The "BetterHelp" YouTube Virus is BACK

Summary

The video script discusses BetterHelp, an online therapy platform, and its controversial practices. It highlights BetterHelp's aggressive advertising on YouTube, deceptive subscription cancellation tactics, and high refund rates. The script also reveals the platform's involvement in data privacy breaches, partnerships with controversial figures, and a history of misleading users about their data policies. The video urges viewers to be aware of BetterHelp's reputation and to consider more reputable sponsors for content creators.

Takeaways

• 😐 BetterHelp is an online therapy service that has been heavily advertised on platforms like YouTube, often by influencers who share personal struggles and endorse the service.
• 😕 Despite the positive advertising, many users have reported issues with BetterHelp, such as difficulty canceling subscriptions and feeling unsatisfied with the service.
• 😟 BetterHelp has been involved in controversies, including allegations of unnecessary fees and manipulation to keep users subscribed to the service.
• 😨 In 2023, BetterHelp had to issue $93 million in refunds, which accounted for 8% of their revenue, indicating a significant number of dissatisfied customers.
• 🤔 After a tragedy at Astro World, BetterHelp partnered with Travis Scott, who was implicated in the incident, to offer free therapy to those affected, raising questions about the company's ethics.
• 😯 BetterHelp's terms of service have included clauses that they do not control the quality of counselor services or determine counselor qualifications, which have since been removed.
• 📈 BetterHelp has significantly increased its advertising efforts on YouTube, sponsoring nearly 2,000 videos in the third quarter of 2023, a tenfold increase in just one year.
• 😱 BetterHelp has been fined for sharing user data with advertisers, contradicting their claims of keeping consumer information private.
• 😡 The company's CEO had previously dismissed the idea of selling user data as a 'conspiracy theory,' but BetterHelp was later found to have been doing exactly that.
• 😰 An investigation revealed that BetterHelp was silently sharing user data with third parties, including social media companies, potentially breaching privacy.

Q & A

What is the main subject of the video?

The video discusses the controversial practices and history of the online therapy service BetterHelp, including its advertising strategies, user complaints, and privacy concerns.

What was the initial approach of BetterHelp to gain traction on YouTube?

BetterHelp initially gained traction on YouTube by sponsoring a large number of creators who would talk about the value of the service and relate it to their personal lives.

What issues were users experiencing with BetterHelp's service?

Users reported unnecessary fees, difficulty canceling subscriptions, and overall dissatisfaction with the service, including being misled by the cancellation process.

How much in refunds did BetterHelp disperse in a year, and what does it suggest about user satisfaction?

BetterHelp dispersed $93 million in refunds, which constituted 8% of their revenue. This suggests that a significant number of users were dissatisfied with the service.

What controversial partnership did BetterHelp engage in after the Astro World tragedy?

BetterHelp partnered with Travis Scott, who was implicated in the Astro World tragedy, offering a free month of online therapy to those affected.

What was the issue with BetterHelp's terms of service that raised concerns?

A segment in BetterHelp's terms of service stated that they did not control the quality of counselor services or determine whether any counselor was qualified to provide specific services, which has since been removed.

What is the relationship between BetterHelp and the company Telo?

BetterHelp is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Telo, which is a publicly-traded company that has to disclose financial information.

Why did BetterHelp's paying user base decrease significantly?

The decrease in BetterHelp's paying users may be attributed to the loss of CareDash, a fraudulent platform that was funneling customers to BetterHelp, and the company's history of privacy violations.

What was the outcome of BetterHelp being charged for sharing health questionnaire answers and other data with advertisers?

BetterHelp was fined, and affected users received less than $10 each, while the company continued to spend heavily on YouTube advertising.

What did the investigation by Jezebel reveal about BetterHelp's data sharing practices?

The investigation revealed that BetterHelp was silently sharing data with third parties, including metadata from therapy sessions, which was then used for targeted advertising.

What is the video's final recommendation regarding BetterHelp and its advertising on YouTube?

The video recommends that viewers and creators be aware of BetterHelp's practices and suggests finding more reputable sponsors for YouTube content.

Outlines

00:00

🤔 Controversy Surrounding BetterHelp's Business Practices

This paragraph discusses the sponsorship of BetterHelp by YouTube creators and the ensuing controversy. BetterHelp is portrayed as an online therapy platform, but users have reported issues like difficulty canceling subscriptions and unnecessary fees. The company's tactics, such as manipulative button placements to hinder cancellations, are criticized. Additionally, BetterHelp's large refund payouts and partnership with Travis Scott following a tragedy are highlighted, suggesting a lack of genuine care for users' well-being. The paragraph also points out a problematic clause in BetterHelp's terms of service regarding the quality and qualification of counselors, which has since been removed.

