Privacy Policy

At Tellmi we are committed to protecting and respecting your privacy.

This policy explains how we use any personal data that we collect from you, or that you provide to us.

This Privacy Policy replaces Tellmi’s previous Privacy Policy.

Valid from 11th February 2025

The policy in a nutshell

  • By submitting your data to us you are agreeing to the terms in this Privacy Policy.

  • We ensure that your data is treated securely and follows this Privacy Policy. 

  • We may collect and process information that you enter on our website (www.tellmi.help) our app Tellmi (ios/android/web), our scheduling software (www.signinapp.com/about/data-security) and our survey software (www.smartsurvey.co.uk/company/privacy-policy)

  • Personal data such as emails or telephone numbers are encrypted.

  • We may use other companies to store your data, these are mainly within Europe.  All data is processed under a Data Processing Agreement that uses The International Data Transfer Agreement.

  • We may share your personal information without your consent with a trusted third party if we believe that a person's life is at risk or when we have a legal obligation to do so.

  • We do not sell, trade or transfer information that can be used to identify you, to other people who are not our contracted partners (e.g. NHS), unless we provide you with advance notice. 

  • A password enables you to access certain parts of our site, however, you are responsible for keeping this password confidential. 

  • Sometimes we may give anonymised data from our sites and our app to trusted academic institutions and research bodies for research purposes. 

  • When you close your account, any personal data (e.g. telephone number) that you have shared with Tellmi when registering with the app or signing up to Tellmi Therapy will be retained for 8 years if you are closing your account after your 18th birthday, or until your 25th birthday if you are closing your account before your 18th birthday.

  • Occasionally we may include or offer products or services from other companies on our website and app. We have no responsibility or liability for the content and activities of these linked sites.

  • Unfortunately, the transmission of information via the internet is not completely secure. Although we will do our best to protect your personal data, we cannot guarantee the security of your data transmitted to our site.

  • Questions, comments, and feedback regarding this privacy policy are welcomed and should be addressed to support@tellmi.help

The policy in full

The data controller

For the purpose of the General Data Protection Regulation, the data controller is Tellmi at The Health Foundry, 1 Royal Street, London, SE1 7LL.

Any data protection issues or queries should be addressed to our Data Protection Officer at  dpo@tellmi.help

What personal information do we collect from the people that visit our website or use our app?

We may collect and process information that you enter on our website www.tellmi.help, and our web and mobile application ‘Tellmi’. This includes the information you provide when registering for our website or app, downloading and sharing data via our app, subscribing to our service, posting material on the app and on your profile, or requesting further services, such as Tellmi Therapy. We may also ask you for information when you report a problem with one of our services. 


1. The information which you provide us when signing up to the Tellmi app (ios/android/web) may include your:

  • date of birth, gender, postcode, organisations you’re connected to (schools, universities, employers, charities), e-mail address, phone number and username;

    • Your date of birth, gender, organisation and postcode are used to understand the demographics of those we are supporting. In some instances, parts of the Tellmi services are only eligible for those of a certain age or area and so we need this information to confirm this. 

    • Your email/phone number is used to create and verify your account. We do not use this information to sign you up to any marketing.

  • Password;

    • Needed to secure your account

2. The information which you provide us when using the Tellmi app (ios/android/web) and website may include:

  • Further personal information, such as name, address/location

  • Post and reply data

  • Information we collect about your device, including the type of mobile device you use, a unique device identifier (for example, your device's IMEI number, the MAC address of the device's wireless network interface, or the mobile phone number used by the device, sometimes referred to as a device ID or token), mobile network information, your mobile operating system and the type and version of mobile software which you use; )

  • If you contact us, we may keep a record of that communication;

    • This may be for learning and improvements purposes or if it relates to your use of the Tellmi service.

  • Information which you provide to us by completing surveys or polls, and which we use for research purposes. These surveys are not compulsory and every survey will explain what the information you provide is being used for, for example we may ask for an email to enter you in a free prize draw.

  • Details of downloads, orders or purchases  you carry out through our site and any in-app purchases; and

  • Details of your visits to our site including, but not limited to, traffic data, location data, weblogs and other communication data, and the resources that you access.

