Good Morning America anchor reveals family secret discovered on 23andMe after company files for bankruptcy

Good Morning America anchor Whit Johnson revealed that his 23andMe test was a “missing link” that led to a “bombshell” discovery for his family after the company filed for bankruptcy — sparking concerns about the personal data of its millions of customers.Johnson, 42, shared on air over the weekend that he used the DNA testing service in 2014 and stumbled upon a staggering discovery.His father, Steve, was adopted — something no one in his family, including his dad, was aware of.As the news anchor did further research on the site, he discovered another family “bombshell.” He had an unknown relative closely connected to his family tree: his father’s long-lost biological brother “Bear.”“My DNA test was that missing link,” Johnson said in an interview with his dad during the segment.Over the years, his family continued to use 23andMe to search for lost relatives and were shocked to find his dad had more siblings.“That discovery led to another brother and a possible sister on my grandmother’s side, and two more brothers on my grandfather’s side,” Johnson said.However, when the company filed for Chapter 11 protection last week, the personal data of its more than 15 million customers could potentially be sold — prompting many users to delete the entire history they found through the site.Johnson said he is among those who chose to wipe his data, but his dad said he won’t.Steve said his 23andMe experience helped “round out” many of his questions about his life, but he understood why people would want their data deleted.“it does make me sad because it means that a lot of people who could have the experience I had won’t have it, because people just won’t sign up for this stuff,” Steve said.After sharing his story on Good Morning America, Johnson said his decision to delete his data was about the “piece of mind.”“Again, this is very personal.Everyone should consider what’s right for them,” he said.For more than a d...