Users must be at least 18 to create an account and agree to these terms. Parents or legal guardians may submit samples on behalf of minors, and legally authorized representatives may submit on behalf of other individuals.
This analysis describes what 23andMe's agreement states, permits, or reserves. It does not constitute a legal determination about enforceability. Regulatory applicability and practical outcomes may vary by jurisdiction, enforcement context, and individual circumstances. Read our methodology
The clause establishes gatekeeping requirements for service access and sample processing. It allocates responsibility for legal authorization to the account holder and creates a contractual condition that sample submission constitutes representation of authority to provide that particular genetic material to 23andMe.
Interpretive note: The adequacy of parental consent for minor sample submission under the data protection laws of each served jurisdiction is uncertain, particularly where national law imposes additional requirements for processing children's sensitive genetic data.
The updated Terms now apply only to users who live outside the United States, Canada, EEA, UK, and Switzerland, or who access the Services from outside those regions. US, Canadian, EEA, UK, and Swiss users are directed to region-specific Terms instead. Additionally, when terms for a specific Service conflict with the main Terms, the specific Service terms now govern that portion of your use rather than the main Terms controlling. The mandatory arbitration provision remains in the document but is no longer prominently featured at the very beginning of the Terms.
View change record →The updated Terms of Service now apply exclusively to users in the United States, narrowing the geographic scope from the prior version that addressed users in multiple regions. The terms now contain a prominently featured mandatory arbitration provision that requires disputes to be resolved through individual arbitration on an individual basis rather than through jury trials or class action lawsuits. This means that if a user has a dispute with 23andMe, the updated terms require arbitration as the method of resolution instead of traditional litigation. Additionally, if a user purchases additional services, the main Terms of Service (including the arbitration provision) will control any conflicting terms from those additional services. You can review the complete updated Terms of Service through the link provided in the document.
View change record →The updated terms now apply only to users who live outside or access services outside the United States, Canada, EEA, UK, and Switzerland. Previously, the terms applied to US-based users. The terms also clarify that when service-specific terms conflict with the general Terms of Service, the service-specific terms will govern that particular service rather than the general terms controlling all conflicts. This means users of additional services may operate under different dispute resolution and governance procedures depending on which service they are using.
View change record →If you are a parent submitting a genetic sample for a minor child, you are personally agreeing to all terms on that child's behalf, including any data use and research participation provisions. The child's genetic data may be used under the same terms as adult user data, subject to applicable law.
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"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.— Excerpt from 23andMe's 23andMe Terms of Service
(1) REGULATORY LANDSCAPE: This provision engages COPPA in the US (though the US has a separate version), and equivalent child and minor data protection frameworks in served jurisdictions, including Australia's Privacy Act provisions on children, Singapore's PDPA advisory guidelines on minors, and national implementations of child protection frameworks across served countries. Parental consent for genetic testing of minors is a particularly sensitive area because the data reveals information about the entire biological family, not just the minor. (2) GOVERNANCE EXPOSURE: Medium. The terms permit parental submission of minor samples but do not specify age ranges for minors or any differentiated data handling for children's genetic data. In some jurisdictions, additional protections or consent mechanisms are required for processing children's sensitive personal data, including genetic information. (3) JURISDICTION FLAGS: Australia, New Zealand, and many European-adjacent jurisdictions have heightened standards for processing children's personal data. The terms do not specify a minimum age for minors whose samples may be submitted, which may create ambiguity about the intended scope of this permission and its compliance with national child data protection requirements. (4) CONTRACT AND VENDOR IMPLICATIONS: Any downstream commercialization of de-identified genetic data that includes data from minors submitted by parents may require additional legal basis or consent mechanisms under national child protection frameworks in served jurisdictions. (5) COMPLIANCE CONSIDERATIONS: Compliance teams should assess whether the parental consent mechanism for minor sample submission is adequate under the child data protection frameworks of each jurisdiction served by this international version, and whether any additional safeguards or disclosures are required for genetic data derived from minors.
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The clause establishes gatekeeping requirements for service access and sample processing. It allocates responsibility for legal authorization to the account holder and creates a contractual condition that sample submission constitutes representation of authority to provide that particular genetic material to 23andMe.
If you are a parent submitting a genetic sample for a minor child, you are personally agreeing to all terms on that child's behalf, including any data use and research participation provisions. The child's genetic data may be used under the same terms as adult user data, subject to applicable law.
No. ConductAtlas is an independent monitoring service. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by 23andMe.