ATLANTA — The genetic testing company 23andMe gave tens of thousands of Georgians insights into their ancestry and health predispositions.

A massive data breach also subjected those Georgians to an invasion of privacy, allowing others an opportunity to see their genetic information after their data was published for sale on the dark web, according to Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr.

Carr announced that 171,125 Georgians were affected by the 2023 breach that compromised the genetic data of 6.9 million customers worldwide.

The unraveling of the company has led to a settlement between state attorneys general and the bankruptcy trustee for 23andMe that will result in a $452,232 payment to the state treasury, Carr's office said last week.

The money comes from an $18 million settlement fund for participating states. It is separate from a $47 million class-action settlement with customers, a spokesman for Carr's office said Tuesday.

The claim period for the class-action lawsuit ended in February.

The company initially denied the breach had occurred, then blamed consumers for exposing themselves with their account setup or password choices, according to Carr's office, which said 23andMe initially accepted no responsibility for a "credential stuffing" breach.

Carr joined 41 other attorneys general to hold the company to account. Their investigation found "unreasonable" data security practices, Carr's office said, including failure to remediate known vulnerabilities.

The company filed for bankruptcy in March 2025, and its consumer data and other assets were sold to TTAM Research Institute, a nonprofit that was formed by 23andMe founder and former CEO Anne Wojcicki and subsequently reregistered as 23andMe Research Institute.

Customers can delete their genetic data by signing into their 23andMe account. Start with the user profile in the upper right-hand corner, click "settings," scroll to "23andMe Data" at the bottom and click the "view" button, then scroll down to the red "Permanently Delete Data" button at the bottom and click it.

Customers can download their data first by clicking the "Request Download" button after clicking the "view" button and before clicking the delete button.

For more information about account closure, visit the company's website: Requesting 23andMe Account Closure.

For more information about the class-action settlement, visit 23andmedatasettlement.com.