Privacy policy

The eligibility self-check

The questions on the Were You a Patient? page are processed entirely by code running in your own browser. Your answers are held in the memory of that browser tab and nowhere else. They are not sent to a server, not written to a database, not stored in a cookie, and not associated with you in any way. Closing or refreshing the tab discards them permanently. We could not retrieve them if we wanted to.

To be precise about one thing: analytics records that the page was opened, in the same way it records any other page. It does not and cannot record what you answered.

What is collected automatically

Google Analytics

Google Analytics 4 was added to this site on September 3, 2026. We use it to see which pages people actually find useful, so that the ones that help get improved and expanded.

What it records: which pages are viewed and in what order, approximate location (city and country level, derived from your IP address), device and browser type, how you arrived (a search engine, a direct visit, or a link from another site), and roughly how long you spend on a page.

What it does not record: your name, your email address, your answers to the self-check, or anything you type. Google Analytics 4 does not log or store IP addresses — your address is used momentarily to derive an approximate location and is then discarded.

How to switch it off. Any of these will stop analytics recording your visit:

• Use a private or incognito window, or set your browser to block cookies
• Install Google’s official Analytics opt-out browser add-on
• Use almost any content blocker — they block analytics by default
• Turn on Global Privacy Control, which some browsers and extensions support

None of this affects how the site works. Every page, and the self-check, function normally with analytics blocked.

Google Search Console

This site is registered with Google Search Console. It reports on how Google crawls and indexes the site and which search terms lead here. It sets no cookies and collects nothing from you as a visitor — it reports on Google’s own data, not yours.

Server logs

Like nearly all websites, this one runs on a web host that keeps standard server logs. These typically record IP address, browser type, the page requested, and the time of the request. They are generated by the hosting infrastructure for security and reliability purposes, are not reviewed by us in the ordinary course, and are not used to identify individual visitors.

Cookies

Google Analytics sets two first-party cookies, named _ga and _ga_<identifier>. They hold a randomly generated number that lets Analytics tell one browser apart from another so that two visits from the same device are not counted as two different people. They do not contain your name or any personal information.

This site sets no advertising cookies, does no cross-site tracking, runs no ads, and does not sell or share data with anyone. Your web host and content delivery network may set strictly necessary cookies for security and performance.

Your browser history

This is the realistic privacy risk, and it is not something we control. Visiting this site leaves an entry in your own browser’s history, which may sync across your devices depending on your settings. If you share a device or an account with someone, use a private or incognito window.

Every page carries a Quick exit button in the lower corner; pressing the Escape key does the same thing. It navigates away immediately and replaces the current history entry, so the back button will not return you here. It is not a guarantee against a determined search of a device, and it does not defeat monitoring software. If you believe your device is monitored, use a library computer or a friend’s phone. More on privacy at each stage →

If you contact us

If you write to us to report an error or ask a question, we will have whatever you choose to put in that message. We use it to respond and to correct the site, and for nothing else. We do not add correspondents to any mailing list.

External links

We link to news organizations, government agencies, courts, and support organizations. Once you follow a link off this site, that site’s privacy practices govern — not ours. We have no control over and take no responsibility for them.

Children

This site is intended for adults and is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect information from children.

Your rights

California residents have rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act regarding personal information collected about them, including rights of access and deletion. This site does not collect information that identifies you personally: analytics data is tied to a random browser identifier, not to a person, so in most cases there is nothing held that could be matched to you.

If you have contacted us and want that correspondence deleted, ask and we will delete it. If you want your analytics data excluded going forward, the opt-out options above take effect immediately.

Changes to this policy

If this policy changes materially, we will update this page and change the date below.

The contact form

There is one form on this site, at the bottom of Were you a patient?. Using it is entirely optional, and nothing else on the site asks you for personal information.

What it collects: your name, your email address, a phone number if you choose to give one, how you would prefer to be contacted, and anything you write in the optional message box. The form also records the page it was sent from, as forms normally do.

Where it goes: submissions are emailed to Datahouse Ventures, the publisher of this site. They are not stored in this website’s database, so there is no archive of messages sitting on the web server. They are not published, sold or traded, and they are not passed to any law firm without asking you first.

Spam protection: the form uses a hidden token and a minimum completion time to block automated submissions. It does not use a third-party CAPTCHA, so nothing about you is sent to another company when you submit it.

Deleting what you sent: reply to the email you receive, or write to us through the form, and ask us to delete your message. We will delete it from the inbox and confirm.

If you would rather not leave any record at all, you do not have to use the form. RAINN (800-656-4673) and the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (988) are free, confidential, and do not require your name.