Is BODi by Beachbody Sharing Your Data with Facebook? Attorneys Investigate Suspected Privacy Violations

Attorneys working with ClassAction.org suspect that the company behind BODi—Beachbody, LLC—may have violated the federal Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA) by sharing consumers’ private information without permission and are now looking into possible legal action. 

Specifically, they believe that Beachbody.com and the BODi app may be using a tracking tool to secretly transmit details about certain users and the videos they’ve watched to Facebook. This data may tie a user’s watch history to their Facebook ID, a unique identifier that can be used to match the individual to their Facebook profile.

How Could BODi Be Sharing Data with Facebook?

Many website and app operators gather data about users through invisible tracking tools that operate in the background of their websites and apps.

These tools can be programmed to record every action a user takes, including the buttons they click, the searches they perform and the content they view—and this data can then be shared with Facebook and other third parties for advertising purposes.

In the case of BODi by Beachbody, attorneys are specifically looking into whether the health platform is tracking information about members who stream workout videos on the BODi app and Beachbody.com.

The attorneys believe that the company may be sharing details about users’ watch histories with Facebook along with each person’s Facebook ID. A Facebook ID is a unique identifier linked to an individual’s Facebook profile and could potentially be used to match up a specific person with their video viewing behavior.

It’s believed that BODi’s suspected data sharing practices may violate the federal Video Privacy Protection Act, which prohibits “video tape service providers” from disclosing to third parties any information that identifies the video materials a person has requested or watched without their consent.

Is This a Lawsuit? What Am I Signing Up For, Exactly?

You are not signing up for a lawsuit, but rather a process known as mass arbitration. This is a relatively new legal technique that, like a class action lawsuit, allows a large group of people to take action and seek compensation from a company over an alleged wrongdoing. Here is a quick explanation of mass arbitration from our blog:

[M]ass arbitration occurs when hundreds or thousands of consumers file individual arbitration claims against the same company over the same issue at the same time. The aim of a mass arbitration proceeding is to grant relief on a large scale (similar to a class action lawsuit) for those who sign up.”

BODi’s terms of use contain both a class action waiver and an arbitration clause requiring customers to resolve disputes via arbitration, a form of alternative dispute resolution that takes place outside of court before a neutral arbitrator, as opposed to a judge or jury.  

It’s for this reason that attorneys working with ClassAction.org have decided to handle this matter as a mass arbitration rather than a class action lawsuit.

How Much Does This Cost?

It costs nothing to sign up, and you’ll only need to pay if the attorneys win money on your behalf. Their payment will come as a percentage of your award.

If they don’t win your claim, you don’t pay.

How Much Money Could I Get?

There are no guarantees as to how much money you could get or whether your claim will be successful. The VPPA, however, provides that companies may be responsible for paying consumers $2,500 for violations of the law.

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