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How to download your raw DNA data from 23andMe and AncestryDNA

By Dan Elton · August 9, 2026

Your raw genotype file is the durable output of a DNA test. Reports and apps come and go — 23andMe's 2025 bankruptcy and sale made that vivid — but the file itself is yours to keep, back up, and reanalyze with better tools as the science improves. Here's how to get it.

23andMe

  1. Sign in and open Settings from your account menu.
  2. Scroll to 23andMe Data and click View.
  3. You may be asked to re-enter your password and answer a security prompt.
  4. Under Raw data, request the download. 23andMe prepares the file and emails you when it's ready (usually minutes, occasionally longer).
  5. Download the .zip; inside is a tab-separated .txt file.

The file lists each tested variant with its rsid, chromosome, position, and your genotype, on the GRCh37 genome build. Recent chips test roughly 640,000 positions.

Given 23andMe's Chapter 11 filing in March 2025 and subsequent sale, keeping your own copy of your raw data (and deleting your account data if you no longer want it held) is more sensible than ever.

AncestryDNA

  1. Sign in and open DNA → Your DNA Results Summary.
  2. Click Settings on the right.
  3. Under Actions, find Download DNA Data and confirm with your password.
  4. Ancestry emails you a confirmation link — click it, then download the .zip.

Ancestry's file is also a text table of rsids and genotypes (roughly 700,000 positions, GRCh37 build), with a slightly different column layout — analysis tools handle both formats automatically.

What can you do with the file?

Once you have it, a third-party analysis can extract far more than the original report covered:

  • Trait associations backed by published research — e.g. rs4988235 (lactase persistence, MCM6), rs762551 (caffeine metabolism, CYP1A2), or rs1801133 (MTHFR).
  • Pharmacogenomic star alleles for genes like CYP2C19.
  • ClinVar-classified variants present in your file.
  • Ancestry-aware polygenic risk scores.

See the full walkthrough in How to analyze your 23andMe raw data, or upload your file to Gene Wizard — the preview is free (a one-time $19.99 unlocks the full report, no subscription), and the raw file is parsed in memory and never stored.

Practical tips

  • Don't edit the file. Analysis tools accept the zip or the raw text as-is; spreadsheet apps can silently corrupt it.
  • Back it up encrypted. It's the most identifying file you own — treat it like a password vault export, not a photo.
  • Check the build. Chip exports are GRCh37; whole-genome VCFs may be GRCh38. Good tools detect this automatically, but it explains position mismatches if you ever compare files by hand.