What does "anonymous" mean on hearMeOut?

Other users see only your pseudonym — never a real name, never a photo. Our platform itself knows who you are because we need to process payment (Razorpay can't take money without identity), but that identity never leaks to other members. The community is peer-to-peer anonymous.

What can counselors see about me?

Counselors see:

• Your pseudonym
• Shares you marked "request expert response" (if they responded to one)
• Bookings you've made with them
• A gentle crisis-flag counter ("N flags in last 14 days") — but only if they have an active or recent relationship with you (a booking in the last 180 days, or an expert response they gave you)

Counselors do not see:

• Your journal (architecturally — they can't even if they wanted to)
• What triggered any crisis flag (the content never reaches our servers for journal flags)
• Your real name or payment details
• Other counselors' session notes about you

How does moderation work?

Every share, comment, and peer-chat message runs through an automated pipeline before it publishes. The system has three tiers:

1. Fast pattern-matching for obvious cases (slurs, spam)
2. A more nuanced tone check when tier 1 is uncertain
3. An AI that reads context — so "I want to die" about your own feelings is treated differently from "you should die" directed at someone else

When the system isn't sure, a human moderator reviews. We err on the side of publishing: silencing honest vulnerability is worse than occasionally publishing something rough that a human can review after.

What are crisis flags and who sees them?

If our detection notices language suggesting you might be in crisis (on a share, comment, peer chat, or journal entry), two things happen:

1. You see a card with crisis resources immediately
2. For shares/comments/peer-chat: an on-call counselor is notified (so they can reach out if appropriate). For journal entries: just a counter, no content

A counselor you have a relationship with sees a passive counter ("N flags in the last 14 days") — not the content, not the words, not the time of day. It's meant as gentle awareness so they can check in, not surveillance.

How do I report someone?

Every share and comment from someone else has a Report button. Pick a reason (harassment, spam, self-harm promotion, etc.), add notes. A moderator reviews within a few days. The person you reported doesn't see who you are.

For a bad counselor session, contact us via the contact form with the booking ID — we have a more thorough process for counselor disputes.

Do you sell or share my data?

No. We don't run ads. We don't sell data to advertisers or anyone else. The subscription fee is our only revenue — which is exactly why there's a paywall: it means the platform is accountable to you, not to advertisers.

The only third parties who see any of your data are the infrastructure providers required to make the platform work (payment processor, video-call provider for sessions, email provider if you set a recovery address). Never for marketing.