The HelpLine is registered charity with charity number 1203238. This privacy notice states the legal basis for The HelpLine to hold and use information about you and explains how we use any personal information we collect about you.
We collect and use information about you on the legal basis that doing so is within the purposes of our legitimate interests which do not infringe your interests and rights and we comply with data protection laws.
What information do we collect about you?
HelpLine calls, text messages, WhatsApp, live chat and email, where offered: when you contact us for support, we may note information you voluntarily and freely give us, including a first name, which we assume isn't your real one, approximate age, gender, circumstances and brief notes regarding the issue you have contacted us about which may include details of your health and personal circumstances.
Other Contacts When you contact The HelpLine by any means we may record the name you wish to be called during our call and a brief note of the purpose of the communication.
How do we use the information about you?
HelpLine calls, text messages, WhatsApp, live chat and email, where offered: the information we collect about you is used by our staff and volunteers so that they can support you. We keep your non-identifiable personal information for at least 7 years in order to better assist you should your issue be ongoing or further support be required at a future date. We record some statistical information from each call and email to report on and improve our service. This includes information about gender, age and the issue you contacted us about. This information never reports about specific people.
We will only share your information if you have expressly given us permission to do so e.g., to call an ambulance.
Other contacts We keep your personal information to help us contact you in the ways in which you have asked us to make contact. For example, if you contact The HelpLine to receive a copy of our newsletter, or asking you to volunteer with us in ways you have expressed an interest in.
We will not share your information with third parties or for marketing purposes unless you have expressly given us permission to do so.
Access to your information and correction
You have the right to request a copy of the information we hold about you. If you would like a copy of some or all your information, please email us at info@thehelpline.org.uk.
We want to make sure that your personal information is accurate and up to date. Please ask us to correct or remove any information you think is inaccurate.
The right to request erasure (also known as the right to be forgotten)
You have the right to ask for the deletion or removal of personal information where there is no compelling reason for it to be kept but, if the purposes for which the information was collected still exist, The HelpLine will be entitled to keep the information. Any request for erasure should be sent to the email address below.
The right to complain
If you are concerned about the way The HelpLine deals with your personal information you have the right to complain to the Information Commissioners Office. You can contact them by calling 0303 123 1113 or go online to www.ico.org.uk/concerns.
Changes to this notice
We review this notice from time to time and updates will be put on our website https://theHelpLine.org.uk
How to contact The HelpLine
If you have any question/s about this notice or the information we hold about you, please email us at info@thehelpline.org.uk.
Reviewed November 2026.
Would you like this policy in large print or another format, or do you have a question about it? Write to info@thehelpline.org.uk and we will help.
If you or someone else is in immediate danger, call 999 in the UK or Gibraltar, 911 in the USA, or 112 in Belgium. If you're having thoughts of ending your life, you can also call The HelpLine. We're here to listen.