Terms of Service

ListeningDiary is a peer-support platform that connects people who want to talk ("Members") with trained volunteer listeners ("Listeners"). We are not a crisis service, a medical provider, or a licensed therapy service. Our Listeners are trained volunteers, not licensed mental health professionals. If you are in immediate danger or experiencing a mental health emergency, please contact your local emergency services (e.g. 999 in the UK, 911 in the US) or a dedicated crisis line such as Samaritans (116 123 in the UK).

By creating an account or using any part of the ListeningDiary platform (including the website, mobile app, chat features, community rooms, journal, and growth paths), you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service and our Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, please do not use the platform. We may update these terms from time to time. Continued use of the platform after changes are published constitutes acceptance of the revised terms. Before each 1:1 listening session begins, both the Member and the Listener are shown a short session disclaimer and must actively agree to it. We record that each party agreed, including the session identifier, both parties' names, and the date and time of agreement.

You must be at least 13 years old to use ListeningDiary. If you are between 13 and 17, you confirm that you have your parent or guardian's permission to use the platform. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children under 13. If we become aware that a child under 13 has created an account, we will delete it.

You are responsible for keeping your login credentials secure. You must not share your account with others or create multiple accounts to circumvent any restrictions we apply. You are responsible for all activity that occurs under your account. You may register or sign in using an email and password, a phone number, or a Google account. If you sign in with Google, you are responsible for keeping that Google account secure — anyone with access to it can access your ListeningDiary account. If you sign in with a phone number, standard message and data rates from your mobile carrier may apply to the SMS verification codes we send you. You may delete your account at any time by contacting us at info@listeningdiary.com. On deletion, your personal data will be removed in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

You agree not to use ListeningDiary to: • Share or solicit personal contact information (phone numbers, addresses, social media handles) with other users • Harass, bully, threaten, or abuse any other user or Listener • Share content that is sexually explicit, violent, or promotes self-harm • Impersonate another person or misrepresent your identity • Use the platform for commercial solicitation or advertising • Attempt to reverse-engineer, scrape, or disrupt the platform • Violate any applicable law or regulation We reserve the right to suspend or permanently ban accounts that violate these rules, without prior notice.

Listeners are volunteers who have completed our training programme and agreed to our Listener Code of Conduct. Listeners are not permitted to give medical advice, diagnose conditions, or act in any professional therapeutic capacity. Listeners may end a session at any time if they feel unsafe or if a Member is violating these terms. ListeningDiary does not guarantee the availability of any specific Listener and makes no warranty as to the quality or outcome of any listening session.

Listeners who complete sessions on ListeningDiary may earn a share of the value those sessions generate. The share depends on your listener tier: Trained Listeners Listeners who have completed our free active listening training but do not hold a verified professional certification earn 25% of the value of every batch of 10 completed sessions. This amount is added to your earnings balance automatically once each 10-session milestone is reached. Certified / Professional Listeners Listeners who hold a verified professional qualification (for example, a therapist, psychologist, life coach, or counsellor) and have been approved to set their own session rate keep 70% of the value of every completed session, credited to your earnings balance as each session ends. ListeningDiary retains the remaining 30% as a platform fee. How payouts work • Earnings are tracked in USD. Any other currency shown in your account is for display convenience only • Payouts are made manually by our team via bank transfer or UPI — not automatically or on a fixed schedule • Once you have an outstanding balance, contact us at info@listeningdiary.com (or via Support) to request a payout • We may require identity or bank verification before releasing a payout, to prevent fraud General terms • Earnings are only credited for sessions that are genuinely completed. Sessions that are auto-closed as abandoned or stale are not counted • You are responsible for reporting and paying any tax due on your earnings in your jurisdiction • We may change the earnings structure, share percentages, or payout process at any time, with reasonable advance notice to active Listeners. Continued use of the platform as a Listener after such a change constitutes acceptance of it • Volunteering as a Listener does not create an employment, agency, or partnership relationship with ListeningDiary. Any amount earned is a discretionary share of session value, not a wage, salary, or guaranteed income • We do not guarantee any minimum number of session requests, earnings, or income

ListeningDiary is a peer-support service. Nothing on this platform constitutes medical, psychological, or psychiatric advice. Sessions with Listeners are not therapy. We strongly encourage you to seek qualified professional help for any serious mental health concerns. If at any point during a session a Listener believes you may be at risk of harming yourself or others, they are instructed to direct you to emergency services and may report their concern to our moderation team.

