Hims & Hers isn’t just facing scrutiny. It’s facing a lawsuit from the Federal Trade Commission that paints the telehealth giant in a very unflattering light.
The FTC, joined by Utah and California, filed this on July 29. Their claim? Hims & Hills misled customers. They also sold sensitive patient data to major tech players. Specifically, Meta and Snap.
This comes after a years-long investigation. The regulator says the company shared patient names and site behavior logs. This happened despite promises to keep that data private. According to the FTC, this violates the FTC Act and the Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act.
The data sharing is only half the story. The billing practices are equally troubling.
The lawsuit alleges the platform deceives users about cancellations. Making it hard to quit subscriptions is one thing. But charging for prescriptions before a doctor even reviews your info is another.
Here’s the pattern the FTC describes: users fill out intake forms. Then they get hit with charges. This happens before any actual medical consultation takes place. Many patients assume they won’t pay until a physician approves the plan. Hims & Hers allegedly knows better.
The context here matters. In 2024, the FTC pushed “Click to Cancel” rules. The goal was simple. Let users stop charges with one click. Telecommunications companies hated this. They argued the agency was overreaching. A U.S. Appeals Court eventually vacated that ruling last year. So Hims & Hers likely feels emboldened. Or perhaps just reckless.
Why GLP-1s and Hims & Hers are at the center of this dispute
This legal battle doesn’t exist in a vacuum. Hims & Hers has been under fire for months. Lawmakers and big pharma have targeted them.
Consider their 2025 Super Bowl commercial. The ad criticized the profit motives behind GLP-1 weight loss drugs. It drew threats of litigation. The irony is thick.
Hims & Hers makes billions selling these very drugs. But they market them differently. They claim to be affordable alternatives to mainstream GLP-1s. They call them direct-to-consumer options. Critics say they run a gray market. They argue the manufacturing processes aren’t FDA-approved.
The company stakes its entire future on this niche. They are betting on consumers wanting access without the gatekeepers. The FTC says they are instead gatekeeping the truth about costs and privacy.
Hims & Hers denies everything
How does a company respond to a federal lawsuit like this?
They call it a headache. They call it a target.
In a press release, Hims & Hers pushed back hard. They argued the FTC ignored existing state laws. They said the agency disregarded industry standards. The message was clear: this isn’t about consumer protection. It’s about headlines.
“This is not enforcement grounded in consumer protection,” the company stated. “It is an effort to generate headlines at ourexpense.”
The FTC disagrees. They see a pattern of deception. They see a company that collects your data and sells it while charging you for drugs you haven’t even spoken to a doctor about.
The outcome remains uncertain. Appeals courts have already clashed with the FTC on cancellation rules. The data privacy claims are newer, less tested in this specific context. Hims & Hills has billions invested in their GLP-1 line. They won’t give up that ground quietly.
But the filing changes the conversation. It moves the issue from customer complaints to federal enforcement. The question now isn’t just if Hims & Hers sold data. It’s what happens when the regulator decides the current rules aren’t enough to protect patients who just wanted a simple prescription.
