You go to BetterHelp because you're struggling with depression. You fill out an intake questionnaire about your trauma history, your anxiety levels, how bad things have gotten. BetterHelp sends your answers to Facebook, Snapchat, Criteo, and Pinterest. Not anonymized. Your email address, your IP address, and your mental health status -- packaged for advertisers. The FTC ordered BetterHelp to pay $7.8 million. BetterHelp denied doing anything wrong while writing the check. You came for therapy. BetterHelp came for your data. BetterHelp asks if you've thought about suicide. It asks about your trauma. It asks how severe your depression is. These are clinical questions designed to look like a therapist is listening. Facebook was listening too. Tracking pixels on the intake questionnaire sent your answers to advertising platforms in real time. Facebook could build an audience of people with severe depression. Snapchat could target people who disclosed substance abuse. You were answering a cry for help. BetterHelp was filling out your ad profile.
What they claim: BetterHelp's privacy practices page told users their personal health information would only be used "to provide you with services" and would not be shared for advertising.
What we found: The FTC charged BetterHelp with sharing sensitive mental health data with Facebook, Snapchat, Criteo, and Pinterest for targeted advertising. Shared data included email addresses, IP addresses, and responses from therapy intake questionnaires. BetterHelp agreed to a $7.8 million settlement in March 2023, with funds directed to partial refunds for affected users. The FTC found BetterHelp had deployed tracking pixels from Facebook and Snapchat on its intake questionnaire pages, transmitting mental health data to advertising platforms in real time. BetterHelp denied wrongdoing while paying $7.8 million.
What they claim: BetterHelp states its intake questionnaire is used to "match you with the right therapist" and provide personalized mental health support.
What we found: During signup, BetterHelp asks users about depression severity, anxiety levels, trauma history, suicidal ideation, substance abuse, and relationship problems. Facebook and Snapchat tracking pixels on the intake questionnaire pages captured these responses and transmitted them to advertising platforms. Facebook received enough data to build advertising audiences based on mental health conditions. Users disclosing suicidal thoughts or trauma history were simultaneously being profiled for ad targeting. The intake questionnaire -- designed to look like a clinical assessment -- functioned as a data collection pipeline for advertising networks.
What they claim: BetterHelp marketed itself using HIPAA compliance language, including references to "HIPAA-compliant video" and creating the impression that therapy data had the same protections as traditional healthcare.
What we found: The FTC investigation found BetterHelp is NOT a HIPAA-covered entity. BetterHelp is classified as a technology platform, not a healthcare provider. This means none of the data shared with BetterHelp has HIPAA protections -- no legal prohibition on sharing it, no breach notification requirements under HIPAA, and no HHS enforcement authority. Users who chose BetterHelp believing their therapy data had the same legal protections as in-person therapy were fundamentally misled. Traditional therapists face license revocation for sharing patient data. BetterHelp shared it with Facebook and called it advertising.
What they claim: BetterHelp markets its service as providing "professional, licensed therapists" and "private, affordable online counseling" with the same confidentiality as traditional therapy.
What we found: Traditional therapy has strict confidentiality protections -- therapists face license revocation for unauthorized disclosure of patient information. BetterHelp's platform collected metadata about therapy sessions: frequency, duration, and topics discussed via intake forms. This metadata was shared with Facebook, Snapchat, Criteo, and Pinterest through tracking pixels and SDKs. The platform created a shadow record of mental health treatment visible to advertising companies. A user's therapy frequency and the nature of their mental health concerns became data points in advertising auctions. The confidentiality that defines the therapeutic relationship was undermined by the platform that facilitated it.
What they claim: BetterHelp sponsors mental health influencers, podcasters, and YouTubers, presenting itself as an accessible and trustworthy path to professional therapy.
What we found: BetterHelp ran one of the largest influencer marketing campaigns in the mental health space, sponsoring hundreds of YouTubers, podcasters, and social media creators. Vulnerable audiences -- people watching mental health content because they are struggling -- were directed to sign up through affiliate links. These influencers were not told that user data would be shared with advertising platforms. Users who signed up through a mental health creator's referral link had their therapy intake data sent to Facebook via tracking pixels. The influencer marketing pipeline funneled people in crisis to a platform that monetized their vulnerability. Creators who genuinely wanted to help their audiences unknowingly sent them to a data harvesting operation.
What they claim: BetterHelp positions itself as a legitimate healthcare platform, stating it takes "the privacy and security of our members' personal information very seriously."
What we found: BetterHelp was not an isolated case. The FTC took enforcement action against Cerebral (referred to DOJ for criminal investigation for similar data sharing practices), Monument/Tempest (alcohol recovery app that shared relapse data with advertisers, $5.4 million settlement), and GoodRx (shared prescription data with Facebook, $1.5 million fine). The pattern reveals systemic exploitation: mental health and health apps consistently share the most sensitive data with advertisers. The entire category treats human vulnerability as a monetization opportunity. BetterHelp's $7.8 million settlement was the largest but not the only case in a sector-wide failure to protect patient data.
What they claim: BetterHelp states it collects personal information to "provide, personalize, and improve" its therapy matching and counseling services.
What we found: BetterHelp deployed Facebook Pixel, Snapchat Pixel, and Criteo tracking code on pages where users entered sensitive health information. These pixels transmitted browsing behavior, page URLs (which contained health topic identifiers), email addresses, and IP addresses to advertising platforms. Criteo, an advertising retargeting company, received data enabling it to follow BetterHelp users across the internet with targeted ads. A user who visited BetterHelp's page on depression could be retargeted with mental-health-related advertising on unrelated websites. Pinterest received data that could place users into interest categories based on their mental health conditions. The therapy platform doubled as an advertising beacon.