Your use of the platform is also governed by our Privacy Policy, which explains what data we collect, how we use it, and your rights. By using ListeningDiary you consent to the data practices described in the Privacy Policy. Chat messages in one-to-one listening sessions are transmitted through an encrypted channel (TLS in transit) and are not stored on our servers beyond the duration of the session. Community room messages may be retained for moderation purposes.

Community rooms are group chat spaces moderated by volunteer moderators. Messages in community rooms are visible to all members of that room. Do not share personal identifying information in community rooms. Before you can join and post in any community room, you must read and agree to the community guidelines shown to you at that point — you only need to do this once. Slurs, hate speech, harassment, threats, sexual content, and telling another person to harm themselves are never allowed, in any language, and messages containing them are blocked before they are sent where our systems detect them. We apply automated moderation (a static content filter plus an AI-based safety scan of messages in both community rooms and 1:1 sessions), manual review by our team, and volunteer room moderators. We may remove messages, and may suspend or permanently remove accounts, without prior notice, for violating these terms.

Your journal entries are private and visible only to you. We do not read, analyse, or share your journal entries with any third party except where required by law. Growth path progress is stored against your account and used only to personalise your experience.

ListeningDiary includes AI-powered features, including an AI Listener (text chat) and AI Voice (voice conversation). By using these features you acknowledge and agree to the following: Not a human The AI Listener and AI Voice are automated systems powered by artificial intelligence. They are not human volunteers, therapists, or counsellors. Responses are generated automatically and may not always be accurate, appropriate, or complete. Not a crisis resource AI features are not equipped to handle mental health emergencies. If you are in crisis, please contact emergency services or a crisis helpline. Do not rely on AI features for urgent mental health support. No sensitive personal data We strongly advise against sharing sensitive personal information (such as your full name, address, financial details, or information about third parties) with AI features. AI responses are processed via third-party AI service providers; see our Privacy Policy for details. EU AI Act Where required by applicable law (including the EU AI Act), we will provide additional disclosures about the AI systems we use. AI-generated responses will be clearly identified as such within the platform interface. We reserve the right to modify, suspend, or remove AI features at any time.

ListeningDiary allows users to post messages in community rooms, submit journal entries, and communicate through support sessions. The following applies to all content you create on the platform: Your responsibility You are solely responsible for any content you post, transmit, or share on the platform. By posting content you confirm that you have the right to do so and that it does not violate any applicable law or the rights of any third party. Prohibited content You must not post content that is: unlawful, abusive, defamatory, obscene, threatening, or harassing; that infringes any intellectual property right; that contains personal data of others without their consent; or that is intended to deceive or defraud. Our rights We reserve the right — but are not obligated — to review, edit, or remove any content that we reasonably believe violates these standards, at any time and without notice. We may also suspend or terminate accounts that repeatedly violate these rules. Platform liability We act as an intermediary host for user-generated content. We are not the author, editor, or publisher of user content and, to the extent permitted by law (including Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act and the UK Electronic Commerce (EC Directive) Regulations 2002), we are not liable for content posted by users. To report content you believe violates our policies, contact info@listeningdiary.com. Content licence By posting content on ListeningDiary you grant us a limited, non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to store, display, and transmit that content solely for the purpose of operating the platform and providing the service to you. We do not claim ownership of your content.

