Company:BetterHelp

From HandWiki
BetterHelp
TypeSubsidiary
IndustryPsychotherapy
Founded2013; 13 years ago (2013)
Founders
  • Alon Matas
  • Danny Bragonier
HeadquartersMountain View, California, U.S.
Area served
Worldwide
ServicesOnline therapy
Unlimited messaging therapy
ParentTeladoc Health (2015–present)
Websitewww.betterhelp.com

BetterHelp is a mental health platform that provides direct online counseling and therapy services via web or phone text communication.[1] BetterHelp was founded in 2013 by Alon Matas and Danny Bragonier, and acquired by Teladoc in 2015, maintaining its service and brand name post-acquisition.

In 2023, BetterHelp agreed to pay $7.8 million to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that it shared customers' sensitive mental health data with Facebook, Snapchat, and other companies for advertising purposes despite promising to keep such information private.[2]

Background

BetterHelp was founded by Alon Matas in 2013.[3] Matas partnered with co-founder Danny Bragonier to develop BetterHelp's web-based counseling portal and therapist directory. In 2015, BetterHelp was acquired by Teladoc, a telehealth company of telemedicine service providers since 2002. Teladoc acquired BetterHelp for $3.5 million in cash and a $1 million promissory note, with an agreement to make annual payments to the sellers equal to 15% of the total net revenue generated by the BetterHelp business for each of the next three years.[4]

Services

According to the company, BetterHelp's counseling staff consists of accredited psychologists; social workers; marriage and family therapists; and board-licensed counselors, each having a master's degree or doctorate with at least three years and 1,000 hours of experience. BetterHelp evaluates providers in a process that includes verifying licensure and requiring a case study exam, which is reviewed by a licensed clinician.[5] BetterHelp offers individual therapy only, but its subsidiaries, Regain and Teen Counseling, provide couples counseling and teen therapy, respectively.[6]

After subscribing, BetterHelp assigns users a "room" in which to send private messages, live chat, and schedule video or phone sessions with a counselor.[7] The "room" is open 24/7 and can be accessed from any Internet-connected device.[8] BetterHelp offers four live therapy sessions monthly.[9]

History

As of 2018, BetterHelp reported 33 million therapy sessions with more than 2,000 counselors on its site.[10] In the same year, the company's revenue had reached a projected $60 million.[11]

In 2021, BetterHelp partnered with Ariana Grande, offering $1 million worth of free therapy.[12] According to Behavioral Health Business, the company worked with 2.5 million patients and brought in $700 million in revenue that year.[13]

From 2020 through 2023, BetterHelp was the top purchaser of podcast ads, spending nearly $8 million on podcast ads in December 2023.[14] BetterHelp has sponsored many YouTubers, leading the website Polygon to label it "one of YouTube’s most prominent sponsors".[10]

In November 2023, Alon Matas announced that he was leaving the company after 10 years.[15]

During the Gaza war, BetterHelp offered six months of therapy "at no cost for those affected by the war in Israel". This was first made known via an announcement on the Israeli government's official Twitter account. A spokesperson for BetterHelp's parent company told Snopes that this was "an independent initiative" and that Israel's government was not involved.[16]

In May 2024, BetterHelp partnered with Tom Brady, giving away a month of free services.[17]

FTC settlement regarding customer data

In 2023, BetterHelp was accused of sharing its customers' personal data with third parties, including Facebook and Snapchat.[18][19] In its 2022 privacy policy update, BetterHelp stated: "We may share your information in connection with an asset sale, merger, bankruptcy, or other business transaction."[20] BetterHelp responded to complaints by saying it was legally required to retain health data.[21] A 2020 analysis by Jezebel previously found that Facebook linked the time and duration of a user's therapy sessions and user's approximate location to Facebook profiles. Another firm, Mixtral, received data like the user's gender, age, and sexual orientation, location, device, financial status, and religion, albeit in an anonymized form.[22]

On March 2, 2023, the FTC issued a proposed order banning BetterHelp from sharing consumers' health data with third parties. The order also requires BetterHelp to pay $7.8 million to consumers to settle allegations of revealing consumers' sensitive data.[19] The FTC complaint tied to the proposed order alleges that BetterHelp collected health status and histories, IP addresses, and email addresses from consumers while making repeated promises to keep this information private.[23] BetterHelp agreed to settle the FTC's allegations, and as of May 2024, have begun issuing refunds to affected customers. The company maintains that this settlement is not an admission of wrongdoing.[24]

Reception

In October 2018, concerns were raised by YouTubers (such as PewDiePie and Boogie2988) about the alleged use of unfair pricing, poor experiences, paid reviews from actors, and terms of service that allegedly did not correspond with ads promoted by professional YouTubers.[10] Co-founder and then-CEO Alon Matas issued a statement responding to the allegations.[25]

