Privacy Policy

1. Who we are

HelpFound is an online emotional support and guided self-help platform. Our AI companion Catherine provides calm, non-judgemental support to help people feel heard and take positive next steps. HelpFound is operated from the United Kingdom. For data purposes, HelpFound is the data controller.

2. What data we collect

• Account information: your email address and password when you register.
• Profile information: your subscription plan (Basic or Premium) and account preferences.
• Conversation data: the messages you send to and receive from Catherine.
• Payment information: if you subscribe to Premium, payment is processed securely by Stripe. We do not store your card details.
• Usage data: information about how you use HelpFound, including pages visited and features used.
• Technical data: your IP address, browser type and device information.

3. How we use your data

• To provide and improve the HelpFound service and Catherine's responses.
• To manage your account and subscription.
• To process payments securely via Stripe.
• To send you account-related communications such as confirmation emails.
• To monitor for safety and ensure appropriate use of the platform.
• To comply with our legal obligations.

4. Your conversation data

Your conversations with Catherine are stored securely to allow you to access your history (Premium users) and to help us improve the service. We do not sell your conversation data or use it for advertising. Conversations may be reviewed by our team in limited circumstances for safety monitoring or service improvement, always in accordance with this policy.

5. Data sharing

We do not sell your personal data. We share data only with trusted third-party providers who help us operate HelpFound, including Supabase (database and authentication), Stripe (payment processing) and Anthropic (AI responses). All providers are required to handle your data securely and in accordance with applicable data protection law.

6. Data retention

We retain your account data for as long as your account is active. If you request deletion of your account, we will delete your personal data within 30 days, except where we are required to retain it for legal or security purposes. Conversation history can be deleted from within your account at any time.

7. Your rights

• The right to access the personal data we hold about you.
• The right to correct inaccurate data.
• The right to request deletion of your data.
• The right to object to or restrict processing of your data.
• The right to data portability.
• The right to withdraw consent at any time.

To exercise any of these rights, please email support@helpfound.com.

8. Cookies

We use essential cookies to keep you signed in and maintain your session. We do not use advertising or tracking cookies. You can control cookies through your browser settings.

9. Security

We take the security of your data seriously. Your data is stored securely using industry-standard encryption. Access to personal data is restricted to authorised personnel only. However, no system is completely secure and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

10. Children

HelpFound is not intended for use by anyone under the age of 18. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children. If you believe a child has provided us with personal data, please contact us at support@helpfound.com.

11. Changes to this policy

We may update this privacy policy from time to time. We will notify you of significant changes by email or by a notice on our platform. The date of the most recent update is shown at the top of this page.

12. Contact us

If you have any questions about this privacy policy or how we handle your data, please contact us at support@helpfound.com. If you are not satisfied with our response, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk.