Following an outcry over law enforcement’s use of an open source genetic database to find a man deemed the “Golden State Killer,” a number of private genetic testing companies have collectively issued privacy guidelines for the private sector management of genetic information.

Essentially a set of best practices, the guidelines were drafted by 23andMe Inc., Ancestry, Helix, MyHeritage, and Habit and made public on July 31. They encourage greater transparency over how genetic data is used by genetic testing companies, and recommend companies obtain expressed consumer consent before processing or sharing personal genetic information.