Impending Shutdown of openSNP: A Precautionary Closure to Protect Genetic Data Privacy

Overview of openSNP’s Decision to Close

The openSNP project, a pioneering open-source platform for sharing genetic and phenotypic information, has declared an official shutdown date of April 30, 2025. This decision comes in response to heightened privacy concerns and the potential misuse of data by authoritarian regimes.

Reasons Behind the Closure

Bastian Greshake Tzovaras, co-founder of openSNP, highlighted the drastic changes in the landscape of personal genomics over the past 14 years, emphasizing the increased risk of data abuse in today’s environment.

The Mission of openSNP

Since its inception, openSNP’s mission has been:

• To democratize access to genetic information, breaking the commercial DNA testing monopolies.
• To facilitate educational and research exploration of human genetics without economic or institutional constraints.

Contributions and Impact

Operating as one of the most significant repositories of its kind, openSNP has been instrumental in research and educational projects, including efforts to debunk flawed genetic studies.

Concerns Prompting the Shutdown

Tzovaras expressed serious concerns regarding:

• The potential for misuse by private forensic entities and government agencies.
• The increasing difficulty in safeguarding user-submitted data against aggressive data acquisition tactics.

The Future of User Data and openSNP

The platform will not only cease operations but will also delete all stored user data to prevent any future misuse. Users have until April 30, 2025, to download and save their data for private use, ensuring that personal control over genetic information remains in individual hands despite the service discontinuation.

The Legacy of openSNP

Rejecting several corporate offers to buy out data control, openSNP has stood as a testament to low-budget, high-impact open-source projects. Its impending closure marks a significant moment in discussing the ethical, political, and social considerations of genetic data privacy.