FAQ

Frequently asked, plainly answered.

Real questions from real customers, answered directly. If something isn't covered here, send it to hello@helica.health and we'll add it.

01 · General

What is Helica?

Helica is a software product that interprets DNA files you already have. We don’t sequence you — we read your existing 23andMe, Ancestry, MyHeritage, Nucleus, or full whole-genome file and surface findings that are clinically meaningful, especially around how your liver processes prescription drugs. The interface is conversational: you can ask follow-up questions and get cited answers in plain English.

Who is Helica for?

Adults who want to know more about their own genome than the consumer-test marketing material returned. The biggest segment is people on chronic prescriptions who want to know whether their genetics affect drug response. We also serve former 23andMe customers looking for a credible alternative, customers of Nucleus or Sequencing.com who found those reports shallow, and concierge-medicine patients whose doctors recommend pharmacogenomic testing.

Who built Helica?

Helica was built by Kyle Kreick, a finance and real-estate executive in Dallas, on his own genome after a Nucleus subscription returned a report he found too shallow to be useful. The full story is on the About page.

Is Helica a medical device?

No. Helica is an informational and educational product. We are explicit on every actionable finding that customers should discuss results with a licensed prescriber before changing any medication. We do not diagnose disease, recommend treatments, or prescribe.

02 · Pricing

How much does Helica cost?

Free tier: $0 (upload a 23andMe or Ancestry file, get ancestry plus 5 traits and 2 PGx findings). Standard: $29/month. Clinical: $59/month (requires whole-genome data). Family: $79/month for up to 5 genomes. Annual plans are 17% cheaper. Full breakdown on the pricing page.

Can I cancel anytime?

Yes. No contracts, no cancellation fees. After cancellation, your data stays accessible read-only for 30 days, then is deleted unless you ask us to retain it.

Do you offer refunds?

Within 14 days of your first paid month, yes — for any reason. After that, we credit pro-rated unused time toward a future re-subscription if you change your mind.

03 · Data sources

Which DNA file types do you accept?

23andMe (genome_*.txt), Ancestry (AncestryDNA.txt), MyHeritage (*.csv), Nucleus and Sequencing.com (*.vcf.gz), Helix VCF exports, and any standard *.vcf.gz, *.bam, or *.cram file from a clinical or research lab.

What if my file is from a provider you don't list?

If it’s a standard VCF, BAM, or CRAM, it’ll work. If it’s a proprietary format we haven’t seen, send it to support@helica.health and we’ll evaluate adding the parser.

Can you ingest my old DNAFit / Lumi / Atlas Biomed file?

Most chip-array exports follow the same tab-separated layout as 23andMe and Ancestry; if yours does, it’ll work. Our upload screen will tell you within seconds if we can read it.

04 · Privacy, HIPAA, and GINA

Is my DNA data private?

Yes. Files are encrypted at rest in HIPAA-grade storage. We never share, sell, or rent your data. We do not run targeted advertising against your variants. We do not share data with researchers, pharmaceutical companies, or law enforcement absent a valid subpoena.

Are you HIPAA-compliant?

Our infrastructure is HIPAA-grade (encrypted at rest, audit-logged access, principle-of-least-privilege controls, BAA-eligible cloud providers). Not every consumer-genomics product is — and most aren’t legally required to be, since DNA-only data isn’t always considered Protected Health Information. We treat it as if it were.

What is GINA and does it protect me?

The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) is federal law. It prohibits health insurers and employers from discriminating against you based on genetic information. It does not cover life insurance, disability insurance, or long-term-care insurance — those carriers can lawfully ask for and use genetic results. We disclose this on signup.

Can I delete my data?

Yes, at any time, from your account settings. Deletion removes your raw file, your variant calls, your conversation history, and your account record from our active systems. Encrypted backups roll off within 30 days. We’ll send you confirmation when deletion completes.

What happens to my data if Helica shuts down or is acquired?

We will not transfer customer data as part of an asset sale without giving every customer 60 days’ written notice and a one-click export-and-delete option. This is in our Terms of Service. We’ve watched what happened to 23andMe customers in 2025; we wrote our policy in direct response.

05 · What we find

What kinds of findings does Helica return?

Pharmacogenomics (which prescription drugs your genetics affect), carrier status (variants you might pass to children), traits, and — for whole-genome files only — structural variants, HLA fine-typing, and validated polygenic risk scores. We’re explicit per file type about what each upload can return.

What's pharmacogenomics?

