Terms of service

Acceptance

By placing an order, creating or using a Genome Computer account, using our hosted app connection flow, or accessing or using Genome Explorer (including Genome Chat), you agree to these terms and to our Privacy Policy. You accept these terms at checkout by confirming your order and, for Genome Explorer, when you sign in or submit a prompt. The version of these terms in effect at the time you place your order governs that order. Your ongoing use of Genome Explorer and hosted connections is governed by the version in effect when you use them, subject to the notice provisions below. Accepting these terms or buying a service does not itself authorise access by another app; you make that choice separately on the permission screen.

What you are buying

The Genome Computer Company sells a sequencing service and delivery of the resulting genomic data. Your data is delivered as a .genome bundle (an open, AI-ready format we developed), with a VCF file available on request. This is non-clinical genomic data, not a medical test and not a diagnosis. No clinical interpretation is provided. For medical decisions, take your file to a physician or a clinical genetics service.

Geographic availability

The service is currently available to residents of the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore. We do not currently sell or ship the service outside these jurisdictions. If you are located outside these countries, you may browse our marketing content and join our waitlist, but you cannot purchase or use the service. We expect to expand availability to additional jurisdictions in the future and will notify waitlist members when service becomes available in their region.

Eligibility

To purchase or use the service, you must:

• Be at least 18 years of age;
• Have the legal capacity to enter into a binding agreement;
• Be a resident of a country where the service is currently available, with your primary residence in that jurisdiction; and
• Not be prohibited from using the service under applicable law.

You confirm your residency at checkout. You agree not to misrepresent your country of residence or use technical means, mail forwarding services, or another person's address to circumvent geographic restrictions.

Shipping

Sample kits typically ship within 1 business day of your order to your shipping address in a supported country. International shipping may take additional time depending on customs processing and carrier. Laboratory turnaround times begin only after a valid sample has been received and accepted by the laboratory. Lab turnaround is typically 24 hours for Raw SNP and SNP + imputed orders and 4–6 weeks for whole genome sequencing from when the laboratory receives and accepts your returned sample. These timings are estimates, not guarantees.

For customers outside the United States, you are responsible for any customs duties, taxes, or fees imposed by local authorities on the inbound kit or any related shipments. Sample return shipment to our United States laboratory is included as part of the service where supported by our fulfillment partners.

Private orders

If you choose a Private order, the following additional terms apply.

Private orders are designed to minimise the identifying information we retain about you. During fulfillment we may temporarily collect information required to process payment, ship your kit, receive your sample, provide customer support, and deliver your genomic data.

Private orders are accessed using a unique Genome ID and Access Code generated during checkout. You are solely responsible for securely storing these credentials.

If you lose your Genome ID or Access Code, we may be unable to recover access to your order or delivered genome data. We are not responsible for any loss arising from your failure to retain these credentials.

Once your order has been completed and any operational, legal, accounting, fraud prevention, or regulatory obligations have been satisfied, we may permanently delete or irreversibly de-identify the identifying information associated with your order in accordance with our Privacy Policy and applicable law.

Deletion of identifying information may limit or prevent our ability to:

• verify ownership of an order;
• recover access credentials;
• reissue download access;
• investigate future support requests; or
• otherwise associate you with a previously delivered genome.

Where identifying information has been deleted or irreversibly de-identified, we are under no obligation to recreate or recover that association.

Your sample

You warrant that any sample you submit:

• is your own biological sample;
• was collected by you or with your knowledge and consent;
• is from a living person aged 18 or over; and
• is not submitted for the purpose of reselling the service or reverse-engineering the service.

You indemnify Genetic Superintelligence Company against any claim arising from a breach of this warranty, including any claim by a third party whose genetic information is contained in a sample you submitted without authority.

We reserve the right to refuse or destroy any sample we reasonably suspect was not lawfully obtained, and to suspend or terminate service to any customer we reasonably believe has breached these terms.

Refunds

Laboratory costs are incurred when your sample is received by our laboratory partner. Our refund policy reflects this:

• You may return an unused kit within 30 days of delivery for a full refund of the purchase price. "Unused" means the outer packaging and collection tube are unopened. Return shipping is at your expense, and the kit must reach us in resaleable condition.
• Once your sample has been received by the laboratory, the order is non-refundable.
• If your sample fails laboratory quality control, we do not provide a refund. At our discretion, we may provide a replacement kit.
• We do not provide refunds after a valid .genome bundle has been delivered.

