Can I look for a therapist without anyone knowing?

A: Yes — but know where searches leak. Many health and directory sites run ad pixels that report page visits (including pages like "depression therapists near me") to ad platforms tied to your identity; that's how the BetterHelp FTC case → happened. The clean-search basics: don't use a work device or work network, use private browsing if you share a computer, and prefer sites that state — and mean — no trackers. (This site runs no ad pixels and sells no data; our aggregate measurement honors your browser's privacy signals and is excluded entirely from the self-check tool — how we measure →.)

Worked example: browsing therapist profiles on a pixel-laden site → "interested in mental health services" joins your ad profile. The ads you see later are the receipt.

Do this: search from a personal device, and once you've found someone, contact them by personal email or phone. The search method →

Source: FTC v. BetterHelp (2023) — ftc.gov.