by Peter Clarkson
Logging into 23andMe recently revealed a change that many genetic genealogists will welcome — and it arrived with little to no announcement. After previously withdrawing detailed chromosome‑level information following their security issues, 23andMe now appears to have reinstated chromosome matching data and introduced a new clustering feature, suggesting a tentative step back towards more serious analytical tools.
The good news is that users can once again see which chromosome they match on and roughly where a shared segment sits. This restores an important piece of context that was missing for some time and makes on‑site analysis more informative than it has been recently.
Recent developments have also indicated that it may be possible to download some chromosome data for those who are interested.
Overall, this looks like a cautious but encouraging move. The return of chromosome data and the addition of clustering hint that 23andMe may be rebuilding confidence and functionality, even if full data portability and automation are still some way off. For now, it’s a development worth exploring — just with realistic expectations about what can (and can’t) be done with the data.