Dear MyOme Community,
Your genome is one of the most personal things about you. Trusting us with it is a meaningful act, and we don't take it lightly. This letter is our promise, in writing, to protect your data and keep it in your control.
I'm Adam Lavertu, MyOme's Chief Technology Officer. Protecting your genetic data isn't a box we check — it's the foundation of our first company value: to do what's best for patients.
Your data belongs to you
You decide who sees your genetic information, and you can access, correct, or delete it at any time. Following FTC guidance on genetic data privacy,1 we ask for your clear, informed permission before we ever use or share it — real consent, not fine print.
That includes Health Information Exchanges (HIEs): we won't share your information through an HIE without your specific permission, and you can withdraw it whenever you want. You can also choose to donate anonymized data to public research that helps everyone — but only if you want to, and you can change your mind anytime.
We will never sell your data
Not to advertisers, insurers, or data brokers. The only sharing that happens is the sharing you ask for — and your data will never be handed to anyone else, even if our company ever changes hands, without your permission. If we receive a legal request, we require proper legal process and share only the minimum the law requires.
We're held to medical-grade standards
MyOme is a clinical, HIPAA-covered company. Your genome is treated as protected health information, under the same rules that protect the rest of your medical care — never as a product to be marketed.
How we keep your data safe
- Always encrypted, in storage and in transit.
- Need-to-know access, and every access is logged.
- Your name kept separate from your data — we use coded IDs, and never store credit card information.
- We ask for less — only what's essential to your care.
- Vetted partners — every vendor is checked for security first.
- Two-factor login on every account, so a stolen password isn't enough to reach your data.
We aim higher than the minimum
HIPAA compliance is our starting point, not our finish line. We regularly test, monitor, and strengthen our systems and have outside experts check our work, because protecting genetic data is never "done."
My genetic and clinical data, and that of my family, are also in our system. When I decide how we protect your information, I'm setting the bar at how I want me and my family's data to be stewarded.
Thank you for that trust. We will stay deserving of it.
Adam Lavertu, Ph.D.
Chief Technology Officer, MyOme
1 FTC Guidance on DNA Data Privacy: https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/blog/2024/01/dna-privacy-privacy-dna