Genetic API Alternative After the 23andMe API Changes

Originally published 2018. Updated 2026 to reflect the current state of 23andMe and the Sequencing Marketplace API.

When 23andMe made changes to its API policy in 2018, developers who had built apps on top of the 23andMe Genetic API needed an alternative. Since then, the situation has changed significantly. In 2025, 23andMe filed for bankruptcy and sold its assets to TTAM Research Institute, a nonprofit led by 23andMe co-founder Anne Wojcicki. The 23andMe consumer platform and its API are no longer operating under their original business model, making an alternative genetic data API more important than ever for developers who want to build apps powered by real genetic data.

What happened to 23andMe?

23andMe, once one of the largest consumer DNA testing companies in the world, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in March 2025 and subsequently sold its assets, including its genetic database and consumer business, to TTAM Research Institute. The sale raised significant questions about data ownership and what happens to genetic data when the company that collected it changes hands. For developers who built on the 23andMe API, the platform's future under new ownership remains uncertain.

Are apps in the Sequencing Partner Marketplace affected?

No. Apps in the Partner Marketplace are not impacted by changes at 23andMe or any other single testing company. Because Sequencing's Universal Compatibility technology does not depend on any one company's API, users can continue to upload genetic data from any provider and run all Partner Marketplace apps without interruption.

A Marketplace API alternative for developers

Sequencing offers a Marketplace API that gives developers a stable, source agnostic way to build apps powered by genetic data. Rather than depending on a single testing company's API, the Marketplace API works with genetic data from virtually any source, so your app is not exposed to the risk of one company changing its policy, going out of business, or changing ownership.

Key capabilities of the Marketplace API include:

• Compatibility with data from all major consumer DNA testing companies, including 23andMe, AncestryDNA, MyHeritage, FamilyTreeDNA, and Living DNA.
• Compatibility with clinical genetic data formats including FASTQ, FASTA, BAM, SAM, CRAM, and VCF from laboratories such as Dante Labs, GeneDx, Invitae, and others.
• Access to genetic data from whole genome sequencing and exome sequencing, not just microarray data.
• A single integration point that gives your app access to users with data from any genetic test.

What about data ownership and privacy?

The 23andMe bankruptcy highlighted how important it is for genetic data to be owned by the individual, not the platform. Sequencing operates under a Privacy Forever policy: users own their genetic data, it is never sold to third parties, and they can delete it at any time. This policy does not change based on business decisions, funding, or ownership. The platform is HIPAA compliant with CLIA certified sequencing services.

Get started with the Marketplace API

If you are a developer looking to build apps powered by genetic data and need a stable alternative to the 23andMe API, contact Sequencing support to discuss the Marketplace API and how to get your app integrated and listed in the Partner Marketplace.