Easy and painless, but not worth 200+ dollars for a the report. It claimed I would get personalized recommendations, and the advice I was given for my body type was “Aerobic exercise” and “Cinnamon”. Some of the supplements included had “insufficient evidence” supporting them. I am no closer to understanding myself than I was before I wasted 200 bucks.
Response from SelfDecode· May 9, 2026
Thank you for the honest feedback, Kelly — we're sorry the report didn't deliver the depth and clarity you were expecting for the price.
You raise a fair point, and we hear you. While our recommendations are personalized based on your genetic data, we understand that some of them may feel too general or not actionable enough — and that's something we take seriously as we continue to improve our reports.
We'd love the opportunity to help you get more out of your results. Our support team can walk you through how to navigate your findings in more detail, and a consultation call may help connect your genetics to more specific, practical steps. Please don't hesitate to reach out — we'd like to make sure you feel the value was worth it.
PA
Patrick
Posted
Bait and switch
About five years ago, after subscribing year after year, I decided to take advantage of a promotional life membership subscription. I also updated my genetic file by purchasing their DNA kit. Soon thereafter, Self Decode radically changed their website, dividing what was a single service into split services with some pay up front upgrades. At first these added pay features were a minor annoyance, but over the years the website has devolved into a bunch of a la carte purchases, so much so, that the original life membership site is hardly recognizable. Usually when one upgrades to a life membership, one expects to receive at least the same level of services, and if improvements occur, then those are usually included as well. There is a tacit understanding that If I am going to pay you in advance, then anything on the website in the future should be included. If you keep putting your website behind an ever-growing number of pay walls, then the original advantage of a life membership becomes meaningless; and off course, one cannot get their money back. If there was some fine print that I missed when I signed up, then my bad, However, when I was reupping every year, there was no extra cost for new information or site changes, these were included with the subscription.
Much of what you get now are reports that seem specific to you and your genetics, but most of it is boiler plate text that often becomes so general that it often conflicts with information in other reports. Take this much of this in one report, then don't take any of the same stuff in another report (you get the meaning). The reports on occasion stray from science in some recommendations, suggesting generic practices such as meditation, yoga, and other forms of general improvement to address real genetic polymorphisms. As any number of writers produce these reports, with many opinions not in agreement with other reports; to some degree it seems their free-lancing products are not affiliated with each other or to a company with prescriptive policies. Many report sections seem like opinions rather than scientific facts.
Overall, I believe Self Hack, then Self Decode, was originally a good idea of a company that has morphed into a sketchy business that treats its customers rather poorly. The goal, not to share and learn together, but use customers as a cash cow. Maybe the company has had some growing pains and problems and perhaps needs some kind of restructuring. It's indeed sorrowful to say that Self Decode appears to have become a self-serving business. Now I visit the site less and less, there just isn't much to do there but look at advertisements.
I hope the company takes this as useful criticism. One place I suggest they start, is to solicit their membership as to how they can improve. For all the years I've been affiliated, I can't recall one instance of customer feedback or a "how are we doing" email. Communicating better with subscribers is a good first step in understanding what they expect, and delivering a great service that both parties can feel good about. Good luck.
Response from SelfDecode· Mar 19, 2026
Thank you for sharing your feedback, and we genuinely appreciate your long-term loyalty as a customer. We completely understand why the evolution of our platform might feel frustrating, and we want to take a moment to address your concerns openly and honestly.
When we originally offered lifetime memberships, we were a much smaller company with a much simpler product. At that time, we truly had no way of foreseeing the scale of innovation and entirely new product lines we would go on to build. The lifetime access you purchased was never intended as a bait and switch — it was a sincere offer for everything we had at the time, and everything we've continued to add to that core offering.
And we have added a lot. Since your purchase, we've built and included for our lifetime members at no additional cost: custom Meal Plans, Questionnaires, the Recommendations Tool, Action Plans, the Health Overview Report, Lifestyle Assessments, the Lab Test Analyzer, and thousands of new Health, Biohacker, and Trait Reports. These are meaningful additions that were never part of your original subscription, and you've had full access to all of them.
The Plus products — such as PGx Reports, the Longevity Screener, DecodyGPT, Carrier Status, and Ancestry — represent entirely separate, heavily-resourced product lines that required significant investment to develop and maintain. Including them for free across all lifetime memberships simply isn't something we're able to do while continuing to operate and grow. Our original Terms of Service, which you agreed to upon sign-up, do reflect that new products are not automatically included in prior subscriptions.
That said, as a lifetime member, you do have access to in-app discounts on these newer products — a way for us to recognize and reward the loyalty of long-standing members like yourself.
We truly value your support over the years, and we're sorry this experience has left you feeling let down. If there's anything we can help clarify or assist with, please don't hesitate to reach out.
