Companion privacy notice
Mindhelpa Companion – Support for your mind, every day.
By Mindhelpa Clinical Team · Last updated: 31 October 2026
This notice explains what Companion (companion.mindhelpa.com) does with your information, and your rights. Companion is support for your wellbeing. It is not therapy, it doesn't diagnose, and it is not an emergency service.
Who we are
Companion is run by Mindhelpa Ltd, a company registered in England and Wales (company number 16592881), registered office Aacsl Accountants House Unit 9, Astra Centre, Edinburgh Way, Harlow, Essex, United Kingdom, CM20 2BN. We are the "controller" of your information. ICO registration number: ZC176673.
You can contact our Data Protection Officer (Data Protection Officer, Mindhelpa Ltd) at support@mindhelpa.com with the subject line "Data protection".
What we collect
When you create an account:
- your email address (you sign in with a link we email you, so there is no password);
- your date of birth (to check you are 18 or over);
- your part of the UK (so we can show you the right helplines);
- the name you'd like Companion to call you, if you give one;
- the choices you tick, with the date you ticked them.
When you use Companion:
- your chat messages and Companion's replies;
- your check-ins (mood, sleep, energy, stress, tags and any note);
- your safety plan;
- any screening results you choose to save, and screening reminders;
- what Companion remembers (see below).
To keep you safe: every message is checked automatically for signs that you might be at risk, so Companion can show you the right help. We keep a short safety record: the time, a risk level, the type of concern and which fixed message we showed. It never includes what you wrote. Messages over 4,000 characters aren't accepted and aren't stored. We only count how many there were each day.
Payments: Stripe takes your card details; we never see or store them. We keep your Stripe customer number and your subscription status (trial, active, cancelled and dates).
Running the service securely: a sign-in cookie; short-lived records used to stop abuse, such as too many sign-in attempts (these hold the email address or network address used and are deleted after 7 days); and a record of account actions, such as signing in, changing settings or deleting the account, which never includes your health information.
Free chat without an account
The free chat is not available at launch. Before we switch it on, we'll add a separate tick asking for your explicit consent, and update this notice. When it is available, you can try a short free chat before signing up. You don't need to give your name or email. You tick to confirm you're 18 or over. If you came from one of our screenings, we keep the topic of that screening (for example, anxiety) to start the chat, never your score. Your free chat messages are deleted within 24 hours unless you bring them into a new account.
If a message sent in the free chat shows someone might be at risk, we keep a scrambled version of the network address it was sent from, for safety. For the next 7 days, anyone using Companion on that network (for example, others on the same home, work or public Wi-Fi) sees safety information instead of paid offers. We don't store the address itself. The 7 days start again only if another free chat message from that network shows someone might be at risk. An hourly clean-up deletes the scrambled version within an hour after the 7 days end.
What Companion remembers
Companion keeps a memory so it can be more personal. It remembers notes you add yourself, such as your goals and what helps you. When memory is on, it also keeps short summaries of your past chats, written automatically by the AI. These can include your goals, what has helped you and things to follow up. Memory is on unless you turn it off. You can see it, delete it or turn it off at any time on the What Companion remembers page.
No one at Mindhelpa reads your chats as a matter of course. The only exception is if you choose to allow a Mindhelpa clinician to review flagged conversations for safety and quality. That is optional and off unless you tick it. This review service is not running yet; we will update this notice before it starts.
Why we use your information, and our lawful basis
- To provide Companion to you. This is our contract with you (UK GDPR Article 6(1)(b)). Your chats, check-ins, notes, safety plan, memory and screening results are health information. We use them only with your explicit consent (Article 9(2)(a)), which you give when you sign up. You can withdraw it at any time. Withdrawing it means we can't provide the service, so we'll offer you a copy of your data and then delete your account.
- To keep people safe. This covers checking messages for risk, keeping the safety record, and not showing paid offers to someone who may be at risk. These are our legitimate interests in protecting the people who use Companion (Article 6(1)(f)), and for account holders they are covered by your explicit consent. The free chat is not running yet; before it starts we'll ask free chat users for their explicit consent.
- To take payment and keep tax records: our contract with you and our legal obligations (Article 6(1)(b) and (c)).
- To keep the service secure and stop misuse: our legitimate interests (Article 6(1)(f)).
- Optional choices, each only if you tick it and only when the feature is running:
- a Mindhelpa clinician reviewing flagged conversations;
- using information with personal details removed to improve Companion;
- news and offers by email.
We don't sell your information. We don't use advertising trackers in Companion. Our emails never contain your health information. We don't make decisions about you that have legal or similar effects using automated means alone. The automatic safety check only changes what help and information we show you.
Who we share it with
We use these companies to run Companion. They act on our instructions under written contracts and can't use your information for their own purposes.
- Render hosts the app and database in Frankfurt, Germany (EU).
- Anthropic provides the AI that writes Companion's replies, checks messages for risk and writes memory summaries. To do this it receives:
- your message and recent conversation;
- your memory notes and summaries, if memory is on;
- your preferred name and part of the UK;
- the names and dates of screenings you saved, never your scores.