This clause does not limit any rights you have under applicable consumer protection law that cannot be waived by contract, including under United States state consumer protection laws, Canadian federal and provincial consumer protection legislation, and comparable mandatory consumer rights in other supported countries.

Kit return window

You must return your sample to the laboratory within 180 days of receiving your kit. After this window, your order is forfeit and no sequencing will be performed. No refund is provided for unreturned kits.

Deletion before delivery

If you request deletion of your data under our Privacy Policy before your data has been delivered, we will honour the request. Because laboratory costs have already been incurred, no refund is provided for deletion requests made after your sample has been received by the laboratory.

No medical use

The Genome Computer Company is a sequencing service. The data we deliver is research-use genomic data. It is not a medical test, screening test, or diagnostic test. It is not a medical service, medical device, or in vitro diagnostic. It does not detect, diagnose, screen for, monitor, prevent, treat, or assess any disease, condition, or medical issue. The file we deliver is not a clinical report and contains no medical assessment.

You must not:

• Use the service or its outputs to diagnose, treat, monitor, prevent, or manage any disease or medical condition;
• Use the service or its outputs to make medication, treatment, or healthcare decisions;
• Rely on the service or its outputs for medical decisions, treatment decisions, medication decisions, or emergency situations;
• Use the service or its outputs as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.

Genome Explorer does not change these limitations. It is a user-directed interface to selected third-party AI models, not a medical or clinical interpretation service. If you have any health concerns, consult a qualified medical professional.

Genome Explorer and third-party AI models

Genome Explorer, including Genome Chat, lets you choose an available third-party AI model and direct us to send that provider your prompt, relevant excerpts retrieved from your hosted .genome, and any file you attach. We provide the interface, retrieve and route context, and display the response. The selected model provider generates the response and any interpretation it contains. Genetic Superintelligence Company does not author, pre-write, review, approve, verify, validate, endorse, or adopt that response as its own interpretation merely because it is displayed in Genome Chat.

When you select a model and submit a prompt, you instruct us to transmit the information needed for that request to the selected provider as described in our Privacy Policy. Model providers, available models, capabilities, and response formats may change. You may use Genome Explorer only with your own data and files, or data and files that you are legally authorized to use and disclose. Do not upload another person's genetic, medical, or health information without their valid authority.

Third-party AI responses are probabilistic and may be inaccurate, incomplete, misleading, outdated, internally inconsistent, or offensive. A model may invent facts or citations, omit relevant findings, misread an uploaded document, confuse general scientific information with evidence from your .genome, or fail to reflect ancestry, population, laboratory, and evidence limitations. The Simple and Technical settings change presentation style, not the accuracy, reliability, or clinical status of a response. Links or references to external sources do not guarantee that a response is complete, current, or correct.

• Do not treat a model response as a diagnosis, medical advice, genetic counseling, a clinical report, or a recommendation to start, stop, or change a medication, supplement, treatment, or screening plan.
• Do not use Genome Explorer for an emergency or other time-critical decision. Contact local emergency services or a qualified professional.
• Check important statements against the underlying .genome data, uploaded source document, cited evidence, and an appropriately qualified clinician or genetic counsellor before relying on them.
• Do not use a model response to make decisions about another person's employment, insurance, housing, education, credit, healthcare access, or other significant opportunity.

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, Genetic Superintelligence Company is not responsible or liable for content generated by a third-party AI model, including an error, omission, hallucination, interpretation, or conclusion in that content, or for an action or failure to act based on it, regardless of which available model you select. This paragraph does not exclude or limit liability that cannot lawfully be excluded, or our obligations for our own handling, security, and disclosure of personal information.

The same cautions apply if you use your .genome with AI systems, software, or analytical tools outside Genome Explorer. We do not endorse or validate those third-party services or their outputs.

