Our policies
Full transparency matters. Here is how we operate, protect your data, and keep everyone safe.
Scope of Service (Listening Service Only)
EntalWell operates solely as a Mental Health Listening Service. Our role is to provide a safe, respectful, and non-judgemental space where individuals can talk openly and feel heard.
We do not provide counselling, psychotherapy, medical care, crisis intervention, diagnosis, treatment, or any form of professional mental health advice. Our listeners are not acting as healthcare professionals and must not present themselves as therapists, counsellors, psychologists, psychiatrists, or medical practitioners unless they hold the appropriate qualifications and are acting within that professional role.
The service is limited to:
- Active listening
- Emotional support through conversation
- Empathy and reassurance
- Providing a safe space for people to express their feelings
- Signposting users to appropriate professional or emergency services where necessary
The service must not:
- Diagnose mental or physical health conditions
- Recommend or advise on medication or treatment
- Tell users what decisions they should make
- Provide therapy or counselling
- Replace professional healthcare or emergency services
If you appear to be in immediate danger or experiencing a mental health crisis, our listeners will not attempt to manage the situation. They will encourage you to contact the appropriate emergency or professional support services, such as local emergency services, NHS 111, a GP, or a local mental-health crisis team (or, if you are outside the UK, your equivalent local services — for example 988 or 911 in the US).
All descriptions of EntalWell on this website and in our promotional materials accurately reflect that we offer emotional support through active listening only, and that EntalWell is not a regulated healthcare provider.
Privacy Policy
EntalWell is committed to protecting your privacy. We collect only the personal data required to run our free listening service.
What we collect: Your name, email address, and (optionally) any information you share during a chat session. All chat messages are stored in an encrypted-at-rest database to allow you and your volunteer listener to reference past sessions.
Technical & location data (safeguarding basis). When you register, sign in or start a chat, EntalWell captures your IP address and derives an approximate location (country, region, city, timezone, ISP) from it. This information is stored on your account and is visible to trained volunteer listeners and to the Superadmin.
- Why: so a listener can direct you to the correct emergency or professional service if there is risk to life or wellbeing (e.g., 999 in the UK, 911 or 988 in the US).
- Legal basis: UK GDPR Art. 6(1)(d) vital interests, and Art. 6(1)(f) legitimate interests in safeguarding.
- Who can see it: trained volunteer listeners assigned to a chat, and the Superadmin. It is never shared publicly and never used for marketing, profiling, or analytics.
- Retention: deleted alongside the rest of your account data (see Retention below).
Legal basis (UK GDPR Art. 6): We process personal data on the basis of your explicit consent (Art. 6(1)(a)) and, where safeguarding requires it, on the basis of vital interests (Art. 6(1)(d)).
Special-category data: Any information you disclose about your mental or physical health is Special Category data under UK GDPR Art. 9. We rely on Art. 9(2)(a) — your explicit consent — and Art. 9(2)(h) where necessary for the provision of health or social care.
Data controller: EntalWell (UK). Contact: privacy@entalwell.org.
Your rights: Under UK GDPR you have the right to access, rectify, erase, restrict, and port your data, and to object to processing. Contact privacy@entalwell.org to exercise these.
Retention: Chat records are retained for 24 months from your last activity, after which they are automatically deleted unless a safeguarding case is open.
International transfers: We store data in the UK and EEA. Any transfer outside these regions occurs only under UK-adequacy or the ICO-approved International Data Transfer Agreement.
Terms & Conditions
By creating an EntalWell account you agree to the following terms.
1. Not an emergency service. EntalWell provides emotional listening support only. If you are in immediate danger, call 999. For urgent emotional crisis, call Samaritans on 116 123 or NHS 111.
2. No medical advice. Our volunteers are not clinicians. Nothing shared on EntalWell constitutes medical, psychiatric, or legal advice.
3. Age. You must be 16 years or older to create an account. EntalWell is not available to under-16s.
4. Respectful conduct. Abusive, threatening, discriminatory or sexually explicit communication towards volunteers is grounds for immediate account termination.
5. Confidentiality & safeguarding. Volunteers keep chats confidential, except where safeguarding of you, a child, or a vulnerable adult is at risk — in which case we may share information with the appropriate authorities (see Safeguarding Policy).
6. Free service. EntalWell will never charge you. Anyone claiming to represent EntalWell and asking for payment is not us — please report to abuse@entalwell.org.
7. Account security. You are responsible for keeping your account credentials safe.
8. Termination. You may delete your account at any time from your dashboard. We may suspend accounts for breach of these terms.
9. Governing law. These terms are governed by the laws of England & Wales.
10. Changes. We may update these terms; material changes will be notified via email.
UK GDPR Compliance Statement
EntalWell processes personal data in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018.
Data Protection Officer: dpo@entalwell.org.
Data Subject Access Requests (DSAR): Email dpo@entalwell.org with proof of identity. We respond within one calendar month.
Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA): A DPIA is maintained for our live chat service and reviewed annually.
Breach reporting: We report any personal-data breach affecting the rights and freedoms of data subjects to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) within 72 hours.
ICO complaints: You may complain to the ICO at any time via ico.org.uk.
Records of processing (Art. 30): Available on request from the DPO.
Sub-processors: MongoDB Atlas (UK region), transactional email providers (UK/EEA). A current list is available from the DPO.
Safeguarding Policy
EntalWell takes safeguarding seriously.
Volunteer responsibility: All volunteers are DBS-checked and receive safeguarding training covering child protection, suicide risk, and vulnerable adults.
Risk to life: If a volunteer believes there is an immediate risk to your life or someone else's, they may — with or without your consent — contact emergency services (999) and share what is necessary to keep you safe.
Children and young people: If a child (under 18) discloses harm, we follow statutory guidance under Working Together to Safeguard Children (2018) and refer to local authority Children's Social Care.
Vulnerable adults: We follow the Care Act 2014 duties to refer where there is reasonable cause to suspect abuse or neglect.
Reporting concerns: safeguarding@entalwell.org. Anonymous concerns are welcome.
Prevent duty: EntalWell complies with the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015 Prevent duty and will refer where appropriate.
Client Consent Statement (Crisis-Safe Onboarding)
Before opening a chat, every client is asked to confirm:
- I understand EntalWell is not an emergency service.
- I understand my volunteer counsellor is a trained listener, not a clinician.
- I consent to my messages being stored securely (UK GDPR Art. 9(2)(a)).
- I understand that in the case of imminent risk, EntalWell may contact emergency services.
- I have read the Terms & Conditions and the Privacy Policy.
You can withdraw consent at any time by deleting your account. Withdrawal does not affect the lawfulness of processing already carried out.