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No DNA test can read your IQ directly. A genetic test can be used to calculate a polygenic score—a statistical estimate based on many genetic variants—but that is not a certain or fixed measure of an individual’s intelligence. IQ-focused saliva tests were documented in 2018; current availability and validation of particular products have not been established by the sources cited here.
What does a DNA-based IQ score actually estimate?
A polygenic score combines associations between many genetic variants and a trait to produce a statistical prediction. It does not measure intelligence in the way an IQ assessment does, and it cannot account for every genetic, environmental, developmental, and social influence on a person’s abilities.
The UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) describes a polygenic score as “intended to represent a statistically informed guess.” The word guess matters: the score summarizes patterns found in data; it is not a diagnosis, a direct reading of a person’s mind, or a fixed personal destiny. The ICO’s 2024 Genomics report also notes that polygenic prediction of behavioural traits is especially contested.
How accurate are genetic predictions of intelligence?
Published scores have shown some ability to predict differences across study populations. That does not mean a score can tell an individual’s IQ with the same degree of certainty. A study’s variance-explained statistic describes variation in the particular sample and analysis; it is not the percentage chance that one person’s score is correct.
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A 2024 meta-analysis record reports that the IQ2018 polygenic score explained 4.81% of phenotypic intelligence variance across four independent population cohorts. The same record gives a 19% SNP-heritability estimate for the GWAS underlying IQ2018. These figures describe different things: 4.81% is reported predictive performance for the score across those cohorts, while 19% is a heritability estimate for the underlying study, not the score’s achieved accuracy or a claim that genes determine 19% of any one person’s IQ. The 2024 meta-analysis record should be consulted for the study’s full methods and qualifications before drawing more detailed conclusions.
Performance in research cohorts also does not establish that a particular consumer product is accurate or useful. A company may use different variants, data, methods, and validation populations. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says direct-to-consumer tests vary in their evidence and in which variants they examine; its general statement that “No test is 100% accurate” is not a specific assessment of IQ-prediction tests. The FDA’s DTC tests guidance explains the agency’s general approach.
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Have companies sold DNA tests for IQ?
There is historical evidence of consumer offerings, but it does not establish what is on sale now. The UK Government Office for Science reported in its 2022 publication that three providers offered saliva-based, genetics-informed IQ tests in 2018. The report described their predictive power at that time as explaining 1% of intelligence variance. That is a historical account, not confirmation that those products remain available or that they were clinically validated. The report, Genomics Beyond Health, provides that context.
So the claim that IQ DNA tests are “coming” needs qualification: such offerings have existed, but the cited evidence does not verify an imminent launch, identify a currently available provider, or establish the quality of any current product.
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What should you check before trusting a consumer score?
If a company offers a DNA-based intelligence prediction, look beyond the headline number. The product’s evidence and intended use matter more than the fact that it analyzes DNA.
- Validation: Does the company explain how the score was tested, in which population, and whether performance was checked in independent cohorts?
- Population fit: Is there evidence that the prediction performs comparably for people with your ancestry? The ICO warns that gaps in dataset diversity can limit accuracy.
- Uncertainty: Does the provider clearly explain what the score can and cannot say about an individual, rather than presenting it as a precise IQ reading?
- Variants and methods: Is the company transparent about which variants and methods it uses? DTC tests can differ in the variants they examine.
- Data handling: Before sending a sample, read the terms for storage, retention, sharing, and deletion of both genetic data and the derived score.
- Regulatory status: Do not treat a product’s availability or a regulatory review as proof that it can accurately predict IQ. The FDA’s page does not establish authorization of IQ-prediction products.
Does FDA oversight make an IQ DNA test reliable?
Not necessarily. In the United States, the FDA says some low-risk or non-medical DTC tests are not reviewed before they are offered for sale. For applicable tests, the agency generally reviews moderate- to high-risk medical tests and considers analytical validity (whether the test measures what it claims to measure), clinical validity (whether the result is meaningfully associated with the trait or condition), the company’s claims, and whether the information is understandable to consumers.
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Those general rules do not establish that a particular IQ-prediction product has been reviewed or authorized. The FDA’s advice not to make medical decisions solely from DTC results is general medical guidance; it should not be recast as a specific assessment of IQ scores. Regulatory status and predictive usefulness are separate questions.
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Genomic information is sensitive and difficult to anonymize effectively because genetic patterns are distinctive. A DNA result can also reveal information about biological relatives who did not submit a sample. The ICO’s discussion is set in the UK data-protection context, so it should not be taken as a universal description of privacy law or insurance rules.
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There is also a fairness concern: a prediction built from datasets that do not adequately represent a person’s ancestry may be less accurate for that person. More broadly, polygenic indexes raise ethical and policy questions about how genetic predictions might be used in settings such as corporate decision-making; a 2024 article in The American Journal of Human Genetics explicitly frames those questions as a conversation, not as evidence that a particular company is already using IQ scores this way. The article’s abstract record provides that context.
Is an IQ DNA test worth taking?
If your goal is to learn your IQ, a polygenic score is not a substitute for an IQ assessment: it estimates a trait statistically rather than measuring your individual performance. If you are considering a consumer test out of curiosity, weigh the uncertain personal meaning of its score against the privacy implications for you and your relatives. The evidence cited here does not identify a currently available IQ DNA test with verified, individual-level usefulness.
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