There are times when I find myself in unexpected territories. This is one of those times. It is why I'm trying to include more attention to the virtual mental health providers.
Links to other sites are provided for information purposes only and do not constitute endorsements.
Always seek the advice of a qualified health provider with questions you may have regarding a medical or mental health disorder.
This blog and podcast is intended for informational and educational purposes only. Nothing in this program is intended to be a substitute for professional psychological, psychiatric or medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
If you have ever listed to a podcast or watch YouTube, you probably have heard or seen something about the company known as BetterHealth.
You might have seen an advertorial from a social media influencer or from a podcaster.
Yeah, this is pickle. BetterHealth presented itself as a service that helps users find and connect with behavioral health providers. Not only under the BetterHealth name but also under a number of doing business as names as:
- Faith Counseling - Christian focus therapy
- Pride Counseling - LGBTQ therapy focus
- Teen Counseling - Teens with parent approval
- Terappeutia - Spanish speaking users
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a complaint against the company BetterHealth had customers provide personal identifiable information.
BetterHealth made promises and assurances about the level of privacy and security about user data.
According to the FTC, the company shared user information with social media companies Facebook, Snapchat, Criteo and Pinterest.
They also shared data to target former users with ads on those platforms.
There is now a consent order that BetterHealth has agreed to follow. One of those things is not to share or sell visitors or users data to third parties.
In this episode, I go over a bit more details but this is the gist of what happened with the company.
If you need support contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988 or 1-800-273-8255, the Trevor Project at 1-866-488-7386 or text “START” to 741-741.
There is a page on the Federal Trade Commissions website where you can obtain the original complaints, and the consent order.
Resources Mentioned:
Associated Press news story BetterHelp shared users’ sensitive health data, FTC says
BetterHealth response to the consent order via their website.
The National Law Review article about the FTC’s One-Two Punch on Data Tracking and Health Privacy
FTC Enforcement Action to Bar GoodRx from Sharing Consumers’ Sensitive Health Info for Advertising
Alternate Browsers, Search Engines and Add-Ons
- Brave Search Engine
- Duck Duck Go Search Engine
- Firefox Focus for mobile devices
- Privacy Badger from the Electronic Frontier Foundation
- Vivaldi Browser
Disclaimer:
Links to other sites are provided for information purposes only and do not constitute endorsements.
Always seek the advice of a qualified health provider with questions you may have regarding a medical or mental health disorder.
This blog and podcast is intended for informational and educational purposes only. Nothing in this program is intended to be a substitute for professional psychological, psychiatric or medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
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