For more than 15 million people, taking a 23andMe test once seemed like a good idea.  For around 80% of customers, their interaction with the company went even further—they opted to have their data used in health research.

Following the firm’s bankruptcy, researchers hope that they will be able to continue accessing the valuable data set even if it is sold to new owners.

23andMe, the company whose mail-in self-testing kits became synonymous with DNA testing, is filing for bankruptcy . Anne Wojcicki, who co-founded 23andMe in 2006, is stepping down as CEO as the company tries to find a buyer amid slowing sales four years after going public.

Genetic testing service 23andMe has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection to keep the company running while reorganizing its debts.

In this day and age of genetic testing, privacy is something that the general public needs to know to safeguard their data. There is a window that is narrowing if you are one of the consumers who paid the company 23andMe to run genetic and medical testing on your DNA.

Me, which helped popularize ancestry tracing through genetic testing, filed for bankruptcy protection and will seek a sale.

The direct-to-consumer DNA testing service 23andMe filed for bankruptcy earlier this month, putting millions of customers' genetic information up for sale.

The bankruptcy underscores the great risks of investing in many of the companies that have gone public via mergers with special-purpose acquisition corporations.

23andMe, maker of popular DNA test kits, announced Sunday that it has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and is looking for a buyer. Although the company has promised to continue protecting customer data amidst a possible sale, California’s attorney general has advised 23andMe users to consider deleting their information.