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Chromosome Mapping

Segment data: what’s going on?

In early October 2023, it emerged that a bad actor had used stolen passwords to gain unauthorized access to 23andMe accounts. This has had some knock-on effects, and the situation with segment data has changed:

Luckily we can still get segment data from everywhere except 23andMe (and AncestryDNA, where it was never available in the first place). But communication by the testing companies has been a bit patchy. I’ve therefore created the table below to summarize the current situation with regard to access to:

  • Individual segment data (the segments you share with an individual match)
  • Bulk segment data (a file containing all segments you share with all matches in that database)

I’ll endeavour to keep this post up to date as the situation changes.

CompanyIndividual segmentsBulk dataOverall statusNotes
23andMeNoNoTemporarily removedFrom their site: “As part of the ongoing security investigation, we have temporarily disabled some features within the DNA Relatives tool as an additional precaution to protect the privacy of our customers.”
AncestryDNANoNoNo accessAncestryDNA has never made segment data available
FamilyTreeDNAYesNoIndividual matches availableIn November 2023 the following message appeared in the FamilyTreeDNA chromosome browser: “The option to download your matches list and segment data is currently unavailable as we work on enhancements. We appreciate your patience and apologize for any inconvenience.”
GedmatchYesYesAvailable
GeneanetYesYesAvailable but only until Dec 20th 2023Alas, Geneanet announced today that it will be closing its DNA features down
Living DNAYesNoIndividual matches availableLiving DNA launched segment data in July 2023 for individual matches but have not yet made a download of bulk match segments available
MyHeritageYesNoIndividual matches availableIn October 2023, MyHeritage removed the link:
Export shared DNA segment info for DNA Matches

You can still access individual segment data via
Advanced options > Download shared DNA info
and the chromosome browser, but to do so you may need to have enabled two-factor authentication on your account. [this note updated Dec 2023]

You can find more detailed information on where you can still find segment data in the help pages Where do you find the segment data? and How do you use the import function?

Further reading

Contact info: @dnapainter / jonny@dnapainter.com