Are at-home genetic tests accurate?

At-home DNA testing has become affordable and popular. But "accurate" depends on what you're asking the test to do.

Reading variants vs interpreting them

Most consumer tests use genotyping chips that check hundreds of thousands of specific, common positions in your DNA. Reputable companies process samples in certified labs, and for those common variants the readings are generally reliable.

The challenges show up elsewhere:

• Rare variants: chips are less reliable for variants that are rare in the population.
• Raw data reinterpretation: third-party apps that analyze downloaded raw data can misread or misclassify variants.
• Limited coverage: a test that checks a few variants in a gene can miss many others.

What the research shows

A 2018 study in Genetics in Medicine reviewed samples referred to a clinical lab for confirmation after consumer testing. 40% of the variants reported in consumer raw data were false positives when retested with clinical methods. Some variants that third-party tools labeled as increased-risk were actually classified as benign.

MedlinePlus also notes that direct-to-consumer tests have limitations and that results should be interpreted with a healthcare provider or genetic counselor.

How to use your results wisely

• Treat wellness traits (like caffeine or lactose) as helpful prompts.
• Don't make medical decisions from consumer or raw data alone.
• Confirm any health-related finding with clinical-grade testing.
• Choose tests from CLIA-certified labs with clear privacy policies.

Want to know timelines? See how long genetic test results take. For a fuller overview, visit our genetic testing hub.