Is Telehealth Private and Secure? What to Know

How your information is protected

Legitimate virtual care platforms use encrypted connections so your conversation and records cannot be intercepted, and they store health information in line with Canadian and provincial privacy legislation. Clinicians are bound by the same confidentiality obligations online as they are in a clinic.

What you can do on your end

Take your visit somewhere private where you will not be overheard. Use your own device rather than a shared or public one, keep it updated, and protect it with a passcode. Be cautious about public Wi-Fi for sensitive conversations; a home connection or mobile data is safer.

Questions worth asking

It is reasonable to ask any virtual provider how your data is stored, who can access it, and how to request your records. Transparency about these answers is a sign of a trustworthy service.

What the law requires in Canada

Privacy in Canadian health care is not optional — it is legislated. The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada explains that organizations must collect, use, and disclose personal information only by fair and lawful means, with consent, for stated and reasonable purposes, and must protect it with appropriate security and destroy it when no longer needed. New Brunswick has its own health-information privacy legislation recognized as substantially similar, governing how health information custodians handle your records.

How secure virtual care protects you

Reputable platforms apply these obligations in practice: encrypted connections so conversations cannot be intercepted, access restricted to authorized clinicians and staff, and secure storage. Your health information is confidential and is not shared with your employer. The same duty of confidentiality a clinician owes you in an exam room applies on a video call.

Protecting your own privacy

You can add a layer of protection. Take your visit somewhere private where you will not be overheard, use your own device rather than a shared or public one, keep it updated and passcode-protected, and prefer a home or mobile-data connection over public Wi-Fi. The Privacy Commissioner's guide for individuals offers further practical steps. It is always reasonable to ask a provider how your data is stored, who can access it, and how to request your own records — transparency is a hallmark of a trustworthy service.

Your rights over your own information

Canadian privacy law gives you meaningful rights. Under the principles the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada describes, organizations may collect only the personal information they reasonably need, must explain why, and must obtain your consent. You are entitled to ask why information is being requested and to question how it will be used. You also generally have the right to access your own records and to ask that errors be corrected.

In the health context, New Brunswick's own health-information legislation adds specific protections for records held by health-information custodians. Together with federal law, this creates a framework where your health data is handled under clear, enforceable rules rather than at a company's discretion.

Practical habits for private visits

Technology is only as private as the setting you use it in. Take health visits in a room where you will not be overheard, especially for sensitive topics. Use a device that only you control, lock it with a passcode, and keep its software updated so security fixes are in place. Favour your home internet or mobile data over public Wi-Fi, which is easier to snoop on.

Be thoughtful about where records and messages live afterward, too. Log out on shared devices, use strong unique passwords for any health portal, and review the Privacy Commissioner guide for individuals for more tips. These small habits, combined with a platform's built-in protections, keep your care genuinely confidential.

Questions worth asking any virtual-care provider

Trustworthy services welcome scrutiny, so it is entirely reasonable to ask pointed questions before or during a visit. Useful ones include: How is my information stored, and is it encrypted? Who can access my records, and under what circumstances? Is any part of the visit recorded, and if so, why and for how long is it kept? How do I request a copy of my own records or ask for a correction? Is my information ever shared with third parties, and if so, with whom and for what purpose? A provider that answers these clearly and without defensiveness is demonstrating the transparency that underpins genuine trust.

These questions are not just good practice — they map directly onto your legal rights. The principles described by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada require organizations to be accountable for the information they hold, to limit collection to what is necessary, to obtain consent, and to safeguard data appropriately. New Brunswick's own health-information legislation adds protections specific to health records held by custodians. Together, these mean you are not relying on goodwill alone; there is an enforceable framework behind your privacy. Pairing that framework with sensible personal habits — private space, your own updated device, a secure connection, and strong passwords as outlined in the Privacy Commissioner guide for individuals — gives you both institutional and personal layers of protection. The result is that a virtual visit can be every bit as confidential as a conversation in a closed exam room, which is exactly as it should be for something as personal as your health.

The bottom line on privacy

Privacy is not a reason to avoid virtual care — it is one of its strengths when the service is reputable. Your health information is protected by a genuine legal framework: the federal principles described by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada and New Brunswick's own health-information legislation set enforceable rules for how your data is collected, used, safeguarded, and accessed. Encrypted connections, restricted access, and confidentiality obligations mean a virtual visit can be as private as a closed exam room.

You also have an active role and real rights. Taking visits in a private space, using your own updated, passcode-protected device, and favouring a secure connection over public Wi-Fi all add personal layers of protection. And you are entitled to ask how your information is stored, who can access it, and how to obtain or correct your records — questions a trustworthy provider answers transparently, as the Privacy Commissioner guide for individuals encourages. Combining institutional safeguards with sensible habits gives you confident, confidential care, so privacy concerns never have to stand between you and getting help.

Frequently asked questions

References (Canadian sources)

The following Canadian public-health and clinical sources informed this article. They are provided for education and do not replace personalized medical advice.

1. PIPEDA requirements in brief — Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada
2. A Guide for Individuals: Protecting Your Privacy — Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada
3. Virtual care — Government of New Brunswick