Warm regards,
Cassie
Manager, Customer Support
S
s
Posted
99$ a year
Be SO careful: self renewing plans you never opted for, charging 99$ a year.
Was offered a refund at one point but never got it.
After this 1 star post above and trying to get the money back via Paypal multiple times, I did get it back! Nevertheless, horrible customer service...
--> changing it to 2 stars
Response from SelfDecode· Mar 7, 2024
Hi there! We appreciate your feedback and apologize for any inconvenience you've experienced. At SelfDecode, we strive to provide transparent subscription services and ensure our customers have full control over their memberships. Our subscription plans are clearly outlined during the sign-up process, and we send reminder emails well in advance of any auto-renewal charges to allow ample time for cancellation. Additionally, users have the flexibility to set their subscriptions to non-renewal at any time, and they maintain access to the site for the remainder of their subscription period. I understand that you were offered a refund, but never received it. Of course, our team is more than happy to assist you, and ensure you receives any refunds you are entitled to. Please reach out to our customer support team at [email protected] so we can assist you.
CU
Customer
Posted
this is personal
not this time but several years ago when I first heard of this company, I wanted to support it and invested my money not much but at the time I could not afford much just starting out a new practice....etc...I was told I would have a lifetime membership only to find out NOT THE CASE! I have to pay huge amount now to participate and once again cannot afford to use the product myself before promoting to others!!!!
Response from SelfDecode· Feb 24, 2024
Hi there! We're so sorry to hear of your experience. We'd love if you'd consider reaching out to us at [email protected] so we can assist you.
JE
Just E.
Posted
Rudimentary, incomplete, and non-cohesive.
MOST OF THE GOOD REVIEWS LOOK FAKE… here’s an honest one.
I bout in a few years ago and it’s still blah.
The platform is really basic and takes forever to load each report, if it loads at all.
Most of the analysis and recommendations are as basic as any elementary school health book; limit alcohol, eat vegetables, don’t smoke etc,.
None of your data is analyzed as a whole (each is just auto plugged) so one tab will say your a high risk for depression and the next will say your a low risk a likely a very happy person… so recommendations conflict.
Most of the important SNPSare behind a paywall, even if you buy the lifetime package.
Many of the other important SNPS aren’t actually tested, ie, your dna report is incomplete.
They will spam you to death and if you open the app there is a video that pops up over every single tab.
Finally it’s just kinda clunky.
So if you want to fork over a bunch of money for a slow app, an incomplete report, and conflicting analysis just to be told to eat your veggies, then this is it; if you want something in depth that you can use keep looking.
Response from SelfDecode· May 18, 2023
Hi E – thanks for taking the time to leave us a review. I can assure you that our reviews are not fake, and Trustpilot does a great job of ensuring that each review comes from a verified person!
We’re really sorry to hear that you’re finding the platform basic. SelfDecode was designed to be as user friendly and straight-forward as possible, so that anyone can use the app and easily find the information they’re looking for.
If you’re finding that the site is loading slowly, we recommend clearing the cache and cookie preferences on your web browser. More often than not, it is a browser or connection issue preventing the site from loading as intended. We regularly test our site to ensure everything is working correctly.
We understand that the help videos we have on each page can get in the way sometimes, so our team is working on improving this feature. Thanks for helping us improve SelfDecode!
We also understand why you might be feeling like your recommendations are basic. Please allow me to explain how the recommendations in the Health Reports work. Your top recommendations do happen to be the things that seem like common sense, because they are the things that are going to be most effective and have the most research behind them. Limiting alcohol, eating vegetables that are beneficial to you based on your genetics, and avoiding smoking are all things that will drastically improve your health. If you already do these things, then that’s even better!
For our users who don’t wish to see these suggestions, we have the option to remove recommendations from your reports. If you remove a recommendation that you don't find useful, it will be replaced by one further down on your prioritized list. These recommendations tend to be less common since there is less research on their effectiveness.
I can’t seem to find anything within your account that should be preventing you from viewing your SNPs and genes. Access to these pages is included in every SelfDecode subscription and does not require any additional purchase.
We have over 83 million genetic variants in our database, so while there are bound to be a few genes missing from time to time, we cover a lot of them! We’re also adding new variants to our site every day. I think you will find our search tool useful when looking for a specific gene. You can search for any health topic, SNP, or gene you are interested in by using the blue magnifying glass on the navigation panel while you are logged in to your SelfDecode account.
You can unsubscribe from our emails at any time, if you aren’t interested in our updates! Our support team is also happy to assist you with this, if you require assistance. The unsubscribe button is at the bottom of every email we send out.
