CloseKin Therapy

How we protect CloseKin Therapy

A therapist needs enough information to support the therapeutic work — but does not need access to the family’s private conversation.

Access to the service

  • CloseKin Therapy uses controlled account access.
  • Authentication is used to identify users and determine whether they are a young person, parent/carer, practitioner or authorised administrator.
  • Users should protect access to their email account and CloseKin login.

Privacy between families

  • Family connections are separated from one another.
  • A user should only be able to access information associated with the account and connection they are authorised to use.
  • Privacy and access controls are enforced at server/database level as well as through the user interface.

Sealed answers

  • Where an activity uses sealed answers, one participant’s answer remains hidden from the other until both have answered.
  • This is designed to encourage independent responses rather than allowing one person’s answer to influence the other’s.
  • The therapist does not receive the private answer text.

Therapist access

  • Therapists receive limited information needed to assign and review between-session activities.
  • Depending on the activity, this may include:
  • activity assigned
  • therapeutic focus
  • optional goal
  • release/due information
  • participation
  • completion
  • completion time
  • controlled barrier responses
  • “talked another way”
  • controlled usefulness responses; and
  • relevant review dates.
  • Therapists do not receive:
  • private answer text
  • private follow-up conversations
  • Memory Jar content
  • “Remember this about me” content
  • individual mood information
  • family mood scores; or
  • automated risk, compliance or relationship scores.

When a Therapy connection ends

  • Therapist-family links have an active/ended lifecycle.
  • When the link is ended, the former therapist can no longer access either new or historical Therapy engagement information through that link.
  • The therapist does not gain access to the family’s private conversation content when the link ends.

Data minimisation

  • CloseKin Therapy is designed to collect and expose only information needed for the relevant feature.
  • We deliberately avoid giving practitioners access to private family information simply because it exists within the service.
  • CloseKin does not need location, browsing history or screen-time information to provide the Therapy service.

Encryption and infrastructure

  • Information is transmitted using encrypted HTTPS connections.
  • Production infrastructure and service providers are selected with appropriate security and data-protection safeguards.
  • Access to production systems and administrative functions should be restricted to authorised individuals who require it for legitimate operational purposes.

Administrative access

  • Administrative access is restricted and should only be used where necessary for legitimate purposes such as:
  • account administration
  • support
  • security
  • investigating faults
  • responding to privacy requests; or
  • meeting legal or safeguarding obligations.
  • Private family answers are not routinely read as part of operating CloseKin Therapy.

Analytics

  • CloseKin Therapy may produce appropriately aggregated service or caseload information.
  • Where permitted aggregated caseload or service analytics could risk identifying an individual family, a minimum threshold of five families is applied before those analytics are displayed.
  • This threshold does not turn private family conversation content into therapist-visible information.
  • Individual mood information is not provided to therapists as analytics.

What we deliberately do not do

  • CloseKin Therapy is not designed to:
  • track a young person’s location
  • monitor browsing history
  • monitor screen time
  • sell personal information
  • run behavioural advertising
  • provide private family answer text to therapists
  • automatically diagnose young people
  • automatically score families as “at risk”
  • create automated relationship scores; or
  • replace professional clinical judgement.

Children’s privacy

  • CloseKin Therapy is designed for young people aged 13 and over.
  • Privacy protections are designed with the UK’s Age Appropriate Design Code / Children’s Code in mind.
  • This includes:
  • considering the best interests of young people
  • high privacy by default
  • data minimisation
  • clear information about what therapists can and cannot see
  • age-appropriate privacy information
  • avoiding behavioural advertising
  • avoiding unnecessary profiling
  • providing privacy choices and rights; and
  • separating private family conversations from therapist-visible engagement information.

Security responsibilities

  • Security is an ongoing process.
  • MYCLOSEKIN LTD reviews the service as it develops and may update technical and organisational safeguards where necessary.
  • Users should report suspected unauthorised access, privacy concerns or security issues as soon as possible.

Reporting a security or privacy concern

  • Contact:
  • hello@myclosekin.app
  • Please do not include unnecessary sensitive information in an initial email. We can establish an appropriate way to discuss the issue if further information is required.

Safeguarding

  • CloseKin Therapy is not continuously monitored and is not an emergency service.
  • If someone is in immediate danger, call 999 or use the appropriate emergency or crisis service.
  • MYCLOSEKIN LTD Company number: 17426377 Registered office: 53 Sweeters Field Road, GU6 8UD Email: hello@myclosekin.app

CloseKin is a conversation space for families aged 13 and over. It is not a monitoring tool, not a crisis service, and not a substitute for professional help. In an emergency, call 999.

Questions? hello@myclosekin.app