Establishing a sharing connection on 23andMe allows users to view one another's profile names, information from compatible reports, your predicted relationship, and the number of overlapping DNA segments. A sharing connection does not allow either person to search or download the other person's raw data, or if applicable, view reports that require an additional consent, or view and download the other person’s Reports Archive.
Sharing Levels | Considerations | Additional Notes
Sharing Levels
When inviting someone to share, you can choose between two levels as described below:
Share Ancestry Only
- Information you may have shared about your grandparents’ birthplaces (if you added this information to your profile or completed the Family Origins survey).
- Information you choose to provide in your profile (such as your current location or your ancestors' family names).
- Compare your results from your ancestry reports including the Ancestry Composition, Haplogroups, and Neanderthal Ancestry reports. As new ancestry reports are added, your profile will update.
- Please note that it is possible for your connections to infer your genetic sex via your reports. For example, your included maternal and paternal (if applicable) haplogroup assignments.
Share Ancestry and Health
- In addition to the capabilities above, you will be able to compare results from compatible health-related and traits reports.
- Please note that sharing certain health reports with others may reveal your self-reported sex with them. For example some reports are only provided to people of a certain sex. Learn more in our How 23andMe Uses Your Self-Reported Sex and Gender help article.
- Reports that requires additional consent - such as Late-onset Alzheimer’s Disease*, Parkinson’s Disease*, and the BRCA1/BRCA2 (Selected Variants)* genetic health risk reports - cannot be shared between accounts.
It is important to keep in mind that you have the ability to update your sharing level or stop sharing at anytime from within your account.
To change the sharing level with a connection:
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Go to the Your Connections feature and locate the connection’s name.
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Click on the gray gear icon located to the right of your connection’s name and next to the current sharing level.
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Select the update sharing level, and then the Update button to save your changes.
To stop sharing with a connection:
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Go to the Your Connections feature.
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Click on the gray gear icon located to the right of your connection’s name.
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Click the "Remove Connection" button.
What should I consider before sharing at 23andMe?
- When you extend a sharing invitation, your profile name will be included in the sharing invitation. Once sharing has been established between two accounts, both full profile names will be visible in each other’s accounts. You can change your sharing level or stop sharing at anytime. Learn more about how sharing works.
- You would directly be sharing information about ancestral origins, family relationships (including a predicted relationship if applicable) and, if you've chosen that option, health-related information. Some people are comfortable sharing this kind of information, some are not — it's a personal choice.
- It's possible to learn about your genetic sex or self-reported sex when sharing certain ancestry or health reports.
Generally, we recommend sharing with people you are comfortable with. Sharing allows you to use more of the features on the website and adds a new dimension to what you can learn about yourself and your family. Many customers share openly with each other and have benefited from the experience. As you learn more about genetics and develop a finer sense of the issues involved, you might begin to share more openly yourself.
Additional Notes on Sharing
- You may not see data for an individual with whom you are sharing if that individual's data has not yet been loaded to their account. Even though you can't see their information, they will be able to see yours. Once their data becomes available, and they have completed any required tasks, you will be able to view it.
- Information for people already listed in your sharing list may disappear if they decide to discontinue the sharing connection or close their accounts.
*The 23andMe PGS test uses qualitative genotyping to detect select clinically relevant variants in the genomic DNA of adults from saliva for the purpose of reporting and interpreting genetic health risks and reporting carrier status. It is not intended to diagnose any disease. Your ethnicity may affect the relevance of each report and how your genetic health risk results are interpreted. Each genetic health risk report describes if a person has variants associated with a higher risk of developing a disease, but does not describe a person’s overall risk of developing the disease. The test is 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. Our carrier status reports can be used to determine carrier status, but cannot determine if you have two copies of any genetic variant. These carrier reports are not intended to tell you anything about your risk for developing a disease in the future, the health of your fetus, or your newborn child's risk of developing a particular disease later in life. For certain conditions, we provide a single report that includes information on both carrier status and genetic health risk. Warnings & Limitations: The 23andMe PGS Genetic Health Risk Report for BRCA1/BRCA2 (Selected Variants) is indicated for reporting of the 185delAG and 5382insC variants in the BRCA1 gene and the 6174delT variant in the BRCA2 gene. The report describes if a woman is at increased risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer, and if a man is at increased risk of developing breast cancer or may be at increased risk of developing prostate cancer. The three variants included in this report are most common in people of Ashkenazi Jewish descent and do not represent the majority of BRCA1/BRCA2 variants in the general population. This report does not include variants in other genes linked to hereditary cancers and the absence of variants included in this report does not rule out the presence of other genetic variants that may impact cancer risk. The PGS test is not a substitute for visits to a healthcare professional for recommended screenings or appropriate follow-up. Results should be confirmed in a clinical setting before taking any medical action. For important information and limitations regarding other genetic health risk reports and carrier status reports, visit https://www.23andme.com/test-info.