Customer reviews from 23andme.com
23andMe - Personal Genetic Service - Saliva Collection Kit
Average customer rating
3.8
(5,679 Reviews)
Rating breakdown 5,679 reviews
5 Stars
3,017
4 Stars
786
3 Stars
553
2 Stars
403
1 Star
920
73%of customers recommend this product.
(
3,935 out of
5,412)
Customer Reviews for 23andMe - Personal Genetic Service - Saliva Collection Kit
Customer Rating
4
Is Genetic Testing Worth Your Time and Money?
on August 4, 2018
Posted by: Barney
from Montana
Length of ownership:1 year or longer
Like toothpaste, genetic testing is worth your money only if you use it. Like toothpaste, the more you use it, the more you gain from it. Be warned though that the value most people gain from genetic testing depends on how much time they invest in it.
The genetic testing we are discussing here is the variety that you see advertised everywhere for $50-$200; sometimes a little more. That is not full genome testing which still costs $1000 and up. The relatively inexpensive testing is based on a large number of samples taken from the genome. The results are estimates of ethnicity, health tendencies, and ancestry; although not all testing companies offer all three.
Note the word "estimates" from the previous paragraph. Inheritance is fundamentally random. In addition, the sample size and how it is taken influences the exactness of the answer. Finally, genetics and environmental factors are incredibly complex; scientists are far from understanding exactly how they influence us. When you see the results of your test, remember you are seeing estimates.
Ethnicity estimates indicate what populations your test results resemble most. In my mind, the ethnicity aspect of genetic testing is over advertised. I often hear from people who paid for their tests primarily to learn their ethnicity and were unhappy with the value received. Most people, particularly those people descended from Europe or the British Isles, find few surprises in their ethnicity results. They end up referring to their results a few times and forget about it. They fail to take the trouble of learning what else the test results might tell them.
The estimate of health tendencies one receives from genetic testing has long-term value for some people. There are limitations however. The sampling is specific for certain health indicators called markers. The resulting estimates cover only the health issues influenced by those markers. Further, the estimates only provide the a tendency toward those health factors because each health issue is influenced by other genetic and environmental factors.
I find that the ancestry estimates have a far greater potential value than ethnicity and health. However, realizing that value takes time. It also takes work, although many people find they enjoy the work. The immediate benefit is a list of possible relatives with estimates of how closely they are related to you. Digging deeper into the ancestry data can put you in contact with some of those relatives and can lead to more information about your ancestors than any other method. The work comes in learning how to tease out that information and in applying the various tools that help you do that. Remember the randomness of genetic inheritance. Realize that interpretation of random factors quickly leads you into statistics and statistical analysis. The good news is that there are many resources and tools available to help you.
If you get a genetic test, perhaps you will turn out to be related to me. We will not know unless you test. Remember however, like toothpaste, the test results are only worthwhile if you use them.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting 23andme.com
Customer Rating
5
Technology and personal discovery!
on August 9, 2018
Posted by: KenJW
from San Francisco, CA
Length of ownership:1 year or longer
As a family we bought 23andMe kits because we thought it would be fun to learn more our genetic profiles. Little did we know it would turn into great DNA adventure that challenged what we thought we knew about our lineage! Thanks to 23andMe, at the age of 55, I discovered that my sister and I are half siblings, I have a half brother living on the other side of the country and nearly 20 first cousins in Ireland! With our parents deceased (I can't call mom and tell her we need to talk!) the DNA relatives tool was invaluable as I searched and reached out to people in an effort to determine who my biological dad was. While this discovery might be challenging for some, it's been nothing but a incredible journey for me and my family (old and "new"!) and I'm grateful to 23andMe for making this technology so accessible to the masses.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting 23andme.com
Customer Rating
2
Limited value finding DNA family
on October 6, 2018
Posted by: merryminx
from Palm Desert, CA
Length of ownership:1 year or longer
My family tested several years ago, because my father who is 85 has always wanted to know something about his father. We had many DNA matches, but nearly all the close matches opted out of the matching tool. Recently 23andme stopped showing these annonymous matches on the cousins list. Now members don't even know they exist. I don't personally think testing is worth the money to learn I'm less likey to have a unibrow. I wish 23andme were more helpful at matching relatives. I wish you luck. Occasionally members luck out and make contact with someone that helps them find their family.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Response from 23andme.comBy Customer Care, October 16, 2018
Thank you for your feedback. Anonymous matches are being automatically opted-out of DNA Relatives and will not be visible in your results. These relatives will return to being visible in your list if they choose to opt-in to the feature and update their display name preferences within their account in the future. As more and more people are genotyped by 23andMe, your list will also be expected to grow.
Written by a customer while visiting 23andme.com
Customer Rating
3
It's ok
on October 9, 2018
Posted by: Anonymous
Length of ownership:3 months
Not as excited as I thought I would be. I was at first but after looking over it and really not seeing any close relatives other than 3rd cousins, it just wasn't what I thought it would be. I wanted Health background and I got that for the most part but I guess I expected something different. I don't know it just wasn't what I expected and I don't think it was worth the cost.
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
Written by a customer while visiting 23andme.com
Customer Rating
1
DNA updates
on April 17, 2019
Posted by: TerryxfromOrkney
from Las Vegas, Nevada,USA
Length of ownership:1 week
I took the test and my results were fair. I got an email stating something about updates and new regions and my results didn’t change at all. I want to know more about my Europe and Asian dna. It changed once and now my northwestern dna has me confused and longing to find more answers. I answered a bunch of questions and have no updates to my results this service is not all it’s cracked up to be.
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
Written by a customer while visiting 23andme.com
Customer Rating
1
Waste of money
on March 24, 2023
Posted by: Stacey00
from Texas
Length of ownership:3 months
This report was obviously not even mine, there is not one person connected to me listed as part of my family on this report.
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
Response from 23andme.comBy Customer Care, March 31, 2023
Thanks for your feedback. We are only able to compare you to other individuals who have been genotyped using our services. You can learn more about how DNA Relatives works here: https://customercare.23andme.com/hc/en-us/articles/212170958
If you have further questions, our Customer Care Team can assist you here: http://23and.me/23andMeCC
If you have further questions, our Customer Care Team can assist you here: http://23and.me/23andMeCC
Written by a customer while visiting 23andme.com
Customer Rating
1
Terrible customer service
on March 23, 2026
Posted by: Jodi2010
from Los angeles
Length of ownership:1 year or longer
I have been trying to avoid auto renewing my account and have been on the chat for 1 1/2 hours. Their customer service is terrible!
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
Written by a customer while visiting 23andme.com
Customer Rating
3
Not enough info
on November 6, 2016
Posted by: Gomarilyn
from Reno, NV, United States
Length of ownership:1 week
I thought I would see if I was prone to get cancer, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, celiac, etc. I'm very disappointed that that info is not included.
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
Written by a customer while visiting 23andme.com