OpenSNP, a large open source repository for user-uploaded genetic data, will close all its data at the end of April, co-founder Bastian Greshk Tejovers confirmed.
In Post a blogOpenSNP Tejouverus blamed the decision to shutter the site due to the financial collapse of the 27th OME and the growth of authoritarian governments around the world due to the concern of data privacy.
Founded by Tejouvarus with Philip Bayer and Helz Raus, OpenSNP became an open and public repository for customers of commercial genetic testing kites, including 23ndme, to upload their test results and find others with similar genetic diversity. It was about 13,000 users on the site at the time of the announcement of the closure, making it one of the largest public repository in the genetic data. Since its inception, OpenSNP has competed its contribution to academic and scientific research and has identified more than 7,500 genomes.
In terms of 23 for bankruptcy and ME filing, the news of the OpenSNP’s shutdown comes up, intensifies that the huge banks of the sensitive genetic data company of customers will be sold to the highest bidder, who cannot comply with the promises of 23 and its privacy. Attorney General of the state of California and New York, In othersThe end of this year has warned 23 and my customers to delete their data before the court-appointed self.
Tejouverus also said that a contributor to the closure of OpenSNP is the cause of “far right and other authoritarian governments,” quotes Removing public data from US government websites Immediately after President Trump returned to power.
“The risk/benefit calculus of free and free access to individual genetic data in 2025 is very different than 14 years ago,” Jowverus wrote. “In addition to eliminating data stored in OpenSNP – it looks like it’s the most responsible work of the stewardship for these data” “
“Always had a balanced job”
When he reached TechCunch, Tejovers was now blurred the decision to close the OpenSNP and not soon.
Tejovers, a resident of Germany, told TechCrunch, “What has been calculated for the fascist coup in the United States has finally come down to ‘why’ to me.
“Referring to recent reports of people living in the United States, he said,” The most suspicious excuses see people disappear from the roads really can’t really say anything else. ” Including US citizensWhom he has been arrested in immigration campaign, Something from whose position goes unknownThe
Tajovarus said that “the launch of the Second Trump administration -” from January to “destroy scientific institutions and science” – was a reason to close the OpenSNP.
“I do not think that genetic data soon to falsely claim genetic data about various issues is an extensive topic to be worried about how to be tortured to bring back the age of a Gae -e -Eujanics,” he said.
Tajovarus said that the OpenSNP has become “always a balanced work” between its potential use and risk “The existence of the site” has become the ongoing thoughts on whether the benefits may be higher than the risk. ”
In a Historical Tihasic example, when law enforcement used genetic data from the genology site Gadmatch in 2018 to identify the notorious serial killer-Tejobarus said that OpenSNP was at the time that it was less relevant to law enforcement than the larger spiritual-specific database. (Tejovarus confirmed to TechCrunch that it is open and public nature, despite the public nature, OpenSNP has never received a law enforcement request for any genetic or user data))
Tajovarus said that compared to the first Trump administration, “the abuse of science was much more qualitatively and quantitatively different than what we see today.”
“In addition to the greater conversation on genetic data impact on the 23andme bankruptcy, we decided that the plug was time to pull,” Tejovers told TechCrunch.
Tejovarus told TechCrunch that in a positive image, OpenSNP could be his “biggest achievement” that continued for 14 years. He said that the OpenSNP ran around $ 5 per month, in the face of commercial startups that worked on people’s data cashing but eventually failed. Tajovarus said that in that sense the OpenSNP “feels the power of the open source/culture as a proof.”
Tejouvarus says “The site has contributed to research and publishing all the ways from infoce/privacy to biomedical studies – from the broad branch.” He said many graduates also benefited from getting access to real-world data hosted by the OpenSNP, he said.
“In this sense, I think our hopes to ‘democratic’ access to genomics were at least partially successful,” Tejovers said.
