Claimants of 23andMe Data Breach to Get $46.75M in Settlement Deal
Victims of the 23andMe data breach will receive a $46.75 million settlement to resolve consolidated class-action lawsuits.Summary
The administrator of a bankruptcy plan for Chrome Holding Co., formerly known as 23andMe, has agreed to a $46.75 million settlement to resolve litigation following a 2023 data breach. Of this total, $32.5 million is designated to resolve consolidated class-action lawsuits, with approximately $13 million of the funds provided by various cyber insurance underwriters, including Allied World Specialty Insurance Company and Tokio Marine HCC’s Houston Casualty Company.
The settlement amount represents a reduction from the $48 million in damages originally sought by the class. The court determined that a lower settlement was preferable to avoid protracted, high-stakes litigation that would deplete resources intended for stakeholders. Payouts to claimants are not flat; they range from $50 to $10,000 for extraordinary claims, with over 255,860 claims already resolved.
The original breach, disclosed in October 2023, affected nearly half of the company's 14.1 million customers, compromising approximately 5.5 million DNA Relatives profiles and 1.4 million Family Tree profiles. Following a bankruptcy filing in March 2025, the company's assets were sold back to co-founder Anne Wojcicki. Despite the restructuring, the company faces ongoing legal challenges, including a lawsuit from California regarding the failure to protect personal and genetic data.
(Source：Insurance Journal)