AIBU for shocked at how this was handled.

[user1471473917]

Hi. Im new to posting here. Opinions please on the following situation, especially those who work in this industry or how you would have felt if you were the client in this instance. What your expectations would be if this happened to you...

I signed up for group online sessions with a Life coach. Its in the contract that the Coach shares snippets of the Zoom sessions on their social media. The snippets are mainly of powerpoint/coach speaking, but also sharing client's voices if they consent.

Early one morning I saw on her socials..One of the story reels showed a bit from our session, but clients full names and what they had typed in the chat box during Zoom session were visible!!(eg how they felt about a personal isssue)

I immediately text the Life coach and politely made them aware that the names including mine were visible and asked she remove them.

She did not respond, at all. Four days later in the next live session I asked had she received my Message, she apologised that if had been a testing time in her personal life. However in this time she was still very active posting promo material on her socials.
So even after bringing it up she didn't message me to acknowledge my message at all or confirm it had been removed.

The most oncerning thing...she only replied to me 3 weeks later when I escalated it. Then she said it was only visible for a short reel and 'eventually removed'.
Im not sure how daily stories work on Instagram but it was not removed 10 hours later.

Im so shocked, this coach works with vulnerable woman, yet when I politely brought to her attention a human error she made which showed peoples names, she totally ignored my message.

With no professional body for Life Coaches, how can this be reported and to who?

Nobody? Who do you think could do anything about this? Life coaching is dodgy at the best of times, group life coaching is unfathomable. Write her an honest review online and draw a line.

Write her an honest review online and draw a line.

This. And be more careful about sharing personal information in the future.

"With no professional body for Life Coaches, how can this be reported and to who?"

I hate to rain on your parade but the answer I suspect is "no-one".

Counsellors have BACP - British Association for Counselling and Pyschotherapy but I don't know about Life Coaches.

YANBU for being pissed off. I would now be very careful about what you say in these sessions, which means you aren’t getting the full benefit of the coaching! Leave an honest review.

What do you think there is to report?

Life coaches are completely unregulated and anyone can set up. I only know one life coach and there is absolutely no way she should be coaching anyone (but she has clients 🤔). To be honest any coach who says they film bits and will put any of it on social media even if it’s only them taking is not really on - I Don’t know why anyone would even be ok with this.

Yeah sorry, this

A life coach - isnt that what the people on tiktok begging for gifts call themselves? 😬😬

She might not have actually been actively posting like you say she was, posts can be scheduled to post automatically.

Their attitude to confidentiality? Yes teh initial breech with sharing client's names could be put down to human error but the refusal to remove it once notified and the complete lack of acknowledging the message that Informed them.

But they can have whatever attitude they like - you weren't speaking to any kind of registered professional with a code of ethics, they're just a stranger who's decided to call themselves a "life coach" to earn money off gullible people.

You’d be better off with ChatGPT than a life coach 😂

most life coaches have little training and are not regulated.

I would not have spoken openly to someone who said they’d put snippets on social media.

have you checked her qualifications?

nobody to complain to unfortunately so if do as others have said and leave a review so that others are aware. Then leave.

I assuming you're not going back?

You can report it to the ICO here:

https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint/

If she's collecting data about her clients at all - even names and addresses - as well as recording and sharing content from sessions with clients' consent on social media, then she needs to be registered with the ICO and she needs to have an up to date policy for data collection and data breach complaints process.

I run a private practice and the ICO have announced that all businesses need to update their data use, access and complaints policies to bring in line with the new data law that comes into place on the 19th June.

Even if she's not registered with them you can still complain and they'll contact her.

I don’t think there’s much you can, except a) never agreeing to social media promos and b) realising life coaches are quacks.

You might as well attend a church or something. Same thing, significantly cheaper.

Here to second the poster above and say you can report to the ICO.

I would report to the Information Commissioners office as a data breach. I'm not sure if self-employed people are required to be registered with them, but it would be the only possible organisation to report them to.

Anyone can call themselves a life coach, can't they? There's no regulatory body as far as I know. Did you sign anything about her posting details of sessions on her social media?

Sole traders of any profession in any industry need to be registered with ICO too if they collect any data of any type at all. Even if it's just their customers' names and addresses.

Life coaches are absolute snake oil charlatans who prey on vulnerable people and would not be missed if AI wiped them out.

Life coaches are professional scammers. Most of them used to be MLM hunbots and just use the same predatory methods. They can't actually improve your life. They're just out to rinse you.

You can’t do anything.

Have you not seen the news the last few weeks where sleep coaches have given advice where babies have died.

The wile industry is unregulated. I would focus on improving your situation and getting proper support and learning a lesson on the importance of qualifications and regulation.

Hope you get what you need

Do you have any kind of contract stating what she is doing with your information or whether these sessions are confidential?

Looks like this “life coach” just taught you a “life lesson”.

They are frauds OP, don’t fall for another one.

This isn't true. If you only collect data for your own business records you don't need to register.