You get it out of the mailbox and bring it to your counter. It's printed in fun, friendly colors.

Swab. Spit. Prick your finger. Mail it back. Soon, you'll learn something new about yourself: your hormones, your fertility, your cancer risk, your predisposition to Alzheimer's, your metabolism, your food sensitivities, or even your entire genome.

That's the lure of at-home ("direct-to-consumer") DNA and health testing. Late at night, from your phone, you can order just about any test to take at home, whether you're uninsured, curious, or simply anxious about what secrets your body may be hiding.

We've been hearing about the "quantified self" for nearly two decades as devices to track our steps have evolved to give us health data that used to require a trip to a clinic and cost thousands of dollars. We explore how that health data actually impacts your life, whether you're walking into your next doctor's appointment or forgetting about the sensor sitting on your wrist.

At first, I was looking for simple answers. Was the test FDA reviewed? Was the company covered by HIPAA? Would a doctor explain the results? The more I read, the less simple it became. FDA language was rare, and when it appeared, it was usually tied to a specific test, report, or collection kit -- not necessarily the whole company or service.

Some companies said they're HIPAA-compliant; others did not. Almost all cited CLIA-certified or CAP-accredited labs, but those are just lab quality standards. Counseling and follow-up care varied widely, too. That sent me deeper into the fine print: Could my information be shared with law enforcement, or used for ads or research?