Headway class action claims platform shares user information with third parties

Headway data privacy class action lawsuit overview: 

• Who: A plaintiff going by M.G. has filed a class action lawsuit against Therapymatch Inc. d/b/a Headway. 
• Why: M.G. claims Headway discloses and shares its website users’ private and personal information with Google without the users’ knowledge or consent. 
• Where: The class action lawsuit was filed in the Superior Court for the State of California. 

Therapist aggregator Headway discloses and shares the private and personal information — including sensitive medical information — of its website users with Google, without its users’ consent, a new class action lawsuit alleges. 

Plaintiff M.G. claims Therapymatch, which does business as Headway, is aiding and abetting an unauthorized effort by Google to intercept, record, collect, and use the “highly personal and confidential” data and communications of California residents. 

M.G. argues Headway, which markets itself as a software-enabled network of therapists, defies a “reasonable expectation” from its users that their interactions and communications will be kept private and confidential. 

“Unbeknownst to individuals using the Headway platform, Google Analytics code is embedded into the Headway website,” the Headway class action states. 

M.G. wants to represent a class of California residents who visited and used Headway’s website and subsequently had their health information or other private data intercepted by or disclosed to Google via its tracking technology. 

Headway lets Google ‘eavesdrop upon’ website visitors, says class action

M.G. argues Headway allowed Google to use its allegedly embedded tracking technology to “intercept, eavesdrop upon, and collect Headway website users’ sensitive information” in real time, without their knowledge or consent. 

“Headway’s unauthorized disclosure of Plaintiff’s and Class members’ personal identifying information and private and sensitive health information, all without adequate notification to Plaintiff and Class members regarding that data sharing, is an invasion of Plaintiff s and Class members’ privacy,” the Headway class action states.

M.G. claims Headway is in violation of California’s Confidentiality of Medical Information Act, the California Consumer Privacy Act, the California Invasion of Privacy Act, and the right to privacy under the California Constitution. 

The plaintiff is demanding a jury trial and requesting declaratory relief along with an award of statutory and compensatory damages for himself and all class members. 

In a different therapy-related complaint, a class action lawsuit was filed against Talkspace Inc. earlier this year by a consumer arguing the online and mobile therapy company will accept new patients without having enough therapists to meet the demand. 

Have you visited and used Headway’s website from within the state of California? Let us know in the comments! 

The plaintiff is represented by Eric A. Grover and Rachael G. Jung of Keller Grover LLP, Scot Bernstein of the Law Offices of Scot D. Bernstein, APC, and Don Bivens of Don Bivens, PLLC. 

The Headway data privacy class action lawsuit is M.G. v. Therapymatch Inc. d/b/a Headway, et al., Case No. 3:23-cv-04422, in the Superior Court for the State of California. 

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