BetterHelp customers begin receiving refund notices from $7.8M data privacy settlement, FTC says
Advertisement
Read this article for free:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Digital Subscription
One year of digital access for only $205*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*First annual payment billed as $205.00 + GST for one year. This annual subscription will automatically renew at $233.00 + GST every 52 weeks (10% off the regular annual price of $259.35). Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional
$1 for the first 4 weeks*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*Your next Brandon Sun subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $17.95 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $24.95 plus GST every four weeks.
Read unlimited articles for free today:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 08/05/2024 (835 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
NEW YORK (AP) — Many current and former BetterHelp customers have begun receiving refund eligibility notices spanning from a $7.8 million settlement reached with the online therapy provider last year over allegations that it shared sensitive health data with advertisers.
In 2023, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission charged California-based BetterHelp with disclosing consumer data it had promised to keep private — including answers to personal mental health questions — with companies like Facebook and Snapchat for advertising purposes. User emails and IP addresses were also shared in this way, the FTC said.
BetterHelp agreed to settle the FTC’s allegations in March 2023. Now, payments will be making their way to impacted consumers. Some 800,000 people began receiving notices on Monday saying they are eligible for refunds, the FTC announced this week.
The amount of the settlement payments will be split evenly, an agency spokesperson confirmed to The Associated Press, divvying out to just under $10 for each recipient.
According to the FTC, payments will go to those who signed up and paid for services from a BetterHelp website — which also covers offerings on platforms including MyTherapist, Faithful Counseling and Price Counseling — between August 2017 and December 2020.
Eligible consumers should receive emails from Ankura Consulting Group, an independent redress administrator, about their payment options. For those who do not take any action, the default payment will come via PayPal at their email address — but consumers can opt into different methods, such as Zelle or a paper check, through June 10, the FTC said.
BetterHelp has maintained that the 2023 settlement is not an admission of wrongdoing. In a statement published following the FTC’s announcement this week, the company said it was “deeply committed to the privacy of our members and we value the trust people put in us by using our services.”
BetterHelp added that it has “never shared” private information such as members’ names or clinical therapy session data with advertisers — and that it does not receive payments from third parties for information about its members.
