BetterHelp, Inc., $7,800,000
Online counseling platform BetterHelp shared sensitive mental-health information of ~7 million consumers with Facebook, Snapchat, Pinterest, and Criteo for targeted advertising, despite promises it would not.
Case identifiers
- Respondent
- BetterHelp, Inc.
- Agency
- Federal Trade Commission
- Announced
- 2023-03-02
- Monetary relief
- $7,800,000
- Case number
- FTC File No. 202-3169
- Statutes cited
- FTC Act § 5 · FTC Health Breach Notification Rule (16 C.F.R. Part 318)
Key facts
- 1
BetterHelp’s intake forms asked whether users had suffered depression or thoughts of self-harm; these responses and email addresses were shared with advertisers.
- 2
Facebook used BetterHelp data to target similar audiences, including a campaign explicitly focused on consumers with depression.
- 3
First FTC enforcement of the Health Breach Notification Rule against a mental-health service.
- 4
The $7.8 million was distributed to affected consumers as partial refunds.
What the order requires
Injunctive terms imposed by the Federal Trade Commission. These bind BetterHelp, Inc.'s data practices going forward.
- Permanent ban on sharing consumer health information with third parties for advertising.
- Required deletion of all consumer data previously shared with advertising platforms.
- Obligation to obtain affirmative express consent before sharing health info.
- Implementation of a comprehensive privacy program with biennial assessments.
Primary sources
Read the original government documents. These are the authoritative records, everything on this page is derived from them.
Exercise your rights now
Generate a deletion request for $5
The FTC order binds BetterHelp, Inc.'s future practices, but doesn't automatically delete your existing data. State privacy law (CCPA, CPA, TDPSA, VCDPA) gives you that right. OfflistMe generates a compliant deletion email pre-addressed to BetterHelp, Inc.'s registered privacy contact.
Start for $5 →FAQ
What did the FTC charge BetterHelp, Inc. with?+
Online counseling platform BetterHelp shared sensitive mental-health information of ~7 million consumers with Facebook, Snapchat, Pinterest, and Criteo for targeted advertising, despite promises it would not. The Federal Trade Commission cited FTC Act § 5, FTC Health Breach Notification Rule (16 C.F.R. Part 318).
How much did BetterHelp, Inc. pay?+
BetterHelp, Inc. paid $7,800,000 in monetary relief, announced on 2023-03-02. The settlement also imposed injunctive terms (see below).
Does the BetterHelp, Inc. settlement mean my data has been deleted?+
The order requires BetterHelp, Inc. to delete certain categories of consumer data (see injunctive terms). Individual consumers should still exercise state-law deletion rights (CCPA, CPA, TDPSA) to confirm deletion from any remaining successor databases.
How can I read the original FTC order?+
The Federal Trade Commission press release is available at https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2023/03/ftc-ban-betterhelp-revealing-consumers-data-including-sensitive-mental-health-information-facebook. The case / matter number is FTC File No. 202-3169.