The most important points:

• Clare&me does not sell your data.
• Your data is protected under the regulations of the European Union and we apply the latest security measures to protect your data
• We don’t access conversations between you and Clare, unless it’s absolutely necessary e.g. you or Clare are at risk
  

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Have you ever wondered about, what happens to your information after you share it with Clare?

It becomes a data point. A small piece of information that we store for you and analyze for you, but of course only after we have ensured that the data point cannot be traced back to you. 

This sounds very easy, but in reality your data point will be on a long journey and it’s our job to protect it along the way.

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1. You data will be analyzed in our backend and stored securely 

Your data point has to go through several tasks, until it reaches its destinations. It travels from WhatsApp through a secured channel directly to our backend, where it is analyzed by our algorithm to decide on what Clare will say to you next. Clare&me’s technology looks at individual data points from you. We follow the principle to only store as little information as is required for the usage of Clare. This allows us to create the right mental health support you need.

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We do a number of things to ensure data is not lost or stolen along the way. We store all data that could identify you as a person in one place and all sensitive data from your calls/conversations in a separate database. We also encrypt your data point - a security measure that scrambles the data so that it cannot be read by anyone who doesn’t have the right authority. Clare&me is a company based in Germany, a country that is part of the European Union. In the European Union there are strict regulations on how companies have to deal with data that is considered "sensitive”. You also always have the right to have your data deleted, ask for all your data to be exported, or change your data and transfer it to another location. If you want to know more about how we handle your sensitive data, you can read all about it here or contact us at hello@clareandme.com.

2. What about my other apps' data? What about selling data?

Your data point is safely stored on clare&me’s servers. It might not be the case for data for other apps. Many companies choose to make money by selling your data to advertisers or data brokers. It is unlikely that you as a user would be aware of this. In order to know about it, you would need to read the terms of service and privacy policy every time you install an app. In most cases, these are endless legal documents in small, illegible print, written in such a way that they cannot be understood.

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Our company, clare&me believes it is completely wrong to sell data without real consent and to hide this process. We have taken great care to draft these documents in a way that not only allows you to understand them, but also enables you to make an informed decision and know how to keep an eye on the protection of your data. Here you will find our data protection declaration and our terms of use.

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3. Can people working at clare&me access everything I say to Clare via phone or when I text her? 

Only a few people have access to the tools we use to analyze data. These people are carefully selected and their access has been deemed absolutely necessary. Every data access has to be justified as unavoidable by particular circumstances e.g. if our system flagged you to be at risk and for us to ensure your and Clare’s safety is ensured. Treating our users with respect is a core value of clare&me, so it would be against our principles and beliefs to share individual user data.

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4. Can I be hacked? What if someone steals my smartphone?

These are real dangers in this great journey of your data point. With intense security measures, clare&me is unlikely to be hacked, but these days it can always happen. We do everything we can to protect your data. Your data is stored according to the latest industry standards and we have taken precautions to prevent a hack. We will of course let you know if this ever happens.

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Generally, living in the data age can have more advantages than disadvantages.

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Collecting data about your mental health gives you the power to take care of your body, be informed, and receive support. The biggest risk isn't that the company behind the product you use is hacked, but that it was created by people whose ethics don't match yours. Thus, it’s important to carefully consider who you share your data with.

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