3. The information which you provide us when completing a referral for or signing up to Tellmi Therapy;

  • Postcode, e-mail address, phone number, name, Tellmi username, age.

    • Your postcode and age is used to check we’re able to provide you with therapy as Tellmi Therapy is only available in certain areas and for certain age groups.

    • Your email address and phone number are used to contact you about your Tellmi Therapy session or referral, for example, in how to arrange your sessions and reminders of your session. Tellmi Therapy takes place on the Tellmi App/Webapp and your contact details are not used to provide the therapy itself.

    • Any details provided in a referral, including the referrer (if applicable) are used to identify if the person referred has gone on to book in for Tellmi Therapy. Details are also used for monitoring purposes and anonymised 6 months after receiving a referral.

How do we use your information?

We may use the information we collect from you when you register, post content to the app, make a purchase, sign up to a Tellmi service, sign up for our newsletter, respond to a survey or marketing communication, surf the website, or use certain other site features in the following ways:

  • To personalise your experience and to allow us to deliver the type of content and products in which you are most interested;

  • To improve our services to make it better for you, this includes for training purposes;

  • To follow up with you when necessary (email or phone/text inquiries);

  • For the purpose of conducting fully anonymised academic research;

  • To fulfil contractual obligations of funders of the service, such as the NHS

  • General, aggregated (which essentially means, grouped in with others), demographic, and non-personal data (such as aggregated anonymous information about website usage and other forms of analytical data). It will not be linked to any of your personal data, through cookies or other means, without your consent;

Anonymisation is a technique which prevents individuals from being identified from a data set whilst still being useful for research and analysis. Since the data is no longer personal data it is not governed by data protection law nor held in confidence so it can be used without legal restrictions though Tellmi ensures that all use of such data is for important and ethically acceptable purposes.

What is the legal basis for processing the data?

We are only allowed to use your personal information when certain conditions apply. We typically rely on the following conditions:

  • You have taken out a Contract with us. This may apply if you buy something from our website. 

  • We have a Legitimate Interest. The information you provide when signing up and using Tellmi is needed to deliver the Tellmi service and therefore this forms part of our Terms of Use. We might use your information because we (or a company that we work with) have a legitimate interest in doing so. 

    • For example, we need to use information about how you use the app to improve the service. 

    • We also use some information about you to understand how effective Tellmi is, for example, at helping young people cope with anxiety. 

We take your right to privacy very seriously, so we only rely on legitimate interest when we think the way we are using your data doesn’t significantly impact your privacy or would be expected by you, or there is a compelling reason to do so. 

  • You have given your Consent. 

    • From time to time we publish surveys in the app that will occasionally ask for personal information, these are optional and will state what your data is being used for and how you can withdraw consent, normally by emailing support@tellmi.help within a set time period. 

    • Occasionally we may reach out to offer further support or you have given consent for us to share your personal information with a third party for the purposes of helping you get further support.

    • To complete a referral or book a Tellmi Therapy appointment via our booking platform. 

  • Legal obligation. We may be required to use your personal information to comply with the law. 

    • For example, we are required to report if there may be a terrorist threat.

Tellmi is a preventative service therefore we are exempt from needing parental consent for any age of a child. https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/guide-to-data-protection/key-data-protection-themes/children/

How long will we hold your data?

If your account is not verified

When signing up to Tellmi with an email address, you must verify your email address within 3 months of signing up to start using your account. If your account is never verified then this is an assumption that you do not have intentions to use your account and therefore any personal data collected when signing up will be deleted permanently.

If your account is live

Personal data collected via the app and when signing up for Tellmi Therapy are stored indefinitely so long as your account is live. Personal data collected via other means such as the website, email, surveys, and social media will be stored only for as long as it is still needed, this is normally a maximum of six years. 

If you close your account

When you close your account Personal Data collected via the app and when signing up for Tellmi Therapy is kept 

  • for 8 years if you are closing your account after your 18th birthday or;

  • until your 25th birthday if you are closing your account before your 18th birthday.

This is the case even if it  becomes clear that you will not be accessing the App again. This is to protect Tellmi and you (the user) against any legal claims or disputes you may bring against Tellmi and to meet the requirements of the NHS records management code of practice.  Personal data collected via other means such as the website, email, surveys, referrals and social media will be stored only for as long as it is still needed, this is normally a maximum of six years. We do create anonymised data sets and will keep these indefinitely for research and service evaluation purposes. More detail on record retention can be found in our Data Retention Policy. 