We contract with Anthropic Ireland, Limited, and Anthropic processes this information in the United States. We rely on the UK International Data Transfer Addendum to the EU standard contractual clauses in Anthropic's data processing terms. Anthropic's commercial terms don't allow it to train its models on what we send it. It deletes what we send through its API within 30 days, unless the law requires it to keep it longer or a message is flagged as breaking its usage policy (then up to 2 years). We never use your conversations to train AI models.
- Stripe handles payments and your subscription. It receives your email address and an account number, never health information. Stripe also uses some information as a separate controller to prevent fraud and meet its legal duties (see Stripe's privacy policy).
- Resend sends our emails, such as sign-in links, trial reminders and payment problems. It receives your email address. Your email address may be processed in the US under the UK Addendum.
We may also share information if the law requires it, for example with a court or regulator.
How long we keep it
- Chat transcripts: 90 days by default, or 12 months if you choose that on your Account page. You can also choose not to save them. A daily clean-up deletes transcripts older than your chosen period, even if you stop chatting. Choosing "Don't save" deletes your saved transcripts straight away.
- Memory notes and chat summaries: until you delete them, turn memory off, or delete your account.
- Check-ins, safety plan, saved screening results and reminders: while your account is open. They are deleted straight away when you delete your account.
- Safety records (time, risk level, type of concern and which fixed message was shown, never what you wrote): 3 years, then deleted by the daily clean-up. If you delete your account, these records are no longer linked to you.
- Free chat: deleted within 24 hours unless you bring it into your account. The scrambled network address is kept for 7 days, as explained above.
- Records used to stop abuse: 7 days.
- Record of account actions: 2 years. After you delete your account it keeps only a scrambled reference, not your email.
- Billing records: kept by Stripe for 6 years, because tax law requires it.
- Backups: deleted after 30 days.
Cookies
We use a few cookies:
| Cookie | Why | How long |
|---|---|---|
| Sign-in cookie | Keeps you signed in | Up to 30 days (14 days if you're inactive) |
| Free chat cookie | Keeps your free chat going | 23 hours |
Each of these is needed for Companion to work, or simply remembers your choice.
If a free chat message suggests someone might be at risk, we put a small cookie on that browser for 30 days so it isn't shown prices or paid offers; it holds no personal details, isn't used for tracking, and is strictly necessary for safety, so we don't ask for consent for it.
Keeping your information secure
- Your information is encrypted while it travels (TLS) and where it's stored.
- Your messages, notes, memory, screening results and safety plan also get an extra layer of encryption, using a key unique to you. When you delete your account, that key is destroyed.
- Your check-in scores and tags are protected by our host's storage encryption, but not by this extra layer.
- Sign-in links work once and expire after 15 minutes.
Your rights
You have the right to:
- see your information and get a copy;
- correct it;
- delete it;
- restrict or object to how we use it;
- take it to another service;
- withdraw your consent at any time.
On your Account page you can:
- download all your data at any time, with or without a subscription;
- delete your account and data straight away. This also cancels your subscription;
- choose how long we keep your chat transcripts.
You can manage memory on the What Companion remembers page. For anything else, including withdrawing an optional consent, email our Data Protection Officer at support@mindhelpa.com with the subject line "Data protection". We'll reply within one month.
If you're unhappy with how we've handled your information, please tell us. You can also complain to the Information Commissioner's Office: ico.org.uk or 0303 123 1113.
Age
Companion is for adults aged 18 and over. If you're under 18, Childline is free and there 24/7 on 0800 1111. If the date of birth given at sign-up is under 18, we delete the account straight away and keep only a scrambled marker for 24 hours to stop an immediate retry. If something in a chat suggests you might be under 18, Companion pauses until you confirm your age.
Changes to this notice
We'll update this notice when how we use information changes, and tell you by email or in the app before any important change.
Urgent help
Companion is an AI, not a doctor and not a crisis service. In an emergency call 999.
Across the UK:
If you're in immediate danger or can't keep yourself safe, call 999 or go to A&E.
For urgent mental health help in England, Wales or Scotland, call 111 (in England choose the mental health option, in Wales press 2, in Scotland choose the mental health option). In Northern Ireland, call Lifeline on 0808 808 8000.
Samaritans: call 116 123. It's free, any time, day or night.
Text SHOUT to 85258 for free text support, 24/7.
In Northern Ireland:
If you're in immediate danger or can't keep yourself safe, call 999 or go to A&E.
Lifeline: call 0808 808 8000. It's free, 24/7, for every age in Northern Ireland, and translators are available. Textphone: 18001 0808 808 8000 (Relay UK app). BSL and ISL: SignVideo app.
Samaritans: call 116 123. It's free, any time, day or night.
You can also contact your GP, or, when your surgery is closed, your local GP out-of-hours service.
Text SHOUT to 85258 for free text support, 24/7.