An API for Genome Apps

23andMe is opening up its application programming interface so that third-party developers can create apps that will piggyback on customers' personal genome data.

The company, which announced the API launch at last week's Quantified Self conference, says that genome apps should be of great interest to "self-tracker” community. Conference attendees "immediately latched onto the potential of the Personal Genome API for the self-tracking movement. Integrating various sets of genetic traits into sleep trackers, for example, was a popular topic."

Mike Polcari, director of engineering at 23andMe, tells Daily Scan sister publication BioInform that the company is taking privacy seriously. Interested developers will have to apply online in order to ensure that they are "real and identifiable "and that they "are being thoughtful about which pieces of the genome they are accessing," Polcari says.

In addition, individual-level data won't be personally identifiable to developers, and 23andMe customers will be able to decide whether they want their data accessible to an app.

Wired UK speculates that there may be a benefit for 23andMe benefactor Google, noting that "with the attitudes toward personal...