Continuity FAQ

Last updated: 2026-10-21

What happens to my data if Varia shuts down?

The short answer is that Varia is built so that your data is not in our possession to lose. Below is the detailed accounting.

Your Raw Genome Data

Your raw genome file (the VCF, 23andMe export, or similar file you opened to perform a scan) was never on our servers. The Varia scanner runs entirely in your browser. The file is read locally and never transmitted to us. If Varia shuts down tomorrow, your raw genome data is exactly where it has always been: on your own computer, in your possession, untouched by us. You can always re-analyze it with another tool of your choosing, or with a clinical-grade service through your physician.

Your Scan Results

Your scan results, the curated interpretations Varia produced for your variants, stay on your device: your browser holds them while you view them and keeps a summary of your most recent scan in its local storage. They are not stored on Varia's servers, except for the moment a PDF you ask for is being built. To preserve a snapshot of your results in a portable format, generate a PDF before any service shutdown.

Your Generated PDFs

PDFs you have generated and downloaded are yours. They are not stored on our servers, and they do not depend on Varia's continued operation. Email a copy to yourself for cloud-based persistence, save to your password manager's secure note feature, or print a copy for physical filing. Each PDF is a self-contained document; a Varia Genomic Brief generated today will still be useful when handed to a physician five years from now, even if Varia no longer exists as a service.

Your Email Address

Varia has no accounts and keeps no record of you or your scans on its servers. If you are subscribed to The Variant newsletter, your subscription, held by our newsletter service, would be deleted as part of any service wind-down. We would not transfer it to any third party.

How Would You Be Notified

In the event of a planned service shutdown, Varia would provide at least 60 days' notice through two channels: a prominent notice on the variagenome.com homepage, and an email to subscribers of The Variant newsletter. The 60-day window is intended to give you time to generate any PDFs you want to preserve and otherwise extract value from the service before it goes offline.

What Would Not Change

Your raw genome file remains your own data, on your own device, regardless of Varia's status. Your existing PDFs remain valid documents you can continue to use. Your right to use Varia's data interpretations under the terms of these documents persists after any shutdown, including the right to share PDFs you generated with your healthcare providers.

What about the curated database?

If Varia is wound down as a service, Kairos Studios LLC commits to releasing both the Varia curated database and the Varia source code under open-source licenses within 90 days of the service's final shutdown date. The database will be released under a permissive open-data license (such as Creative Commons CC0 or CC BY 4.0), and the codebase will be released under a permissive open-source software license (such as MIT or Apache 2.0). The intent is that the editorial work and technical infrastructure that constitute Varia survive the service itself and remain available to the broader community of genomic interpretation researchers, builders, and users.

This commitment applies in the case of a voluntary service wind-down by Kairos Studios LLC. It does not apply in cases of acquisition by another company that intends to continue operating Varia (in which case the service continues), in cases where the open-source release is prohibited by court order or applicable law, or in cases where the source code or database includes third-party content that cannot be sublicensed under an open-source license (in which case those portions may be excluded from the release).

Contact

For questions about service continuity, contact [email protected].