Tag: protect

How to protect your privacy when using online therapy apps : NPR

Shelia Pearson

Prospective users can take certain steps to ensure their data might be more protected when using online therapy apps, according to some experts.

Jenny Kane/AP


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Jenny Kane/AP

Prospective users can take certain steps to ensure their data might be more protected when using online therapy apps, according to some experts.

Jenny Kane/AP

Online therapy has become a booming industry in recent years, but with that growth comes questions about how well these types of companies are protecting the privacy of their patients.

Most recently, in June, Sens. Elizabeth Warren, Cory Booker and Ron Wyden asked two leading online therapy companies, BetterHelp and Talkspace, to provide information about how they handle user data and their privacy practices.

The Democratic senators said they were concerned that the companies could be leaving their patients “vulnerable to exploitation from large technology platforms and other online actors.”

BetterHelp markets itself as the world’s largest online therapy service with nearly 2 million users, according to its website. The company operates through thousands of therapists who can communicate with patients via phone, text or video chat.

But a 2020 investigation from Jezebel found that BetterHelp information was being shared with Facebook, including

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Congress ought to act to protect the long term of neighborhood journalism

Shelia Pearson

In 2022, with information from all over the planet available at the contact of a button, how do we stay educated about the events that are shaping our communities? Who is shining a spotlight on metropolis hall or informing our decisions at the polls? Who helps people when they are wronged or exposed to unsafe conditions in our neighborhoods? Who has educated the community through the COVID-19 pandemic, slash as a result of misinformation and assisted us remain nutritious? 

Broadcast Television set and radio stations, and the 1000’s of journalists they hire, are providing timely, trustworthy reporting on the problems influencing the locations in which we live, do the job, discover and increase our families.  

These journalists, take critically their perform and what it usually means to our nation. Inadequate neighborhood information has been linked to additional governing administration corruption, significantly less-competitive elections and weaker municipal finances. The deficiency of local news can put lives in hazard, fray the bonds of unity in our communities and weaken our democracy. 

Unfortunately — and alarmingly — the financial foundation of local journalism is less than assault.

Nearby broadcasters count on promoting, notably from smaller corporations, to finance very pricey news collecting operations.

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