BetterHelp

This month, OpenAI launched what it calls the GPT Store, a platform where developers can sell custom-built AI apps and tools. The millions of GPTs on offer include games, productivity helpers, graphic design tools, tools for specific writing projects, and more. One thing OpenAI doesn’t want you to find, however, is an AI girlfriend. I Gave Sam Altman a Copy of My Eyeballs | Future TechPeople really want AI romance bots, and developers really want to sell them. But rather than embrace the world of digital love, Sam…

Screenshot: BetterHelpThe Federal Trade Commission is poised to ban the mental health app BetterHelp from sharing medical information with Facebook, Snapchat, and other online advertisers. A proposed order issued Thursday includes a $7.8 million fine and limits the ways BetterHelp can share mental health data going forward. It’s part of a new push by the FTC to reign in the internet’s rampant problems with health privacy.“When a person struggling with mental health issues reaches out for help, they do so in a moment of…

Online counseling company BetterHelp has agreed to pay $7.8 million to settle charges from the Federal Trade Commission that it improperly shared customers’ sensitive data with companies like Facebook and Snapchat, even after promising to keep it private. The proposed order, announced by the FTC on Thursday, would ban the same behavior in the future and require BetterHelp to make some changes to how it handles customer data.According to the regulator, the sign-up process for the company’s service “promised consumers that…

The has moved to block online counseling company BetterHelp from sharing health data, including mental health information, with the likes of and for advertising. As part of a proposed order, BetterHelp has agreed to pay $7.8 million to consumers to settle charges that it shared sensitive data for advertising purposes after promising to keep the information private. This marks the first time the agency has reached an agreement with a company to return money to consumers after their health data was allegedly compromised.…

Remote treatment of mental-health problems surged in the pandemic, as in-person treatment became difficult while pandemic-driven isolation increased anxiety and depression.Digital mental-health companies plunged in, promising to provide millions with access to high-quality care by video, phone, and messaging. Many of the businesses, however, put a premium on growth. Investor-backed, they deployed classic Silicon Valley tactics such as spending heavily on advertising and expansion while often using contractors…