05:01

📈 BetterHelp's Aggressive Advertising Amidst Declining User Base

The second paragraph delves into BetterHelp's significant increase in YouTube advertising, suggesting a strategy to attract a younger demographic. Despite previous controversies, BetterHelp has escalated its sponsorships dramatically. The paragraph connects this to the aftermath of a fraudulent scheme involving CareDash, a platform that used unauthorized therapist profiles to funnel customers to BetterHelp. With CareDash's shutdown and a decline in paying users, BetterHelp appears to be compensating by intensifying its marketing efforts.

10:02

📊 BetterHelp's Legal Troubles and Data Privacy Issues

This section uncovers BetterHelp's legal issues, including a penalty for sharing user data with advertisers and a history of breaking privacy promises. The company's CEO's past denial of selling user data is contrasted with an FTC investigation revealing the opposite. The investigation found that BetterHelp used consumer data for targeted advertising, leading to substantial revenue. Furthermore, the paragraph reveals that BetterHelp silently shared user data with third parties, including social media companies, which raises serious privacy concerns.

15:04

🚫 Public Awareness Campaign Against BetterHelp's Unscrupulous Tactics

The final paragraph serves as a call to action, urging viewers to share the information and be wary of BetterHelp's practices. It criticizes BetterHelp's attempt to re-enter the YouTube community despite its history and implores creators to seek more reputable sponsors. The paragraph also promotes the sponsor Incog, which focuses on online privacy and data protection, positioning it as a stark contrast to BetterHelp's approach to user data.

Keywords

💡BetterHelp

BetterHelp is an online therapy platform that connects patients with licensed professionals. It is a central focus in the video as the company is scrutinized for its practices and user experiences. The video discusses BetterHelp's advertising strategies, user complaints, and legal issues, painting a critical picture of the service.

💡Sponsorship

Sponsorship in this context refers to BetterHelp's financial support of YouTube creators to promote their service. The video highlights how BetterHelp has used this method extensively, paying creators for each sign-up, which raises questions about the ethics and transparency of such advertising.

💡User Complaints

User complaints are a significant aspect of the video, illustrating the dissatisfaction that some BetterHelp clients have experienced. The script mentions difficulties in canceling subscriptions and unnecessary fees, suggesting that the service may not be as user-friendly or transparent as advertised.

💡Refunds

Refunds are highlighted as a measure of customer dissatisfaction. The video points out that BetterHelp dispersed $93 million in refunds, which constituted 8% of their revenue, indicating a substantial number of users who were not satisfied with the service.

💡Privacy Breaches

Privacy breaches are a critical issue discussed in the video, where BetterHelp is accused of sharing sensitive user data with advertisers. This is linked to BetterHelp's legal troubles and raises concerns about the security and confidentiality of users' personal information.

💡Incog

Incog is an online privacy and data protection service that is mentioned as the video's sponsor. It is contrasted with BetterHelp to highlight the importance of protecting personal data, especially in light of BetterHelp's alleged privacy violations.

💡Data Brokers

Data brokers are companies that collect and sell personal information. The video script discusses how Incog helps protect against data brokers, which is relevant to the broader theme of data privacy and the specific issues with BetterHelp's handling of user data.

💡CareDash

CareDash is a defunct platform mentioned in the script as having been involved in a fraudulent scheme with BetterHelp. It used unauthorized therapist profiles to funnel customers to BetterHelp, which contributed to BetterHelp's user base before being shut down by the FTC.

💡Teloc

Teloc is the parent company of BetterHelp, mentioned in the video as having disclosed a decrease in BetterHelp's paying users. This information is used to suggest that BetterHelp's aggressive advertising may be an attempt to recoup losses from declining subscriptions.

💡Advertising Tactics

Advertising tactics refer to the strategies used by BetterHelp to promote their service, which the video suggests are manipulative and aimed at retaining subscribers. The script provides examples of how BetterHelp's advertising may mislead potential customers.

💡FTC Investigation

The FTC (Federal Trade Commission) investigation is a key point in the video, detailing BetterHelp's illegal practices of sharing user data for advertising purposes. The investigation's findings are used to underscore the video's critical stance on BetterHelp's business practices.

Highlights

The video discusses BetterHelp, an online therapy platform, and its controversial practices.

BetterHelp has been heavily advertised on YouTube, with creators often promoting it based on personal experiences.

