BetterHelp Inc.

What happened

The FTC fined BetterHelp, an online mental health counseling platform, $7.8 million for sharing consumers' sensitive health data with advertising platforms including Facebook, Snapchat, Criteo, and Pinterest — despite promising users that their personal health information would be kept private. BetterHelp used intake questionnaire responses about users' mental health conditions, relationship status, and other sensitive information to target them with ads on social media. The company shared email addresses and health information via tracking pixels and APIs without users' knowledge or consent. The FTC found that BetterHelp's privacy promises were deceptive, as the company represented that it would not use or share health data for advertising while doing exactly that.

Articles violated

Lessons learned

Health data requires the highest level of protection — sharing it with advertising platforms for targeting is a serious violation regardless of whether traditional health privacy laws like HIPAA apply. Companies must ensure their actual data practices match their privacy policy promises. Mental health data is especially sensitive and its misuse can cause real harm. Advertising tracking pixels and SDKs embedded in health apps can inadvertently share sensitive data with third parties. This case expanded FTC enforcement into digital health platforms not covered by HIPAA.