I'm also sorry for any confusion about what your subscription includes and I'll be happy to explain that to you! Your subscription includes all DNA Health, Trait, and Biohacker Reports. We even added some new DNA Health Reports this month. There are over 200 DNA reports available to you with your subscription. You also have access to Lifestyle Assessments and the Lab Analyzer.
In order to unlock the disease reports, you would need to purchase a consultation with one of our medical professionals. This is due to regulatory reasons.
Finally, we are very confident in the value that we provide, which is why we offer a 30-day money back guarantee on all initial subscription purchases. We also always offer the option to set your subscription to non-renewal, for those who do not wish to continue with us. We truly care about our customers getting the right product fit, so if you’re not satisfied with our product, please let us know and we’ll be more than happy to assist you.
MS
Michaela S.
Posted
Errors
If it works, you'll find useful information. Unfortunately, very often it happens that the analysis does not work, error messages appear, you have to wait hours (which means that the DNA simply cannot be analyzed). This is very frustrating. It is often not possible to check your genes.
Update: This problem occurs with selfdecode files.
Response from SelfDecode· Feb 6, 2023
Hi Michaela! I'm so sorry to hear that you have been feeling frustrated with the site. It sounds like you may have uploaded a DNA file from another service, which may be in a format that is not compatible with SelfDecode.
While we can't always guarantee our site's compatibility with DNA files from other services, we do have a very talented team of experts who go above and beyond when it comes to helping customers get their files uploaded. We'd be more than happy to take a look at your file if you're seeing an error with the upload. More often than not, we are able to fix the file so that it uploads successfully. If the file is not compatible, we will offer our best advice for obtaining a file that is!
We hope that you reach out to our support team at [email protected] soon, so we can help get your account working as intended, and help you find the information you're looking for!
VC
Valued C.
Posted
I'll be honest
I'll be honest. Some of the reports have overlapping snps to specific genes that can be harmful for 1 thing, yet good for another. So in the end, i'm not sure if i want that specific enzyme or genetic expression increased or not. Ex: Providing tips on how to slow a COMT down even more (as to further enhance dopamine) might not be a good idea for someone with panic disorder, sleep issues, etc. If one has chronic insomnia, that can contribute to brain degradation, as their stress hormones are still stimulating them due to a slow breakdown. It can also add to brain inflammation, etc etc (that's one example out of many) - Compound that with an existing slow MAOA and a DRD2 that is less inhibitory and so many existing issues are exasperated. Too much dopamine is just as bad as not enough. It can also become toxic at high levels and if that person has poor detox mechanisms or not enough inhibitory neurotransmitters. (gaba, serotonin, etc)
I felt the APOE report was missing some other vital information that the mood & cognitive had. (which was disappointing - there are other genes that affect APOE & snps of other genes - that was a weak report - yes, i know i have one copy of APOE4..but let's mention the other snps that could influence this, etc) When I reviewed the cognitive one, there were a few snps that had no information whatsoever (on self decode, the linked source, or in scouring the internet) for the specific snp selected that would increase or decrease cognition. There was no "why" as to how it affected anything at all. I felt very frustrated with that & could provide examples. It made me feel as if the report was not entirely factual.
All told, I really feel that what you get is quite sub par and an attempt to get you pay more for other reports that will have the same overlapping information or weak reports (such as APOE). The reports present very well at first glance & even appear quite comprehensive, until you go through each & every snp. (as I did) - That's when I realized that the quality was a 2 to 3 in relation to what I paid. It felt more "dazzle" vs informative. As a person who is a tech writer by trade, I can sniff that out rather quickly. I have received the same information from some of the free sites out there (like genetic genie) - In fact, i found genetic genie to be a bit more helpful and to the point.
Response from SelfDecode· Jun 17, 2020
Hi, the issue you brought up with regard to genes being harmful for one thing and helpful for another is not a bug, it's a feature. SNPs that are categorically bad would be weeded out of existence generally speaking. By its nature, the fact that they are common variations in the population mean they have some good aspects. There are traits or conditions where lower COMT is better, whereas higher COMT can be better for other traits or conditions. This is why we separate reports by the condition or category.
For example, lower COMT is better for cognitive function, which is why our DNA Cognitive Enhancement report would show the gene if you're a higher COMT producer. On the other hand, lower COMT could be worse for mood disorders, which is why our DNA Mood Report would speak about it differently.
Hence, you want to use the reports based on which problem you are trying to solve, rather than focus on the gene itself.
In addition, our reports also have a prioritized list of suggestions to make it clearer which suggestions should be explored first.
I'm sorry you felt that way for the APOE4 report. It is the most comprehensive report on the market, but it's possible that there was some information that wasn't included.
In the reports, we try to write about the most impactful information because it can feel like information overload for a lot of people. We try to strike a balance in providing very thorough information, while also not going overboard to create information overload.
