see, this is where I don't get it. Can you send your material anonymously (burner email, pay in cash/crypto/prepaid debit card)? Then how could they match your DNA to your identity to sell it to insurance companies, etc?

I'm sure that is possible. But what ratio of the public actually would think of doing that?

Ask one of the serial killers now rotting in jail thanks to 23andme!

Was there ever a case of a convict getting caught by their direct DNA being found in one of these databases? I thought all cases where correlated from relatives. Government gets DNA sample, asks the databases: 'who do you know that's a genetic relative of this suspect?' and then they go and interrogate that person's every third cousin. You can't keep your family tree private, your birth certificate is out there. Opting out of 23andMe won't help you here.

A couple. One infamous case was the Golden State Killer[1] case. Though in that case, it was GEDmatch, not 23and me -- similar service, though.

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_James_DeAngelo#Investig...

But that’s just it. You now get the 23 and me defence… my DNA data was hacked therefore there’s reasonable doubt the DNA linking me to the murder was synthesized from the 23 and me leak.