FTC sues Hims & Hers for allegedly sharing patient information with third-party platforms

Telehealth provider Hims & Hers allegedly shared customers’ information with third-party advertising platforms even as the firm told consumers it was safeguarding their privacy, a federal agency claimed in a lawsuit filed Wednesday.

Hims & Hers gave “sensitive health information about medical conditions” to Snap, Meta and others, according to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

“Hims shared its consumers’ health information with advertising platforms by sharing lists of certain customers with those companies,” the FTC said in a press release. 

The firm also shared consumers’ information “via third-party tracking technologies” that disclosed its website visitors’ actions, the release said.

Hims, headquartered in San Francisco, offers direct-to-consumer prescription medications in addition to telehealth products. Its patients often seek help treating sexual health, mental health and other sensitive conditions. The company requires them to fill out an online form for review by a medical provider before obtaining treatment.

The company’s actions violate the FTC Act, which bans unfair and deceptive practices, according to the agency. Utah and California joined the FTC in bringing the lawsuit. 

A spokesperson for Hims said in a statement that the lawsuit “disregards substantial evidence we provided the FTC during its nearly three-year investigation, ignores established state laws and industry standards in telehealth, and contorts the law to try to manufacture claims.”

“This is not enforcement grounded in consumer protection; it is an effort to generate headlines at our expense.”

Customers have what they need to make “informed” decisions about their care, Hims & Hers said, noting that the firm’s privacy policy tells users they can control how their information is handled. 

The FTC’s complaint said that the Hims website emphasized how closely the firm guarded patients' privacy, including by promising that consumers’ “medical records and sensitive information are only accessed by the medical providers managing your care.” 

Hims also marketed itself as giving customers a “100% online, private, and secure process,” according to the complaint. 

The claims “conveyed to consumers that Hims would not disclose their health information to third parties,” the complaint said. “Instead of honoring its privacy promises, Hims opted to grow the company and increase its revenue streams.”

The FTC also alleged that Hims and Hers made it too hard for customers to cancel their subscriptions and tricked them about billing practices.