3 ms·
> I never could understand why people would willingly offer their DNA to companies that even if they are not selling that data sooner or later could have that d
by cyberax 2y ago
> I never could understand why people would willingly offer their DNA to companies that even if they are not selling that data sooner or later could have that data leak and the consequences could mean being able to afford life and medical insurance or not.
Reality: nobody cares about your DNA. It's useless for medical or life insurance companies, they can't discriminate based on the DNA by law. And if it's ever repealed, you can bet that life insurance companies will just start asking for your DNA info anyway.
DNA also doesn't provide actionable intelligence for advertisers that is worth more than a week of your purchase history or your Facebook profile.
However, DNA provides actionable intelligence for _you_. Mostly by highlighting the disease risks and other clinically-significant data (like drug metabolism speed).
- chiefalchemist 2y agoAll true but above all DNA is personal. It's yours to share or not. When someone related to you shares, they're sharing you and yours as well. Let's rephrase: I never could understand why people would willingly offer their DNA *and the DNA of all those who share some part of their DNA* to for profit companies subject to data breaches, court orders, nefarious employees, etc.
- School-Cotton 2y agoI’m quite sure nobody in my family is the type of HN privacy geek who would care about this, so I don’t feel bad at all.
- chiefalchemist 2y agoTwo books that would be good for you to read then: "The Age of Surveillance Capitalism" - Long and details but extremely thorough. A must read for anyone with that excuse "I have nothing to hide". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Age_of_Surveillance_Capitalism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Age_of_Surveillance_Capita... - "Stand Out of Our Light " - Similar message as "Surveillance Capitalism" - from an ex-Google'r - but without the depth and breadth. Not as heavy but packs a near similar punch. https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/stand-out-of-our-light/3F8D7BA2C0FE3A7126A4D9B73A89415D https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/stand-out-of-our-light/... p.s. Not feeling bad and/or not recognizing the issue is a symptom of the problem. Yeah, ironic.
- cyberax 2y ago> Let's rephrase: I never could understand why people would willingly offer their DNA To get information that benefits them. And from a practical point of view, a lot of my information has been leaked multiple times already. And I'm carrying a phone that tracks my movements to within a few meters all the time. I walk by multiple Ring cameras every day, etc. Why care about one more privacy leak?