Mental health apps compromising patient privacy

Mental health apps are under fire for sharing user information with outside parties for marketing purposes. 

In 2023, the Federal Trade Commission ordered BetterHelp to pay $7.8 million to consumers for sharing their mental health data with Facebook and Snapchat after previously stating the information would be kept private.

“Data is incredibly lucrative in the digital space,” Darrell West, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, told Yahoo Finance. “That’s how companies are making their money. Many large companies derive a substantial part of their revenue from advertising. People want to target their ads on particular people and particular problems. So there’s the risk that if you have a mental health condition linked to depression, there are going to be companies that want to market a medication to people suffering in that way.”

Full Story: Yahoo Finance

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