GWAS Central is committed to data sharing wherever possible, to maximise the value and scientific impact of data. However, this has to balanced against the risk of identifying research subjects (see Homer et al: http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1000167). Additionally, data in GWAS Central are curated and integrated, making them unique as an asset. For these reasons, our policy on data sharing is that we openly provide large amounts of data (up to 1,000 markers and associated data per download), in a range of displays and formats, sufficient for the needs of most researchers. Complete downloads of the complete database, or very large segments of it, are not openly allowed, but can be discussed in special cases that do not involve competing projects or commercial use of the data.