Users have reported difficulties with cancellations and unnecessary fees, suggesting potential issues with the service.

In 2023, BetterHelp provided refunds amounting to 8% of their revenue, indicating a high level of customer dissatisfaction.

The company partnered with Travis Scott after the Astro World tragedy, offering free therapy to affected individuals.

BetterHelp's terms of service have been criticized for not controlling the quality of counselor services.

The company has increased its advertising significantly, particularly targeting younger demographics.

BetterHelp was charged and penalized for sharing health questionnaire answers and other data with advertisers.

CEO Alan Matas previously dismissed the idea of BetterHelp selling data as a conspiracy theory.

An investigation revealed that BetterHelp was silently sharing user data with third parties, including social media companies.

The video suggests BetterHelp is attempting to regain its user base through increased advertising after a loss of subscribers.

The company was affiliated with CareDash, a fraudulent platform that used unauthorized therapist profiles to funnel customers to BetterHelp.

BetterHelp is a subsidiary of Teladoc, a publicly traded company that must disclose financials.

The video criticizes BetterHelp's practices and encourages viewers to share the information and consider more reputable sponsors.

Incog, a company focused on online privacy and data protection, is highlighted as a sponsor of the video.

The video concludes by urging viewers to question everything and protect their data.

Transcripts

this video is brought to you by incog

which is actually kind of fitting given

the subject matter stick around to hear

more about the special offer they are

providing to the entire upper echelon

Community what is better help odds are a

lot of people watching this have

actively seen advertisements for the

service here on YouTube maybe Facebook

or elsewhere Loosely understanding it to

be an online therapy application for

matching patients with licensed

professionals pretty simple the ads

paint a picture of something kind or

approachable and the sponsorships they

authorize talk about how burnout is a

really difficult process and how help is

just a few clicks away but with tens of

millions of dollars pouring into the

YouTube ecosystem hundreds and hundreds

of videos promoting the service and a

rapidly growing list of creators

affiliated with them I wanted to examine

the full scope of this service because

it's not quite what people think it is

and prospective customers need to be

aware of that to do this we need to go

back in time 2018 was many things some

good some bad but relevant for today's

video 2018 was the time frame when

better help initially found traction on

the platform by sponsoring a very large

number of YouTube creators these

creators would very often talk about how

valuable the service is they would draw

connections to their own personal lives

or Express their own struggles which is

fine people can promote things that they

also believe in except there was a bit

of a discrepancy between what was being

said about the company and what users

were actually experiencing anecdotal

evidence is overly abundant here but the

gist of it then and still today now is

that many users were complaining about

unnecessary fees difficulty cancelling

subscriptions or problems with the

service that left them completely

unsatisfied as an example users who

actively subscribe to the platform often

had enormous difficulty canceling that

subscription they were repeatedly

required to confirm their intentions and

face with things like this typically

when you go to buy something or cancel

something green means yes do the thing

I'm trying to do and red means no I

changed my mind also buttons to the left

typically denote cancellation or go back

and buttons on the right signal conf

information or go forward better help

even though this is a relatively small

item in the grand scheme of things for

the video would pretty blatantly try to

trick their customers into hitting the

green button on the right which would

then actually halt the process of

cancellation because the goal wasn't

convenience or satisfaction the goal was

to manipulate their user base into

remaining on the platform with an active

subscription which would then continue

to rack up charges even in their absence

something else we can look at to kind of

help showcase this is that even last

year that being 2023 better help

dispersed 9 $93 million in refunds which

constituted 8% of their entire Revenue

stream it's difficult to find Direct

comparisons for that figure but it's

worth noting that the number of people

who actually pursue and complete a

refund process especially a difficult

one is substantially lower than the

number of people who are overall

dissatisfied with any given service

which begins to put things in

perspective you don't have to look very

far to start finding many more clues

about what kind of company this actually

is but try this one on for size after a

pretty horrifying tragedy took place at

a festival called Astro World in Houston

there's a 1200 page police report about

what happened which is pretty chilling

honestly but the gist of it is that a

hyped up crowd compressed in on itself

at a concert and multiple people died as

a result of that after that tragedy

occurred better help partnered up with

Travis Scott who many believ to be

partially responsible despite managing

to avoid criminal charges and offered a

free month of online therapy to all

those affected yeah the subpar remote

therapist application in partnership

with a negligent rapper who excited a

crowd and caused a tragedy are showing

how much they care together by basically

giving you four free tella Health

sessions on an application that breaches

your privacy and tries to keep you

trapped in a cycle of payments that's

really fantastic guys good job on top of

