our policy on re-processing failed samples:

• If the initial processing fails for any of above reasons, we will reprocess the same sample at no charge to the user.
• If the second attempt to process the same sample fails, we will offer to send another sample collection kit to the user to collect a second sample at no charge.
• If the second attempt to process the sample is unsuccessful, (up to 0.65% of all samples fail the second attempt at testing according to 23andMe data obtained in 2019 for all genotype testing),* 23andMe will not send additional sample collection kits and the user will be entitled solely and exclusively to a complete refund of the amount paid to 23andMe, less shipping and handling, provided the user shall not resubmit another sample through a future purchase of the Service.

Note: If the user breaches this policy agreement and resubmits another sample through a future purchase of the Service and processing is not successful, 23andMe will not offer to reprocess the sample. Even for processing that meets our high standards, a small, unknown fraction of the data generated during the laboratory process may be un-interpretable or incorrect (referred to as “Errors”).

No Refunds. Except as may be required by applicable law, payments are non-refundable and there are no refunds or credits for partially used services. Please refer to 23andMe’s Return and Refund Policy.

You should not change your health behaviors solely on the basis of Genetic Information received from 23andMe.

23andMe’s Services are not intended to diagnose any condition or disease.

• For most common diseases, the genes we know about are only responsible for a small fraction of the risk. Your ethnicity, environmental factors, and lifestyle choices are far more important predictors and may affect the relevance of each report and how your results may be interpreted.
• The Services are not intended to tell you anything about your current state of health, or to be used to make medical decisions, including whether or not you should take a medication, how much of a medication you should take, or determine any treatment.
• If you have concerns or questions about what you learn through 23andMe, you should contact your physician or other healthcare provider before making any lifestyle changes. Please note that genetic risk assessment is not applicable to results of carrier screening tests.

23andMe Services are for research, informational, and educational use only. We do not provide medical advice. Please note, the Genetic Information provided by 23andMe is for research, informational, and educational use only. This means two things:

1. Many of the genetic discoveries that we report have not been clinically validated, and the technology we use, which is the same technology used by the research community, to date has not been widely used for clinical testing.
2. Talk to your Healthcare provider. 23andMe does not endorse, warrant or guarantee the effectiveness of any specific course of action, resources, tests, physician or other healthcare providers, drugs, biologics, medical devices or other products, procedures, opinions, or other information that may be mentioned on our website. If we provide any recommendations and/or potential ways to take action, this information is intended for informational purposes only and for discussion with your physician or other healthcare provider. The Services are not intended to be used by the customer for any diagnostic purpose and are not a substitute for professional medical advice. Reliance on any information provided by 23andMe, 23andMe employees, others appearing on our website at the invitation of 23andMe, or other visitors to our website is solely at your own risk.

While we are licensed in the State of California as a clinical laboratory, not all jurisdictions require our Services to be subject to license. Therefore, we are not universally licensed by all state, federal, or international authorities for genetic testing conducted for health and disease-related purposes. In addition, there are certain jurisdictions in which we do not offer our Services because we do not have the required licenses.

Furthermore, to expand and accelerate the understanding and practical application of genetic knowledge in healthcare, we invite all eligible genotyped users to participate in 23andMe Research. When we use the term “Product Development,” it means research performed for the purpose of new product development and new product development activities performed by 23andMe on De-identified Information. These activities may include, among other things, improving our Services and/or offering new products or services to you; performing quality control activities; or conducting data analysis that may lead to and/or include commercialization with a third party. Participation in such research is voluntary and based upon an Institutional Review Board-approved consent document.

*23andMe data on file.