Hims & Hers Under Fire: Five More States Join Federal Crackdown Over Alleged Privacy Violations

The Federal Trade Commission and regulators across seven states expanded their legal offensive against Hims and Hers Inc. (NYSE:HIMS), alleging the telehealth provider unlawfully exposed sensitive patient health data and trapped hundreds of thousands of consumers in deceptive prescription subscriptions.

The amended complaint, authorized by a 2-0 FTC vote and filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, adds Arizona, Florida, Nebraska, Ohio and Wisconsin as co-plaintiffs.

These states join Utah and California, acting through the Los Angeles County Counsel, building upon initial allegations filed in July.

Regulators assert that Hims breached the FTC Act, the Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act and multiple state consumer protection statutes through unauthorized billing and deceptive privacy pledges.

Deceptive Prescriptions And Blocked Cancellations

According to regulators, Hims advertises that users can consult medical providers free of charge to determine suitable treatments.

In practice, the platform enrolls users in recurring subscriptions and charges them almost immediately after receiving their medical intake forms, denying them any meaningful opportunity to review or authorize recommended treatments.

Despite receiving consumer complaints for years, Hims maintained refund policies that systematically blocked reimbursements for unwanted charges, even before shipping the medications.

The company also conceals recurring refill dates, causing customers to miss cancellation deadlines and pay for unrequested medications.

Furthermore, regulators allege Hims deliberately refused to implement simple cancellation mechanisms because its own internal research showed straightforward cancellations would materially harm its bottom line.

Health Data Shared With Advertisers

The amended complaint also targets the company’s data practices. While Hims assured consumers that its platform offers a “100% online, private, and secure” process where only medical providers access sensitive health information, regulators argue the company broke those promises to expand corporate revenue.

Instead, Hims allegedly shared the private health information of millions of consumers—including records of patients seeking treatment for erectile dysfunction and mental illness—with third-party advertising platforms, including Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) and Snap Inc. (NYSE:SNAP).

HIMS Price Action: Hims & Hers Health shares were up 4.99% at $20.08 at the time of publication on Wednesday, according to Benzinga Pro data.

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