this as if that's not already enough to

form a judgmental opinion of them there

was a bit of a problem with their terms

of service according to archives their

to previously contained a segment which

said quote we do not control the quality

of the counselor services and we do not

determine whether any counselor is

qualified to provide any specific

service what now that particular passage

has since been removed obviously but it

further demonstrates that the company

has a really unstable foundation with

the public when it comes to common

perception and their chosen tactic to

remedy this is just lots of money I

already talked about how prolific better

help used to be when it comes to YouTube

sponsorships but what I didn't say is

that these YouTube Ubers were getting

paid something like $100 to $200 per

signup when they advertise the service

some affiliate websites show a minimum

Commission of $100 per trial user making

it an extremely lucrative thing to

advertise this mental health application

and make it seem like a worthwhile

service to use well that was then and

this is now so what precisely is

connecting these two points in time

answer better help is connecting these

two points in time because they are

exponentially dialing up their

advertising once again possibly relying

on the fact that internet users have a

very short attention span and probably

hoping to capitalize on a younger

demographic of adolescent teenagers and

early young adults who have been

aggressively told that their mental

health is the most important thing ever

in the history of the universe for the

majority of their living lives making

them not only hypers susceptible to this

but also relatively uninformed if they

didn't pay attention six years ago when

better help initially encountered

controversy on the platform which was

also preco which allows them to

capitalize even further on the

dramatically increased tolerance people

have for tella health and remote Medical

Solutions which weren't nearly as

popular before then according to

research by the out loud group better

help went from sponsoring roughly 392

videos in third quarter 2022 up to 636

in first quarter 2023

1237 in the second quarter nearly 2,000

in the third quarter that's a pretty

massive increase over time on track to

be roughly 10 times higher over the span

of just one year but seeing that made me

wonder why why are they doing this now

and what's the reason to dial up

advertising that much on a platform

whose Community previously ejected them

with very little sympathy before going

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for sponsoring the

channel so the question is why why would

better help come back and dump that much

money into YouTube right now well I dug

around for a while no luck here no luck

there but finally I stumbled on

something care Dash now for anyone who

doesn't know which is probably everyone

care Dash is a platform meant to connect

people to various doctors dentists and

therapists but I shouldn't say the word

is here because kashh doesn't exist

anymore yeah it turns out care Dash was

a fraud scheme that had been posting

profiles of real physicians clinicians

and therapists most importantly without

their knowledge or consent that might

seem strange but the incentive is

actually very very straightforward care

Dash would host the profiles of real

therapists but then if someone tried to

use their platform to actually book an

appointment with that therapist K Dash

would say oops sorry they're not

accepting new people right now and refer

that potential customer directly to

better help try to stay with me here I

learned through an escalated Federal

lawsuit that care Dash was operated by a

company called newfit media and newfit

media is a multi-million dollar startup

funded by a venture capital firm called

link Ventures it's got all the typical

bells and whistles worldclass

Partnerships and strong and passionate

creative teams etc etc but if we

compress it down to a basic point of

reference here kashh was a multi-million

dollar fraud platform driving traffic

through unauthorized use of therapist

profiles to better help which was shut

down in the first quarter of

2023 H this is where my Chrome window

almost crashed completely because I had

so many tabs open and yeah turns out

that better help is actually a holy

owned subsidiary acquired by a company

called tedoc in 2015 tedoc is a publicly

traded company thankfully which means

they have to disclose financials so

theoretically I should be able to check

what's happening and Presto goes the

dynamite yes I can in the second quarter

of 20123 shortly after the closure of

care Dash which was funneling customers

directly to better help through a

multi-million dollar startup platform

and directly before they started

exponentially increasing their

advertising push on YouTube here T do

disclosed that betterhelp had roughly

476,000 paying users however in the

fourth quarter of 2023 as betterhelp is

approaching a 10 times higher amount of

advertising on YouTube again according

to research from the out loud group

teloc disclosed that the number of

paying users for the platform had

actually decreased to 425,000 that may

seem small but it's actually about

50,000 users and it's over 10% of their

entire customer base from from my

perspective based on the information

I've collected so far it seems like the

company is desperately trying to make up

for the loss of care Dash which was

benefiting them tremendously as a

primary user intake method through their

affiliate program despite not being

directly associated with better help as

a company and they're bleeding

subscribers every single day as they

funnel money back into YouTube hoping

that people have somehow forgotten who

they are that's my guess thankfully

there's a couple more pieces of the

puzzle here that tie everything together

quite nicely so yeah let's go over those

