BetterHelp: Difference between revisions - Consumer_Action

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===Private data sharing===

BetterHelp's '''Privacy Policy'''<ref>https://www.betterhelp.com/privacy/#~~section8~~</ref> explicitly states that any private information shared with therapists will remain confidential. Specifically, it clarifies that such information will not be shared with third-party advertisers:<blockquote>To be clear, we ~~don't~~ share any data or information you share with your ~~Therapist~~ with any Third Party advertisers. Even if you opt in to ~~Advertising~~ cookies and web beacons, we still ~~don't~~ share information with Third Party advertisers like ~~Member~~ names, phone numbers, clinician diagnosis, questionnaires answers, sessions data, journal entries, messages, worksheets, or any other type of private communication you have with your ~~Therapist~~ on the Platform.</blockquote>

BetterHelp's '''Privacy Policy'''<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20230301163612/https://www.betterhelp.com/privacy/#section16 https://web.archive.org/web/20230301163612/https://www.betterhelp.com/privacy/#section11]</ref> explicitly states that any private information shared with therapists will remain confidential. Specifically, it clarifies that such information will not be shared with third-party advertisers:<blockquote>To be clear, we don’t share any data or information you share with your therapist with any Third-Party advertisers. Even if you opt-in to targeting cookies and web beacons, we still don’t share information with Third-Party advertisers like member names, email addresses, phone numbers, clinician diagnosis, questionnaires answers, sessions data, journal entries, messages, worksheets, or any other type of private communication you have with your therapist on the Platform.</blockquote>

~~According to an~~ [[FTC]] complaint,<ref>https://www.ftc.gov/legal-library/browse/cases-proceedings/2023169-betterhelp-inc-matter</ref> the ~~company failed to protect its customers' information~~ and ~~instead sold it to third parties:~~<ref>https://www.ftc.gov/~~business-guidance~~/~~blog~~/~~2023~~/03/~~ftc-says-online-counseling-service-betterhelp-pushed-people-handing-over-health-information-broke~~</ref> ~~<blockquote>BetterHelp~~ used ~~a wide variety of tactics to share~~ the ~~health information of over 7 million consumers with platforms like Facebook, Snapchat, Criteo,~~ and ~~Pinterest for the purpose of advertising~~.</~~blockquote~~>

On 2023/03/02, the [[FTC|Federal Trade Commission (FTC)]] raised a complaint<ref>https://www.ftc.gov/legal-library/browse/cases-proceedings/2023169-betterhelp-inc-matter</ref> against BetterHelp. BetterHelp gave third parties (including Facebook, Pinterest, Snapchat, and Criteo) consumer information for the purpose of serving targeted ads "bringing in tens of thousands of new paying users, and millions of dollars in revenue, as a result."<ref name=":0">https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/ftc_gov/pdf/2023169betterhelpcomplaintfinal.pdf</ref> Third parties also used the data for personal research and development.<ref name=":0" />

=== Unethical pay structure ===

Four months later, 2023/07/14, the FTC ordered BetterHelp to pay $7.8 million in the form of partial refunds to its' customers between 2017/08/01 and 2020/12/31.<ref>https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/ftc_gov/pdf/2023169betterhelpfinalorder.pdf</ref> Emails started being sent out to around 800,000 eligible customers on 2024/05/06. <ref>https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2024/05/betterhelp-customers-will-begin-receiving-notices-about-refunds-related-2023-privacy-settlement-ftc</ref>

===Unethical pay structure===

Andrew Flynn, a counsellor who joined BetterHelp in September 2022, stated that in the UK, a BetterHelp subscription costs between £40 and £70 per week, while he was paid approximately £18 per session.<ref>https://welldoing.org/article/overworked-and-underpaid-uk-therapists-respond-us-online-platform-betterhelp</ref> To achieve a reasonable annual salary, therapists would need to exceed the 20-hour weekly limit for therapy sessions recommended by the '''[[wikipedia:British_Association_for_Counselling_and_Psychotherapy|British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP)]]'''.

@@ Line 9: / Line 9: @@
 ===Private data sharing===
-BetterHelp's '''Privacy Policy'''<ref>https://www.betterhelp.com/privacy/#section8</ref> explicitly states that any private information shared with therapists will remain confidential. Specifically, it clarifies that such information will not be shared with third-party advertisers:<blockquote>To be clear, we don't share any data or information you share with your Therapist with any Third Party advertisers. Even if you opt in to Advertising cookies and web beacons, we still don't share information with Third Party advertisers like Member names, phone numbers, clinician diagnosis, questionnaires answers, sessions data, journal entries, messages, worksheets, or any other type of private communication you have with your Therapist on the Platform.</blockquote>
+BetterHelp's '''Privacy Policy'''<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20230301163612/https://www.betterhelp.com/privacy/#section16 https://web.archive.org/web/20230301163612/https://www.betterhelp.com/privacy/#section11]</ref> explicitly states that any private information shared with therapists will remain confidential. Specifically, it clarifies that such information will not be shared with third-party advertisers:<blockquote>To be clear, we don’t share any data or information you share with your therapist with any Third-Party advertisers. Even if you opt-in to targeting cookies and web beacons, we still don’t share information with Third-Party advertisers like member names, email addresses, phone numbers, clinician diagnosis, questionnaires answers, sessions data, journal entries, messages, worksheets, or any other type of private communication you have with your therapist on the Platform.</blockquote>
-According to an [[FTC]] complaint,<ref>https://www.ftc.gov/legal-library/browse/cases-proceedings/2023169-betterhelp-inc-matter</ref> the company failed to protect its customers' information and instead sold it to third parties:<ref>https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/blog/2023/03/ftc-says-online-counseling-service-betterhelp-pushed-people-handing-over-health-information-broke</ref> <blockquote>BetterHelp used a wide variety of tactics to share the health information of over 7 million consumers with platforms like Facebook, Snapchat, Criteo, and Pinterest for the purpose of advertising.</blockquote>
+On 2023/03/02, the [[FTC|Federal Trade Commission (FTC)]] raised a complaint<ref>https://www.ftc.gov/legal-library/browse/cases-proceedings/2023169-betterhelp-inc-matter</ref> against BetterHelp. BetterHelp gave third parties (including Facebook, Pinterest, Snapchat, and Criteo) consumer information for the purpose of serving targeted ads "bringing in tens of thousands of new paying users, and millions of dollars in revenue, as a result."<ref name=":0">https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/ftc_gov/pdf/2023169betterhelpcomplaintfinal.pdf</ref>  Third parties also used the data for personal research and development.<ref name=":0" />
-=== Unethical pay structure ===
+Four months later, 2023/07/14, the FTC ordered BetterHelp to pay $7.8 million in the form of partial refunds to its' customers between 2017/08/01 and 2020/12/31.<ref>https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/ftc_gov/pdf/2023169betterhelpfinalorder.pdf</ref> Emails started being sent out to around 800,000 eligible customers on 2024/05/06. <ref>https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2024/05/betterhelp-customers-will-begin-receiving-notices-about-refunds-related-2023-privacy-settlement-ftc</ref>
+===Unethical pay structure===
 Andrew Flynn, a counsellor who joined BetterHelp in September 2022, stated that in the UK, a BetterHelp subscription costs between £40 and £70 per week, while he was paid approximately £18 per session.<ref>https://welldoing.org/article/overworked-and-underpaid-uk-therapists-respond-us-online-platform-betterhelp</ref> To achieve a reasonable annual salary, therapists would need to exceed the 20-hour weekly limit for therapy sessions recommended by the '''[[wikipedia:British_Association_for_Counselling_and_Psychotherapy|British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP)]]'''.