Current pricing The ListeningDiary platform is currently offered free of charge. We do not currently charge subscription fees or process payments. Future paid features We may introduce paid features, premium tiers, or one-time purchases in the future. If we do, we will: • Provide clear and prominent disclosure of all charges before you are asked to pay • Obtain your explicit consent before any recurring billing begins • Process payments securely via our payment provider, Razorpay. Payment card data is processed directly by Razorpay and is never stored on our servers • Comply with applicable consumer protection laws, including the Consumer Rights Act 2015 (UK) and relevant app store payment policies (Apple App Store / Google Play) • Provide a straightforward cancellation mechanism with no hidden charges Refunds Where you have a statutory right to a refund (for example under UK consumer law), we will honour it. Our refund policy for any paid features will be published at the time those features are introduced. App store purchases If you purchase a subscription or in-app purchase through the Apple App Store or Google Play, the relevant app store's payment terms and refund policies apply. We have no control over app store billing processes.

We may send you marketing emails, platform updates, and tips about ListeningDiary features if you have opted in to receive them at registration or through your account settings. What we may send • Platform news and feature announcements • Tips for getting the most out of ListeningDiary • Listener community updates (for Listeners) • Occasional promotional offers Opt-out You can unsubscribe from marketing emails at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link in any marketing email, or by updating your preferences in your account settings. Opting out of marketing emails will not affect transactional emails (such as password reset or session notifications), which we send regardless of marketing preferences as they are necessary for the service. Legal basis For UK and EEA users, marketing emails are sent only on the basis of your consent (UK GDPR / EU GDPR Article 6(1)(a)). You may withdraw consent at any time without affecting the lawfulness of processing before withdrawal.

From time to time, ListeningDiary may run promotional campaigns, competitions, or prize draws (each a "Promotion") for Listeners or Members, announced by email and/or on our social media channels. Unless stated otherwise for a specific Promotion, the following general rules apply. Eligibility You must hold a registered ListeningDiary account in good standing to enter. Where a Promotion is open to Listeners specifically, you must have an active Listener account. ListeningDiary staff, contractors, and their immediate family members are not eligible. How entries are verified Where a Promotion requires you to complete an action (such as completing a listening session, or sharing a public social media post that tags or mentions ListeningDiary), we verify this against our own account and session records and by reviewing the public post you submit to us. Entries that cannot be verified, that use fake or private posts, or that otherwise attempt to circumvent these rules will be disqualified. Winner selection Unless stated otherwise, one or more winners are selected at random from all verified valid entries received during the stated Promotion period. Winners will be notified using the contact details on their ListeningDiary account. Prizes The prize for a given Promotion is described in that Promotion's announcement. Prizes (such as gift vouchers) are sourced and provided at ListeningDiary's discretion, are subject to availability in the winner's country, cannot be exchanged for cash, and are non-transferable. You are responsible for any tax that may apply to a prize you receive in your jurisdiction. Platform disclaimer Promotions run on or referencing a third-party social media platform (Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, X, LinkedIn, YouTube) are administered solely by ListeningDiary and are not sponsored, endorsed, administered by, or associated with that platform. General We reserve the right to modify, suspend, or cancel any Promotion, or to disqualify any entrant, at any time, including where we reasonably suspect fraud or abuse. Only one entry per person is permitted unless stated otherwise. Participation in a Promotion does not affect your rights under the rest of these Terms.

All content on ListeningDiary — including text, design, logos, training materials, and code — is owned by ListeningDiary or its licensors and is protected by copyright. You may not reproduce or redistribute any content without our written permission. You retain ownership of any content you submit (journal entries, chat messages). By submitting content you grant us a limited licence to store and transmit it solely for the purpose of providing the service.

To the fullest extent permitted by law, ListeningDiary and its operators, employees, and volunteers shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, or consequential damages arising from your use of the platform, including but not limited to emotional distress, harm to health, or loss of data. Our total liability for any claim arising from your use of the platform shall not exceed the amount you have paid us in the twelve months preceding the claim (which for free-tier users is £0).

These terms are governed by the laws of England and Wales. Any disputes shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.

If you have questions about these terms, please contact us at info@listeningdiary.com.