About this site, and how the chat works

What the chat assistant is

It answers questions about whether to see a therapist and how to get one. It can point you to the pages on this site and to outside resources.

What it is not

It is not a therapist, a crisis line, or a substitute for either. It will not process feelings with you, offer coping strategies, or keep a conversation going past the point where the useful answer is “talk to a professional.” Conversations are capped in length for that reason.

Privacy

• No account, no email, no name. Each conversation gets a random ID that isn’t linked to you.
• We do not store your IP address. A one-way hash of it, with a key that rotates daily, is used only to limit abuse.
• Conversations are stored for a short period and reviewed, anonymously, to check that the assistant is staying within its scope and handling safety situations correctly. That review is the whole point of storing them.
• If the assistant detects that you may be in crisis, it stops and shows you the crisis page. That event is logged so we can check it worked.