Class Action
In re BetterHelp
In re BetterHelp, Inc. Data Disclosure Cases
Where it stands
Consolidated before Chief Judge Richard Seeborg. An earlier round of privacy claims was dismissed with leave to amend. On August 21, 2025 the court denied BetterHelp's motion to require plaintiffs to litigate under their true names, holding that pseudonymous litigation was appropriate because forcing disclosure would inflict the very privacy harm alleged. The case follows BetterHelp's separate $7.8 million FTC consent order.
Key ruling
August 21, 2025 order (Seeborg, C.J.) permitting plaintiffs to proceed pseudonymously in a health-privacy class action, reasoning that requiring true names would discourage future privacy litigation.
What is not confirmed
Lead class counsel for the consolidated action was not verifiable from the sources reviewed; Milberg filed one of the constituent complaints (C.M. v. BetterHelp). The $7.8 million figure widely circulated online is the FTC settlement, not a class settlement — no class settlement has been confirmed.The record
- Court
- U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California
- Case number
- 3:23-cv-01033-RS
- Filed
- 2023-03-07
- Defendants
- BetterHelp, Inc.
- Plaintiffs
- Users of the BetterHelp online therapy platform whose intake questionnaire responses, email addresses and mental-health-related data were disclosed to Facebook, Snapchat, Pinterest and Criteo through advertising pixels and SDKs.
- Technology at issue
- Meta Pixel, Snap, Pinterest and Criteo advertising tags on BetterHelp intake flow
- Relief sought
- Damages, restitution and injunctive relief; California wiretap claims carry $5,000-per-violation statutory damages.
Claims pleaded
Sources (3)
- Order re motion to dismiss / pseudonymity, In re BetterHelp, Inc. Data Disclosure Cases, No. 23-cv-01033-RS (Doc. 203)U.S. Government Publishing Office (govinfo) · 2025-08-21
- In re: BetterHelp, Inc. Data Disclosure Cases, 3:23-cv-01033 — docketCourtListener / Free Law Project
- BetterHelp Class Action Lawsuit Follows FTC Settlement for Privacy ViolationsMilberg
This page describes a publicly filed case. This site is not counsel on this matter, nothing here is legal advice, and the allegations described are allegations unless a court has said otherwise.