FTC Targets Hims & Hers Over Covert Health Data Transfers to Tech Giants
The Federal Trade Commission has filed a lawsuit against telehealth provider Hims & Hers for allegedly leaking sensitive patient data to advertisers. Regulators claim the company used tracking pixels to share medical details with Meta and Snap.
Key takeaways
- The FTC alleges Hims & Hers used tracking pixels to send mental health and sexual wellness data to Meta, Snap, and others.
- Regulators claim the company violated its own privacy policy by harvesting and sharing customer health information for advertising.
- The lawsuit includes allegations of deceptive billing practices that made it difficult for users to cancel their subscriptions.
- Hims & Hers is the latest in a series of telehealth platforms, including BetterHelp and GoodRx, to face FTC action over data privacy.
Data Harvesting Allegations and Consumer Deception
The Federal Trade Commission filed a lawsuit in a California federal court against Hims & Hers, a publicly traded health provider specializing in sexual wellness, mental health, and weight loss. The complaint alleges that the company integrated tracking pixels from Meta, Snap, Microsoft, Pinterest, Reddit, and X to monitor user behavior. These invisible tools reportedly captured and transmitted sensitive health information to third-party tech giants, contradicting the platform's public privacy claims.
Tactical Violations of Privacy and Billing
Beyond data sharing, the FTC accused Hims & Hers of deploying deceptive billing practices designed to trap customers. Investigations revealed policies that intentionally complicated the cancellation process for subscribers, a direct violation of federal consumer protection regulations. Specific allegations include:
- Persistent tracking of user clicks and site interactions via Meta’s proprietary tools.
- Failure to disclose the extent of data exposure to external advertising entities.
- Implementation of obstructive hurdles for users attempting to terminate recurring payments.
A Pattern of Telehealth Scrutiny
This legal action reflects a sustained regulatory push against the telehealth industry’s handling of private information. The FTC has successfully targeted similar misconduct by firms such as Cerebral, Monument, BetterHelp, and GoodRx. These cases emphasize a recurring risk where pixel-sized trackers, often misconfigured or intentionally embedded, leak confidential metadata to advertisers. While Hims & Hers maintains that its policies offer users choice regarding data usage, the company has not explicitly denied the specific claims regarding these third-party integrations.
Source: Tech Crunch
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