In 2024, BetterHelp was cited by the Federal Trade Commission for inappropriate use and selling of client data, breaching privacy regulations. BetterHelp has since been under scrutiny for misleading privacy policies.[26]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Furhlinger, Josh. "All-You-Can-Text Therapy Services". The Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/all-you-can-text-therapy-services-1413398763?KEYWORDS=JOSHUA+FRUHLINGER. 
  2. ↑ Bajak, Frank (March 2, 2023). "BetterHelp shared users' sensitive health data, FTC says" (in en). Associated Press. https://apnews.com/article/betterhelp-ftc-health-data-privacy-befca40bb873661d1f8986bb75d8df07. 
  3. ↑ Cohen, Sagi (July 24, 2020). "Locked Down and Uptight? Israeli-founded Online Service Might Be the Solution". Haaretz. https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/business/2020-07-24/ty-article/.premium/locked-down-and-uptight-israeli-founded-betterhelp-might-be-the-solution/0000017f-db90-d856-a37f-ffd034810000. 
  4. ↑ Dolan, Brian. "Teladoc IPO filing reveals 299,000 visits last year, details of past acquisitions". Mobile Health News. http://mobihealthnews.com/43977/teladoc-ipo-filing-reveals-299000-visits-last-year-details-of-past-aquisitions. 
  5. ↑ "Your Questions Answered". https://www.betterhelp.com/your-questions-answered/#FAQ1. 
  6. ↑ Church, Matthew; Fuller, Kristen (March 12, 2025). "BetterHelp Review 2025: Cost, Pros & Cons, & My Experience". https://www.choosingtherapy.com/betterhelp-review/. 
  7. ↑ Hipp, Deb; Hall, Alena (July 22, 2024). "I Tried BetterHelp—Here's My Honest Review". Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/health/mind/betterhelp-review/. 
  8. ↑ Martinez, Nikki. "Coping With a Cancer Diagnosis. Tips for the Patient, and Those Who Love Them". The Huffington Post. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-nikki-martinez-psyd-lcpc/coping-with-a-cancer-diag_b_8271272.html. 
  9. ↑ "Best Online Therapy Services Reviewed". https://www.helpguide.org/handbook/online-therapy/best-online-therapy. 
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Alexander, Julia (October 4, 2018). "YouTube's BetterHelp mental health controversy, explained" (in en-US). https://www.polygon.com/2018/10/4/17932862/betterhelp-app-youtube-sponsorship-controversy-explained. 
  11. ↑ "Vulnerable Patients Exposed To 'Growth At Any Cost' Culture". Seeking Alpha. November 1, 2018. https://seekingalpha.com/article/4216391-vulnerable-patients-exposed-growth-cost-culture. Retrieved November 8, 2018. 
  12. ↑ McNamara, Brittney (June 30, 2021). "Ariana Grande Is Giving Away $2 Million in Free Therapy With BetterHelp". Teen Vogue. https://www.teenvogue.com/story/ariana-grande-is-giving-away-dollar1-million-in-free-therapy-with-betterhelp. 
  13. ↑ Coward, Kyle (February 24, 2022). "Teladoc’s Mental Health Brand BetterHelp Hits $700M in Revenue, Expects More Growth in 2022". Behavioral Health Business. https://bhbusiness.com/2022/02/24/teladocs-mental-health-brand-betterhelp-hits-700m-in-revenue-expects-more-growth-in-2022/. 
  14. ↑ "Amazon Rides Year-End Retail Wave To Overtake BetterHelp As Top Podcast Ad Spender". January 25, 2024. https://www.insideradio.com/free/amazon-rides-year-end-retail-wave-to-overtake-betterhelp-as-top-podcast-ad-spender/article_186632c2-bb4f-11ee-a592-577aa4bef033.html. 
  15. ↑ Matas, Alon. "Decided to leave BetterHelp after 10 years" (in en). https://www.linkedin.com/posts/alonmatas_personal-update-after-10-years-of-a-once-in-a-lifetime-activity-7132740179475238912-qkvI/. 
  16. ↑ Ibrahim, Nur (October 16, 2023). "Israel Offered 'Free Therapy' with BetterHelp Co. for Those 'Affected by the War'?". https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/israel-free-therapy-betterhelp-war/. 
  17. ↑ Hauari, Gabe (May 3, 2024). "Tom Brady, BetterHelp team up to give customers one month of free therapy sessions". USA Today. https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/2024/05/03/tom-brady-betterhelp-free-therapy-sessions/73542893007/. 
  18. ↑ "FTC says online counseling service BetterHelp pushed people into handing over health information – and broke its privacy promises" (in en). March 1, 2023. https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/blog/2023/03/ftc-says-online-counseling-service-betterhelp-pushed-people-handing-over-health-information-broke. 
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 "FTC to Ban BetterHelp from Revealing Consumers' Data, Including Sensitive Mental Health Information, to Facebook and Others for Targeted Advertising". March 2, 2023. https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2023/03/ftc-ban-betterhelp-revealing-consumers-data-including-sensitive-mental-health-information-facebook. 
  20. ↑ Nicole Wetsman (May 4, 2022). "Mental health app privacy language opens up holes for user data". https://www.theverge.com/2022/5/4/22985296/mental-health-app-privacy-policies-happify-cerebral-betterhealth-7cups. 
  21. ↑ Thomas Germain (March 2, 2021). "Mental Health Apps Aren't All As Private As You May Think". https://www.consumerreports.org/health-privacy/mental-health-apps-and-user-privacy-a7415198244/. 
  22. ↑ Osberg, Molly (February 19, 2020). "The Spooky, Loosely Regulated World of Online Therapy" (in en-US). https://www.jezebel.com/the-spooky-loosely-regulated-world-of-online-therapy-1841791137. 
  23. ↑ "FTC In the Matter of BETTERHELP, INC. 2023169". March 2, 2023. https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/ftc_gov/pdf/2023169-betterhelp-complaint_.pdf. 
  24. ↑ "BetterHelp customers begin receiving refund notices from $7.8M data privacy settlement, FTC says" (in en). May 8, 2024. https://apnews.com/article/betterhelp-ftc-data-privacy-settlement-payments-779419226dcbcd18d63be9381e1f2369. 
  25. ↑ Matas, Alon (October 9, 2018). "When BetterHelp found itself in a Youtube Controversy". https://medium.com/@alonmatas/when-betterhelp-found-itself-in-a-youtube-controversy-3fd472229a4e. 
  26. ↑ Foisy, Nicholas (April 3, 2024). "Is BetterHelp a Scam? Unpacking The Truth". Compass IT. https://www.compassitc.com/blog/is-betterhelp-a-scam-unpacking-the-truth. 



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