Genetic data site openSNP to close and delete data over privacy concerns

The openSNP project, a platform for sharing genetic and phenotypic data, will shut down on April 30, 2025, and delete all user submissions over privacy concerns and the risk of misuse by authoritarian governments.

The decision was announced earlier this week by co-founder Bastian Greshake Tzovaras, who expressed concerns about how personal genomics data is subject to abuse today and how fundamentally the landscape has changed over the last 14 years.

OpenSNP is a free and open-source platform where individuals can upload and share their genetic and phenotype data for research and educational purposes.

Its original goal was to democratize access to genetic data, breaking the monopoly of commercial DNA testing companies and enabling researchers or regular people to explore human genetic data without financial or institutional barriers.

Over the years, openSNP became one of the largest repositories of its kind, used in research, education, and even community-led investigations like debunking flawed CFS genetic studies.

Although not affiliated with 23andMe, the vast majority of contributions it received were from users who had their genomes sequenced by 23andMe.

With 23andMe filing for bankruptcy, the flow of new data submitted to openSNP has essentially stopped, and Tzovaras doesn’t expect this to change any time soon.

The co-founder also voiced concern that retaining openSNP’s data could invite misuse, especially as private forensic firms, law enforcement agencies, and governments have become increasingly aggressive in seeking access to such information on the grounds of pseudo-scientific arguments.

“The risk/benefit calculus of providing free & open access to individual genetic data in 2025 is very different compared to 14 years ago,” explained Tzovaras.

“And so, sunsetting openSNP – along with deleting the data stored within it – feels like it is the most responsible act of stewardship for these data today.”

OpenSNP constituted a rare example of how open-source projects can successfully operate on a low budget, having repeatedly rejected offers from corporations to sell control of the data. However, the organization believes it is now too risky to continue, given the changes in the ethical, political, and societal climate.

Hence, the project will shut down at the end of the month, and all user submissions will be wiped.

The announcement does not explicitly instruct users to take any action such as deleting their data, so no manual actions are required.

However, those who want to keep a copy of their or other data for personal use have until April 30, 2025, to download it.

That said, anyone who has already downloaded the data has a copy forever, but removing the public, centralized source lowers discoverability and future access by scraping operations.