A popular private DNA-testing service will now allow customers to bar law enforcement from accessing their genetic data after drawing criticism for giving the FBI access to its database.

The decision exposes the ethical and legal conundrums surrounding at-home DNA testing and illustrates the tension between protecting users' privacy and aiding law enforcement in catching violent criminals.

Earlier this year, BuzzFeed News reported that gene-testing company FamilyTreeDNA was allowing law enforcement agencies to create profiles on its database using DNA collected from the scenes of unsolved crimes. Those profiles were then used to look for possible matches to the uploaded DNA.

The company, which admitted to the practice after the BuzzFeed News report was published, said in an email to customers Tuesday that it will now let users opt out of matching with profiles created by law enforcement for crime-solving purposes.

It also said that law enforcement will need to go through a "separate process" prior to uploading genetic files to the database, and those profiles must be used for the purpose of identifying a deceased person or the perpetrator of a homicide or sexual assault.

Law enforcement has increasingly been using genealogy to solve crimes, including the high-profile Golden State Killer case that authorities cracked last year thanks to a public genealogy website called GEDMatch.

The revelation that FamilyTreeDNA was working with authorities, however, marked the first time it has been disclosed that a private DNA testing company voluntarily gave law enforcement access to its genealogy database.