Use of your genome data

Once your data is delivered, it is yours. You may use, upload, share, or analyze it however you wish. You are responsible for any subsequent use, upload, or sharing of your genome data. Genetic Superintelligence Company has no control over, and accepts no liability for, actions you or any third party take with your data after delivery, including any identification, re-identification, or inference about you or your biological relatives that results from such use. This does not limit our obligations for our own handling, security, or disclosure of your data, including through hosted connections, or any rights that cannot be excluded under applicable law.

You agree not to use insights derived from your genome data to make decisions regarding employment, insurance, housing, education, credit, or access to opportunities for another person.

Hosted connections and app permissions

Another app or service may direct you to a Genome Computer hosted connection flow. You sign in with Genome Computer, select an existing genome or eligible sequencing order, or purchase sequencing directly from us. You then decide whether to allow the named app to access the selected genome or order. Connecting an app is optional, and the app receives access only within the permissions you approve. You retain ownership of your genome.

The permission screen describes the access requested. Permission to connect your genome and follow its progress does not by itself permit access to genomic insights or a processed .genome bundle. Insight access and bundle downloads require the corresponding permissions. If you approve a bundle download, the app may receive the full processed bundle, which can contain extensive genetic information and sensitive findings. Additional permissions require a new approval.

Authorisation can apply to an order whose genome is not yet ready. Once the results are available, the app may use the permissions you approved without asking you to reconnect, unless you have revoked access. Buying sequencing, signing in, or returning to the app does not itself grant permission. You may connect only a genome or order that you own or are legally authorised to share.

Review the app's stated purposes, terms, and privacy notice before approving access. The app is responsible for its own service and its use, storage, protection, and disclosure of data it receives. Our API Terms govern the developer's integration with us; you do not become a party to that developer agreement by connecting. Our obligations for our own services and handling of your data remain governed by these terms and our Privacy Policy.

You can revoke a connection in Genome Computer Settings under Genome connections by choosing Revoke access and confirming. This stops new API requests for that connection. Previously issued download links may remain usable until they expire, and we cannot retrieve copies the app has already received. Our API Terms require developers to honour withdrawal and applicable deletion obligations. Contact the app provider to request deletion of its copies, including retained insights or derived records; legal retention requirements may apply. Contact us for requests concerning data we hold.

Declining or revoking app access does not itself delete your Genome Computer account or hosted genome, cancel a sequencing order or subscription, or request a refund. It also does not revoke a separate connection you have authorised. If the developer stops using our API, that does not by itself end your separate services with Genome Computer.

Purchases through the hosted connection flow

A purchase made at Genome Computer checkout during a hosted connection flow is a purchase directly from Genetic Superintelligence Company. These consumer terms, including the shipping, sample, cancellation, and refund provisions, apply even if another app referred you. The product, price, taxes, shipping charges, and any recurring fees and billing terms are shown at checkout. Charges for the app's own services are governed by your separate agreement with its provider. You do not become responsible for the developer's API fees by connecting your genome.

We may ask for app permission after you complete payment. Choosing Cancel on that permission screen declines access by the app; it does not cancel or refund the paid order. You can receive the Genome Computer service you purchased without granting that app access. To cancel a Genome Computer purchase or subscription, request a refund, or request deletion of data we hold, contact contact@genome.computer. The applicable purchase terms and mandatory consumer rights apply.

Disclaimers and limitation of liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, Genetic Superintelligence Company disclaims all warranties, express or implied, including the implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement. We do not warrant that the service will be uninterrupted, secure, or error-free, that the results will meet your specific requirements, or that any errors will be corrected.

Without limiting the Genome Explorer terms above, we do not warrant that a third-party model response will be accurate, complete, current, fit for a particular purpose, reproducible, or based on all information that may be relevant to you.

Our total liability for any claim arising out of or related to these terms or the service is limited to the amount you paid for the order. To the maximum extent permitted by law, Genetic Superintelligence Company is not liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, or any loss of profits, data, use, or goodwill, arising out of or related to your use of the service.

Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion or limitation of certain damages, so some of the above limitations may not apply to you. Consumers retain mandatory rights under consumer protection law in their country or region that cannot be waived by contract.

Canadian customers

For customers in Canada, these terms are intended to be consistent with Canadian federal and provincial consumer protection law. Where any provision of these terms is inconsistent with mandatory provisions of consumer protection law applicable to you in your province of residence, the mandatory provisions of consumer protection law apply.

