GoodRx Leaked User Health Data to Facebook and Google, F.T.C. Says

The popular drug discount app deceptively shared details on users’ illnesses and medicines with ad firms, regulators said in a legal complaint.Send any friend a storyAs a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Anyone can read what you share.Millions of people have used GoodRx, a drug discount app, to search for lower prices on prescriptions.Credit…GoodRxBy Natasha SingerNatasha Singer, a tech reporter, has covered health privacy since 2010.Millions of Americans have used GoodRx, a drug discount app, to search for lower prices on prescriptions like antidepressants, H.I.V. medications and treatments for sexually transmitted diseases at their local drugstores. But U.S. regulators say the app’s coupons and convenience came at a high cost for users: wrongful disclosure of their intimate health information.On Wednesday, the Federal Trade Commission accused the app’s developer, GoodRx Holdings, of sharing sensitive personal data on millions of users’ prescription medications and illnesses with companies like Facebook and Google without authorization.The company’s information-sharing practices, the agency said, violated a federal rule requiring health apps and fitness trackers that collect personal health details to notify consumers of data breaches.While GoodRx agreed to settle the case, it said it disagreed with the agency’s allegations and admitted no
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