Face the music of your DNA
October 24, 2018
We all love playlists curated to us, but what if they were based off your DNA? Ancestry recently released a service that curates your playlists based on the DNA information they collect from you.
As stated on Ancestry’s website, the playlist is totally unique based on your DNA. “If you could listen to your DNA, what would it sound like?” the website said.
Many criticized this new service, including Kristin Corry, a writer for Vice.
“Don’t forget that the whole plot line of ‘American Horror Story: Apocalypse’ is based around the end of the world for everyone except those rich enough to survive, or those chosen by their DNA results. Not creepy at all, I guess?” Corry said.
This strange application of user’s DNA seems creepy to many, and rightfully so. The idea of your genetic material being used on a site other than Ancestry is concerning due to privacy issues.
No one should have access to your genetic material other than yourself. It should be for your eyes only. However, Ancestry promises to refrain from sharing your information in their privacy statement located on their website.
Ancestry doesn’t share your individual personal information,including your genetic information, with third parties without your additional consent, according to a privacy statement from Ancestry.
To participate in this strange experience, you link your Ancestry account and select the top-five ethnic regions from your results, and Spotify sends out a genetically personalized playlist based on regions you selected. For example, if you’re half German and half Irish, a playlist will be curated with songs from Ireland and Germany.
However, this whole service isn’t free. It costs $99 for an Ancestry DNA kit, but free to link your accounts and get your personalized genetic playlist.