Regardless of the status of your account

If you complete a Referral form for Tellmi therapy this data is anonymised after 6 months.

Post/Reply data is held indefinitely as processing is necessary for scientific research and statistical purposes where erasure is likely to seriously impair the achievement of that processing. 

Destruction 

We will delete all of your information securely in accordance with our data destruction policies unless you contact us to reactivate your Tellmi account in that period. We also may extend your personal data period (further than the 8 years if you closed your account after your 18th birthday or 25th birthday if you closed your account before your 18th birthday) in the event of a complaint and/or if we reasonably believe there is a prospect of litigation in respect to our relationship with you.

How do we protect your information?

We may use other companies, such as Amazon, to store your data. Your data will mainly be stored in locations within the European Economic Area (“EEA”). Whenever we use processors that are outside the EEA or outside a country not deemed adequate by the GDPR, we will ensure that the data is processed under a Data Processing Agreement that uses The International Data Transfer Agreement.

All information you provide to us is stored on our secure servers. Data that can be used to identify you such as your email address or phone number is encrypted both in storage and in transit. Only members of our safeguarding, counselling and therapy team can access your personal data. 

All employees with access to any of your personal data undergo an enhanced disclosure and barring check (DBS).

Any payment transactions will be encrypted using SSL (secure socket layers) or other appropriate technology.  Where we have given you (or where you have chosen) a password which enables you to access certain parts of our site, you are responsible for keeping this password confidential.  We advise you  not to share a password with anyone.

Unfortunately, the transmission of information via the internet is not completely secure although it is very rare for transmissions to be compromised. We will do our best to protect your personal data but we cannot guarantee the security of your data transmitted to our site; any transmission is at your own risk.  Once we have received your information, we will use strict procedures and security features to prevent unauthorised access.

Do we use 'cookies'?

The Tellmi mobile app does not use cookies, however we may use cookies on the Tellmi website including the Tellmi web app.

We, along with other companies such as Google, use first-party cookies (such as the Google Analytics cookies) and third-party cookies (such as the DoubleClick cookie) or other third-party identifiers together to improve the user experience. 

You can choose to have your computer warn you each time a cookie is being sent, or you can choose to turn off all cookies. You do this through your browser settings. Since each browser is a little different, look at your browser's Help Menu to learn the correct way to modify your cookies. If you turn cookies off some features that make your site experience more efficient will be disabled and may not function properly. However, you will still be able to place orders.

Third-party disclosure

We do not sell, trade, or transfer information that can be used to identify anyone other than our website and app hosting partners and other parties who assist us in operating our website and app, conducting our business or serving our users. We ensure that our partners keep this information confidential and secure. If, exceptionally, we wish to vary from this commitment we will contact you before proceeding.

We may also release information when required by law or when it is necessary to enforce our site policies or protect ours, yours or others' rights, property or safety (for example, if we think your life is at risk).

We do disclose data obtained from our sites and our app to academic institutions and research bodies for research purposes. However, we ensure that any such data is anonymised before it is transferred and that any recipients of this data adhere to adequate standards of ethics, data security and privacy. Anonymised visitor information may also be provided to other parties for marketing, advertising, or other uses.

Links to other companies 

Occasionally, at our discretion, we may include or offer third-party products or services from other companies on our website. These third-party sites have separate and independent privacy policies. We, therefore, have no responsibility or liability for the content and activities of these linked sites. Nonetheless, we seek to protect the integrity of our site and welcome any feedback about these sites.

If you live in Leicester, Leicestershire or Rutland 

If you are aged 11-25 living in Leicestershire or Rutland, we may share your data with our charity partner First Steps ED as part of our contracted service with them and in order to match you to their service provision. This is in the interest of providing wrap around support to anyone with eating difficulty related issues. If you do not agree to our sharing your data please contact us at support@tellmi.help.

Our Policies Concerning Children

We are committed to complying with GDPR and the United States' Children Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). Tellmi is a preventative service therefore we are exempt from needing parental consent for a child of any age. https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/guide-to-data-protection/key-data-protection-themes/children/ 

How does our site handle Do Not Track signals?