before doing a final summary in July of

2023 betterhelp was officially charged

and penalized for sharing Health

questionnaire answers and other data

with advertisers it's a poultry sum to

be completely honest 7 whatever million

dollars affected users of which there

are roughly 800,000 are getting less

than $10 each while the company seems to

spend more on YouTube advertising in a

single year than the entire fine

demanded that they pay but regardless it

gives a foot in the door to see what's

really going on quote despite

representing to Consumers that better

help would keep consumers information

private and only use their information

for non-advertising purposes better help

used and disclosed information obtained

from consumers through the intake

questionnaire and signup process for

advertising end quote so they lied about

the data policies told their user base

we won't use this information and then

turned around immediately and used it

for advertising awesome but it gets

better or it gets funnier maybe that's

probably the wrong word these are

serious topics I know but consider this

in 2018 CEO Alan Matas published a

medium post that said quote one of the

favorite conspiracy theories was that

our business model is selling data to

third parties this is such a far-fetched

conspiracy that I feel awkward

addressing it our model is simple

members pay a fee to get counseling

counselors are paid to provide

counseling we are in the counseling

business not in the data business there

is nothing we take more seriously than

the security and privacy of our members

it also goes without saying that

counseling is a strictly regulated space

and selling such data would be a gross

violation of federal laws state laws

Hipp regulations and our own terms and

privacy policy end quote okay conspiracy

theory hardly even worth responding to I

guess according to one of the founders

but from 2013 to 2020 according to the

now settled FTC investigation docket

c4795 the service was quote continually

breaking privacy promises monetizing

consumers health information to Target

them and others with advertisements for

the service for example from 2018 to

2020 respondent used these consumers

email addresses and the fact that they

had previously been in therapy to

instruct Facebook to identify similar

consumers and Target them with

advertisements for the service bringing

in tens of thousands of new paying users

and millions of dollars in Revenue as a

result end quote oopsy so better help is

growing just fine while ignoring basic

data protection and privacy but then

after the practice is discontinued and

after an openly criminal affiliate of

theirs no longer funnels patients to

them with fraudulent profiles that's

when they suddenly take a nose dive and

start hemorrhaging customers correlation

does not necessarily equal causation but

I mean come on it actually goes even

deeper according to an investigation by

Jezebel which monitored traffic from the

betterhelp application and then compared

some of it to Associated personal data

records from Facebook from the moment

the intake questionnaire was filled out

quote betterhelp began to silently slip

data to dozens of third parties

monitoring our Behavior online and

signaling to companies like Facebook

Google Snapchat and Pinterest that we

were considering better help treatment

further down quote during a session with

a therapist we found that metadata from

every message though not its contents

was also sent to the social media

company meaning that Facebook knew what

time of day we were going to therapy our

approximate location

and how long we were chatting on the app

when we asked about this directly

betterhelp declined to elaborate on why

a social media company needed to know

quite so much about when and how we were

asking for help details that were

connected to our Facebook profiles and

thus our identities end quot that's a

lot but let's do a summary here better

help a prominent and very prolific

YouTube sponsor in the 2018 years was

paying enormous affiliate fees and

raking in tens of thousands of users

until the community caught wind of what

they truly were and basically ousted

them in subsequent years they collected

data from their user base used and

distributed that data illegally to

advertise with social media companies

got caught for it and paid a fine while

also benefiting from the illegal traffic

of a multi-million dollar medical

startup that was impersonating

therapists the FTC busted them directly

for the data care Dash got taken down by

the FTC as well after a complaint by the

nasw and right after all of this happens

better help starts bleeding tens of

thousands of subscribers meanwhile they

start massively dialing up their YouTube

advertising campaigns including the

number of videos that they actively

sponsor because what time to try it all

again as if the YouTube Community isn't

going to remember who you are and what

you did on top of the other stuff you

just did in the meantime while trying to

make a comeback really that's the plan I

can't say for sure and I don't have

absolute certainty but what I see is a

company trying to weasle its way back

into the ecosystem and I'm not having it

please let people know please make other

creators aware that while sponsorships

are perfectly fine of course I do

understand people need money if they can

it's probably best to find a sponsor

that's a little bit more reputable than

better help because pretty much any

YouTube sponsor is more reputable than

better help I don't normally ask this

but please share the video around if you

want to support there's links down below

protect your data with incog kind of a

perfect sponsor for this one locals in

patreon for monthly memberships etc etc

but I'll cut it there and stop rambling

as always thank you all for watching

question everything and have a nice

night

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