The Federal Trade Commission is suing health giant Hims & Hers for allegedly sharing its customers’ medical and health information with advertisers and tech giants, such as Meta and Snap, as well as for misleading consumers about its privacy practices.

The lawsuit is the federal consumer watchdog’s latest crackdown in recent years against health care companies that share sensitive information with outside companies without their customers’ knowledge. Hims & Hers, now a publicly traded company, offers prescription medications for sexual wellness, mental health conditions, weight loss and other issues and, as such, handles a large amount of sensitive patient data.

Companies typically try to learn more about their customers by installing code on their websites to share user information with advertisers, such as Meta and Snap, who then use the data to provide information about who visits their websites and when.

In its complaint filed in federal court in California, the FTC alleged that Hims & Hers placed pixel-sized trackers provided by Meta, Snap, and other tech and advertising giants, including Microsoft, Pinterest, Reddit, and The FCC alleges that the company also used Meta tools to track user clicks and other actions that users took on its website.

The FTC also accused Hims & Hers of deceptive billing and creating policies that allegedly made it difficult for customers to cancel, in violation of federal consumer protection laws.

Hims & Hers did not explicitly deny the FTC’s claims in a statement on its website. The company stated that its privacy policy “makes clear” that users “can choose how their data is used” and said it is “confident” in its position. Hims & Hers said it plans to defend itself against the FTC’s allegations.

The FTC has already taken action against telehealth startup Cerebral, alcohol recovery provider Monument, as well as data giant GoodRx and therapy provider BetterHelp. These companies were similarly accused of sharing sensitive patient data through their websites with third-party advertisers and tech giants.

The use of pixel-sized trackers has previously revealed how people’s sensitive data is shared with the companies that provide the code, highlighting how misconfigurations can result in unwanted data collection.

In 2024, TechCrunch discovered that the US Postal Service was sharing registered users’ home addresses with Meta, LinkedIn, and Snap through the use of their pixel tracking code. The USPS removed the code shortly after.