Tellmi does not currently respond to browser “Do Not Track” signals sent from web browsers on our app or our site.

Your data protection rights

Your right of access

You have the right to request copies of your personal data which we hold, this is known as a subject access request. Please contact support@tellmi.help for more information.

Your right to rectification

This enables you to have any incomplete or inaccurate personal data we hold about you corrected, though we may need to verify the accuracy of the new personal data you provide to us. If you would like to do this, please contact us and let us know the information that is incorrect and the information you want it replaced with.

Your right to restriction of processing

This enables you to ask us to suspend the processing of your personal data in the following scenarios: (a) If you want us to establish the personal data’s accuracy; (b) Where our use of the data is unlawful but you do not want us to erase it; (c) Where you need us to hold the data even if we no longer require it as you need it to establish, exercise or defend legal claims; and (d) You have objected to our use of your personal data but we need to verify whether we have overriding legitimate grounds to use it.

Your right to object to processing

You may object to our processing of your personal data where we are relying on a legitimate interest (or those of a third party) and there is something about your situation which makes you want to object to processing on this ground as you feel it impacts on your fundamental rights and freedoms. You also have the right to object where we are processing your personal data for direct marketing purposes. In some cases, we may demonstrate that we have compelling legitimate grounds to process your information which override your rights and freedoms. Exercising this right may also result in closure of your Tellmi account as we will not be able to continue to provide the Tellmi service if we cannot process your personal data for the purpose of administering your account and providing you access to it and the log-in areas of the site.

In a nutshell: If you don’t want us processing your data anymore, please contact us on support@tellmi.help, in some cases we may not stop using your data but this is a case-by-case basis. 

Your right to erasure

You may request for us to erase all your personal data (also known as the “right to be forgotten”) in the following circumstances:

It is no longer necessary for us to hold that personal data with respect to the purpose for which it was originally collected or processed;

Consent is the lawful basis for Tellmi holding your data and you withdraw your consent;

You object to us holding and processing your personal data (and there is no overriding legitimate interest to allow us to continue doing so);

We are processing your personal data for direct marketing purposes and you object to us processing for marking purposes;

The personal data has been processed unlawfully; or

The personal data needs to be erased in order for us to comply with a particular legal obligation.

Erasure of your personal data may result in automatic closure of your Tellmi account and access to the log-in areas of our site.

Right to data portability

We will provide to you, or a third party you have chosen, your personal data in a structured, commonly used, machine-readable format. Note that this right only applies to automated information which you initially provided consent for us to use or where we used the information to perform a contract with you. You can also request a copy of your information which we hold (this is known as a subject access request). You can transfer this to other organisations if you wish.

No Fee Usually Required

You will not have to pay a fee to access your personal data (or to exercise any of the other rights). However, we may charge a reasonable fee if your request is clearly unfounded, repetitive or excessive. Alternatively, we could refuse to comply with your request in these circumstances. We will notify you if this is the case at the time.

Time Limit to Respond

We try to respond to all legitimate requests within one calendar month. Occasionally it could take us longer than a month if your request is particularly complex or you have made several requests. In this case, we will notify you and keep you updated.

Exceptions

It may not be possible for us to delete your personal data if we are required to keep it by law or if we hold it in connection with a contract with you. Similarly, access to your personal data may be refused if making the information available would reveal personal data about another person or if we are legally prevented from such disclosure.

Changes to our privacy policy

We will occasionally update this Privacy Policy to reflect changes in our practices and services. When we post changes to this Privacy Policy, we will revise the "Last Updated" date at the top of this Privacy Policy and the revised Privacy Policy will come into effect on the date it was posted to our site or our app or as otherwise notified by us. If we make any material changes in the way we collect, use, and/or share your personal information, we will notify you by prominently posting notice of the changes on our sites and/or our app and, where appropriate, notifying you by email. By continuing to use our site or our app after we have posted a revised Privacy Policy you acknowledge that you have consented to the revised Privacy Policy.

Contacting Us

Questions, comments and feedback regarding this privacy policy are welcomed and should be addressed to support@tellmi.help