Quebec residents

If you are a resident of Quebec, the following additional provisions apply.

Choice of language. The parties have expressly agreed that these terms and all related documents (including our Privacy Policy and any related notices) be drafted in English. Les parties ont expressément convenu que les présentes conditions et tous les documents qui y sont liés (y compris notre politique de confidentialité et tout avis connexe) soient rédigés en anglais. By placing an order, you expressly consent to receiving these terms and related documents in English.

Consumer protection. Your rights under the Consumer Protection Act (Quebec) and other applicable Quebec consumer protection legislation apply to your use of the service and cannot be waived by these terms. Where any provision of these terms is inconsistent with mandatory Quebec consumer protection law, the mandatory provisions of Quebec law apply.

Dispute resolution for Quebec residents. Notwithstanding the arbitration and dispute resolution provisions below, Quebec residents have the right to bring proceedings against us in the courts of Quebec for matters relating to the protection of personal information under Law 25, consumer protection under the Consumer Protection Act (Quebec), or other matters where Quebec law prohibits waiver of access to Quebec courts. Quebec residents retain all rights under Article 3149 of the Civil Code of Quebec.

Intellectual property

You own your biological sample and the genomic data derived from it. General Ventures Pty Ltd owns the Genome Computer Company brand, the website, the .genome format and specification, the archetype system, the Human Operating Manual pipeline, the readmygenome.md skill, the software used to deliver the service, and all associated intellectual property. Genetic Superintelligence Company operates the service under license from General Ventures Pty Ltd. If you send us feedback, suggestions, or bug reports, you grant us a perpetual, royalty-free, worldwide license to use that feedback to improve the service, with no obligation to you.

Force majeure

We are not liable for any delay or failure to perform caused by events beyond our reasonable control, including laboratory outages, shipping disruption, customs delays, natural disasters, pandemic-related disruption, or acts of government. Where such events materially affect your order, we will work in good faith to deliver the service or, at our discretion, cancel the order.

Changes to these terms

We may update these terms from time to time. Material changes will be notified by email before they take effect. Changes affecting a sequencing order will apply only to orders placed after the effective date unless applicable law requires otherwise. Changes affecting an ongoing digital service such as Genome Explorer or a hosted connection will apply from the stated effective date; where permitted by law, continued use after that date constitutes acceptance. Non-material changes will be reflected in the "Last updated" date above.

Dispute resolution

These terms are governed by the laws of the State of Delaware, United States, without regard to its conflict of laws principles.

Before initiating formal dispute resolution, you agree to contact us at contact@genome.computer and attempt to resolve any dispute informally for at least 30 days.

If we cannot resolve a dispute informally, you agree that any dispute arising from these terms or your use of the service will be resolved through binding arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association under its Consumer Arbitration Rules. Arbitration will take place in Delaware or another mutually agreed location, including by video conference where reasonably available.

You agree to resolve disputes with us on an individual basis. You waive any right to participate in a class action, class arbitration, or other representative proceeding, to the extent permitted by applicable law.

Either party may seek injunctive relief in court for intellectual property infringement or unauthorized access to the service.

These dispute resolution provisions are subject to mandatory rights of consumers in supported countries, including the rights of Quebec residents described above under Quebec residents. Where mandatory consumer protection law in your jurisdiction prohibits class action waivers or mandatory arbitration of consumer disputes, those provisions do not apply to you.

Assignment

You may not assign or transfer your order or these terms without our written consent. We may assign these terms in connection with a merger, acquisition, reorganisation, or sale of assets without your consent.

General

If any provision of these terms is found to be unenforceable, the remaining provisions remain in full force. Our failure to enforce any provision is not a waiver of that provision. These terms, together with our Privacy Policy, are the entire agreement between you and Genetic Superintelligence Company regarding the service.

About us

The Genome Computer Company is operated by Genetic Superintelligence Company, a Delaware Public Benefit Corporation, under license from General Ventures Pty Ltd.

Contact

Genetic Superintelligence Company
535 Mission Street, 14th floor
San Francisco, CA 94105
United States

Questions: contact@genome.computer