BetterHelp

6/4/25

Psychotherapy Action Network (@PsiANorg): So, according the the FTC, BetterHelp:

1. Sold data about all LGBTQ users who looked into “Pride Counseling,’' teens who visited “Teen Counseling,’ Christians who visited “Faithful Counseling,' & Spanish-speaking folks who visited “Terappeuta.” (at least spell it right?)

2. Uploaded the email address of all current and former users to Facebook to target them and their friends with BetterHelp ads

3. Falsely used the HIPAA logo to deceive patients that they met HIPAA requirements for privacy and confidentiality

4. Sold to Snapchat the IP and email address of approximately 5.6 million former visitors of their site so Snapchat could show them more ads for BetterHelp

5. Sold user’s email addresses to Pinterest

6. Sold to Facebook users' answer to the guestion “Have you been in counseling or therapy before?”

7. Lied about their promise that private info would be “kept strictly private” and “never shared, sold or disclosed to anyone.”

8. “Use[d] this health information for advertising, BetterHelp has brought in hundreds of thousands of new Users, resulting in millions of dollars in additional revenue.”

Leaving our most private and intimate personal details up to venture capital-led groups that privilege convenience over quality (or even the most basic prerequisite of therapy: privacy) is bad for everyone.

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