Bea Beltran Tech 03.03.2023 02:Mar AM EST

FTC Says BetterHelp Shared Customer Data Contrary to Claims of Being Private

It's amazing many online platforms are emerging to help those who need access to counseling for mental health. However, online counseling BetterHelp reportedly shared private customer data despite saying that they were private.

Lack of Confidentiality

The mental health platform has been charged by the Federal Trade Commission for sharing customers' private data with tech companies like Facebook and Snapchat. BetterHelp has agreed to settle the charges, costing them $7.8 million.

In the sign-up process, the company promised consumers that it will not use nor disclose the customer's personal health data "except for limited purposes." The FTC sees it differently, saying that they outright revealed private data.

The information that BetterHelp allegedly shared includes email addresses, IP addresses, and health questionnaire data. According to The Verge, the information was given to Facebook, Snapchat, Criteo, and Pinterest for advertising purposes.

For instance, the company will use the customer's email and the fact they went to therapy and will allow Facebook to identify other users to show targeted ads, specifically for BetterHelp's counseling service.

To add to that, the FTC claims that the company is also giving its customer service agents false scripts in an attempt to assuage customers' fears of having their private information shared, following the company's being exposed for sharing sensitive data.

Director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection Samuel Levine stated that when a person is struggling with mental health issues and then reaches out for help, they do it in a moment of vulnerability and expect professional counseling services to protect their privacy.

Changes in the OnlineCounseling Service

For starters, the $7.8 million settlement that BetterHelp will pay will be used to provide partial refunds to the customers. This goes for clients who paid for the company's services between August 1st, 2017 to December 31st, 2020.

The proposed order now requires the company to obtain affirmative consent before sharing private information with third parties. They will also need to place a comprehensive privacy program that includes strong safeguards to protect consumer data.

BetterHelp will also need to direct the third parties it has shared private information with to delete them, and they are now required to limit how long it can hold personal and health information according to a data retention schedule, according to the FTC.

BetterHelp Services

BetterHelp's services include Faith Counseling for Christians, Teen Counseling for teens, and Pride Counseling for the LGBTQA+ community. After filling out a questionnaire they will need to provide information like names, email addresses, phone numbers, and more.

Once the sign-up process is done, the customer will be matched with one of the company's 25,000 25,000 licensed therapists, which will cost them between $60 and $90 per week for counseling via video conference, text message, live chat, and audio calls.

BetterHelp's primary website and app have grown over the years. It added 118,000 users in the US back in 2018, more than 158,000 US users in 2019, and then a massive addition of 641,000 users from the US by 2020.

BetterHelp has gotten over two million users who signed up and has over 374,000 active users in the US. According to the FTC's filing, the online counseling company earned over $345 million in revenue in 2020 and over $720 million in revenue in 2021.