Comment by jameslk | Hacker News Reader

Comment by jameslk | Hacker News Reader

I'm curious to hear more about the privacy and security practices of a service where you divulge your deepest darkest secret: that you're living with a disorder. Something that unscrupulous potential employers or others with nefarious intentions (e.g. bullies on the internet) can abuse.

The privacy policy on the website doesn't exactly fill me with "this is HIPAA levels of privacy" feelings. It seems rather generic with the typical "marketing information we collect" type of language, and a dearth of information around data protection, but I'm no expert in this stuff: https://www.shimmer.care/privacy

If I'm using this service, talking about all my goals, plans, challenges, shortcomings, being vulnerable, all over video, how do I know that it's protected? What protections are in place to know any video calls are secure and not going to be leaked on e.g. TikTok?

I know how hard it is to run a startup and get all the compliance checkboxes checked. I'm rooting for services like these instead of drugs or other worse alternatives being pushed. I just think if you're in the health space, this is a rather important thing to get right!

Thanks and agree on protecting our members and their private conversations. Right now, we use Google Meet videos for the video sessions with a coach and so they are encrypted end-to-end and not recorded. We also don’t store any information from the google meet session in our platform. We can definitely include this in our privacy policy and will look into how to make this more transparent with regards to our data policies. We will be building out video functionality in the near future and our privacy policies including opt-out etc will be included.

If you're curious, might I suggest directing these questions toward the email address referenced multiple times in the link you posted? In case you've forgotten, it's privacy@shimmer.care. I'm sure they'll be able to answer your questions better than the comments section.

Keep in mind that not everyone considers their ADHD their "deepest darkest secret." Some of us are open and unashamed of being neurodivergent. Obviously, unscrupulous employers are a thing, but many of us would be "found out" from our social media presence long before employers managed to find out we're receiving coaching services from Shimmer. As for having your calls leaked on tiktok due to lack of security, I regret to inform you that there are lots of ways to record "secure" calls (like taking a video of the screen). Recording someone without their consent in some states, so it's always possible that you could be putting yourself at risk when you divulge anything sensitive to anyone via video or phone. Think about it, though. What would happen to Shimmer if they leaked a user's private call on tiktok? Their business would lose legitimacy and crumble. If you're truly concerned that Shimmer would risk destroying their entire business by leaking your "shortcomings" on tiktok, in-person coaching may be a better fit for you.

It still seems like useful feedback that this is something some people might find concerning.

We're getting complaints about your comments because some readers are interpreting them as suspiciously pro-OP. I assume you're just expressing your personal point of view but it would be good to pull back a bit because it's coming across the wrong way.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com