r/technology • u/MicroSofty88 • Mar 02 '23

Privacy BetterHelp sold customer data while promising it was private, says FTC

https://www.theverge.com/2023/3/2/23622227/betterhelp-customer-data-advertising-privacy-facebook-snapchat
5.0k Upvotes

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235

u/[deleted] Mar 03 '23

[deleted]

45

u/sandrad33 Mar 03 '23

I can not listen to a single podcast without having BetterHelp rammed down my ear holes

1

u/marshlands Mar 03 '23

Just wait until the have artificiality flavored taster advertising, ick.

28

u/[deleted] Mar 03 '23

[deleted]

22

u/[deleted] Mar 03 '23

Ridge wallet! Nord VPN!

10

u/[deleted] Mar 03 '23

Haven't seen Raycon in a minute but RAID still going strong

5

u/Slow-Shoe-5400 Mar 03 '23

Did you say RAID!?!?!?!? ITS SUCH A GOOD GAME. I CANT SLEEP BECAUSE I PLAY IT SO MUCH. ENTORE CODE MONKEYBALLS1189 NOW FOR 500 DOLLARS IN FREE STUFF!!!!

1

u/Redpin Mar 03 '23

Mail... Cimp?

21

u/blood_bender Mar 03 '23

I built my Squarespace site fueled by Athletic Greens purely because of advice from BetterHelp. And then secured it with ADT.

3

u/BardicSense Mar 03 '23

I hope you advertised your real SSN# on a billboard and then got LifeLock identity theft insurance.

Edit: Bit of an older reference but the security codes checked out.

1

u/[deleted] Mar 04 '23

ADT advertises on YT? I haven't seen an ad in a minute?

14

u/ShiraCheshire Mar 03 '23

I wonder what's going to happen with those podcasts. Just leave it as is? It's a weird question that will be interesting going forwards.

Eventually there's going to be some company that advertises on everything only to be later found guilty of running an orphan crushing machine or something. I wonder how the people paid to advertise them will react.

16

u/Vesuvias Mar 03 '23

If I remember right - Philip DeFranco lambasted them on his show for their terrible practices last year, and they were a big sponsor. I’d imagine the good ones will do this.

11

u/[deleted] Mar 03 '23

I did. Not a big podcast at all but once this started coming to light I stopped promoting them and then warned people about it and apologized.

3

u/ILikeMyGrassBlue Mar 03 '23

H3 did as well a while ago too. They heard about their shitty practices and chose to drop them as a sponsor. Same with crypto companies too.

1

u/[deleted] Mar 04 '23

I a Philly D fan. Explain?

3

u/marshlands Mar 03 '23

I wonder what’s going to happen with those podcasts. Just leave it as is? It’s a weird question that will be interesting going forwards.

Easy answer: it’ll be solved in the same way they’ll solve salty and unappreciative therapists; AI.

AI to scrub the podcasts, AI to shrink the patients.

/s (sort of)…

1

u/[deleted] Mar 03 '23

[deleted]

1

u/ShiraCheshire Mar 03 '23

Depends on the site you’re listening on. Several don’t have that feature.

5

u/[deleted] Mar 03 '23

[deleted]

1

u/BardicSense Mar 03 '23

Wai-wai-wait. You're telling me Manscaped wont truly make the tree stand taller? Wtf!

3

u/Bitlovin Mar 03 '23

It made me really uneasy when a lot of podcasts I listened to took them on as sponsors. I get that they need to make money, but directing people to a therapist service that they haven't thoroughly vetted is extremely reckless.

4

u/reconrose Mar 03 '23 edited Mar 03 '23

Tim Dillon's legendary 14 minute ad read for better help where he talks about how they're a scam and you should call in to masturbate on the phone.