Pharmacogenomics (PGx) is the study of how your genome affects drug response. Specific enzymes — CYP2C19, CYP2D6, CYP2C9, others — break down most common prescription drugs in your liver. If yours work faster or slower than average, the drug may be less effective, or you may be at higher risk of side effects. CPIC publishes guidelines on what to do for each genotype. Helica calls those genotypes from your DNA and surfaces the findings with citations.

Will I find out if I'm at risk for a serious disease?

On a whole-genome file, yes — Helica screens for known pathogenic and likely-pathogenic variants in the major medically actionable genes (the ACMG SF v3.2 list and beyond). On a chip-array file like 23andMe, only for the small number of common variants that providers genotyped (notably the BRCA1/2 founder variants). When we surface a high-impact finding, we recommend you bring it to a clinician or genetic counselor — and we make that as easy as a one-page PDF.

Do you find ancestry?

Yes, on the free tier, comparable to what 23andMe returned. We’re not trying to replace the ancestry experience — that’s a different product. Our depth is on the clinical and pharmacogenomic side that 23andMe never went deep on.

Can you tell me my eye color, hair color, traits like that?

Yes — the Standard tier returns roughly 70 trait calls. We label them as the lightweight findings they are. They’re fun. They are not why most customers subscribe.

06 · What we don't do

Do you do embryo screening?

No. Permanently no. We do not interpret embryos, fetal samples, or any prenatal genetic data. We will not partner with companies that do.

Do you sell longevity scores or biological-age estimates?

No. The science is too thin for us to put a number on it credibly. When that changes, we’ll evaluate. Until then, we leave it to the longevity-supplement market.

Will you tell me what to take?

No. Helica never recommends a medication, dose, supplement, or treatment plan. Findings are informational. Clinical decisions are between you and your prescriber. This rule has no exceptions.

Do you do ancestry-as-entertainment features?

No. We’re not that kind of product. If you want celebrity-match or dog-DNA mash-ups, 23andMe still exists under TTAM ownership.

07 · Accuracy

How accurate are your findings?

Accuracy depends on two things: the quality of your input file, and the validation of the finding category.

For pharmacogenomic findings called by PharmCAT and Aldy on full-WGS data, accuracy is comparable to clinical laboratory PGx tests for the major genes — those tools are used in clinical PGx programs at major academic medical centers. On chip-array files, PGx accuracy is good for CYP2C19 (most common variants are genotyped) and limited for CYP2D6 (which has structural variants chip arrays don’t capture).

For ClinVar-classified pathogenic variants, our reporting is as accurate as ClinVar — we don’t reclassify; we report the current consensus.

For polygenic risk scores, we only return scores that have been peer-reviewed in your genetic ancestry. Each is shown with a 95% confidence interval and the citation to the validating paper. PRS are estimates, not diagnoses.

What if a finding turns out to be wrong?

Reanalysis is part of the subscription model. As ClinVar and CPIC update — which happens monthly — the platform is built to re-run your file every quarter and email you the diff. If a variant gets reclassified, you’ll know within a quarter. The reanalysis worker rolls out at launch. We’re also evaluating a clinician-review add-on with a partner genetic-counseling service for the Clinical tier; that partnership is still in negotiation.

08 · Reanalysis

What is reanalysis and why does it matter?

Your genome doesn’t change. The interpretation of your variants does — constantly. New papers get published, new variants get reclassified, new pharmacogenomic guidelines get released. A peer-reviewed study found that re-analyzing the same genome a few years later surfaced an additional 13–22% of clinically meaningful findings (PMC7338758). Helica re-runs your file quarterly so you don’t have to think about it.

09 · Working with your doctor

Will my doctor know what to do with this?

Most primary-care physicians have not been trained in pharmacogenomic interpretation. Our PCP Handoff PDF is built for that reality: it summarizes the genotype, phenotype, affected drugs, and the current CPIC guideline citation in one page. Cardiologists, oncologists, and psychiatrists are increasingly familiar with PGx; pharmacists in many states can also act on PGx findings.

Can my doctor use Helica directly?

Yes. We offer a Clinical Workstation tier for concierge and functional-medicine practices — a clinician dashboard for managing PGx interpretation across an entire patient roster. That product is in early access; if you’re a clinician interested, write to clinicians@helica.health or see For doctors.

10 · Technical and upload issues

My upload failed. What now?

The most common cause is an incomplete download from the source provider — re-download the raw file from 23andMe / Ancestry / etc. and try again. If that doesn’t work, send the file (or the error message) to support@helica.health. Founder-direct support during private beta.

Still have a question?

Email us. Real human, typically within a day.

Email hello@helica.health Read the founder story