Privacy Policy

Effective Date: January 1, 2026 | Last Updated: April 1, 2026

At SerenKind, we take your privacy seriously. We understand that you're sharing sensitive, personal information about your mental health and well-being. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, protect, and respect your data.

1. Information We Collect

Account Information

When you create a SerenKind account, we collect:

  • Name (for personalization)
  • Email address (for account access and communication)
  • Gender (optional, for therapeutic personalization)

This is the minimum information we need to provide personalized therapy support.

Conversation Messages

To provide AI-powered therapy support, we collect:

  • Your therapy messages (the text you send in therapy chat)
  • Selected therapy topic (the topic you chose for the current session)

These messages are sent to OpenAI to generate personalized responses. See Section 3 for full disclosure about OpenAI data sharing.

Information We Do Not Collect

We do not collect phone numbers, payment card numbers, device identifiers, or any other personal information beyond what is listed above.

2. How We Use Your Information

We use your information to:

  • Personalize your wellness experience
  • Identify your account
  • Provide AI-generated supportive responses
  • Improve app functionality and user experience

We do not use your personal information for advertising or marketing.

3. Third-Party AI Service: OpenAI

⚠️ Important Disclosure: SerenKind uses OpenAI, a third-party AI service, to generate personalized therapy responses.

What Data is Sent to OpenAI?

When you send a message in therapy chat, the following data is transmitted to OpenAI for response generation encrypted via HTTPS TLS 1.2+:

  • Your message text: The text of your current message (only text, no files or attachments)
  • Conversation history: Previous messages in the current session (for context)
  • Selected therapy topic: The topic you chose for the current session

❌ NOT Sent: Name, email, gender, payment information, or other direct personal identifiers beyond what's listed above

How OpenAI Protects Your Data

  • ✓Encryption: All data is transmitted via secure HTTPS/TLS 1.2+ encryption
  • ✓No Model Training: Per our agreement, your data is NOT used to train OpenAI's language models
  • ✓Privacy Compliance: OpenAI's data handling complies with their published privacy policy and applicable data protection laws
  • ✓No Third-Party Sharing: OpenAI does not share your data with other third parties

OpenAI Data Retention & Deletion

Important: OpenAI maintains its own data retention and deletion policies, separate from SerenKind's.

  • OpenAI's Data: OpenAI retains conversation data according to their Privacy Policy
  • SerenKind's Records: We delete conversation copies from our backend when you request account deletion

By using SerenKind, you acknowledge that OpenAI processes your data according to OpenAI's Privacy Policy, not solely SerenKind's. For details on OpenAI's data practices, please refer to their published documentation.

Your Consent & Opt-Out

Before using SerenKind, you must review and accept our data practices. During onboarding, you'll see a disclosure dialog that explains:

  • What data we collect (name, email, optional gender, conversation messages)
  • Why we collect it (personalization and AI response generation)
  • Who receives the data (OpenAI for messages only)
  • What we do NOT share (name, email, gender with OpenAI)
  • How data is protected by both SerenKind and OpenAI
  • That OpenAI maintains separate data retention/deletion policies

You must explicitly check the consent box and click "Agree & Continue" to use SerenKind. If you do not agree to our data practices, you will not be able to use the app.

For questions about SerenKind's practices, contact us at privacy@serenkind.com. For questions about OpenAI's data practices, see OpenAI's Privacy Policy.

4. Data Protection & Security

We implement industry-leading security measures to protect your sensitive information:

  • 🔒Encryption: All data in transit (SSL/TLS) and at rest (AES-256) is encrypted
  • 🔐Access Controls: Only authorized staff with need-to-know access can view your data
  • 📋Privacy Program: We maintain internal privacy and security controls for sensitive information
  • 🛡️Regular Audits: We conduct regular security audits and vulnerability assessments
  • 🚨Incident Response: We have protocols to detect and respond to data breaches

5. Data Retention

We retain your information for as long as necessary to provide services and comply with legal obligations:

SerenKind's Data Retention

SerenKind stores your name, email, optional gender selection, and conversation history on our secure servers until you request deletion or until we delete the data according to our operational and legal requirements.

⚠️ OpenAI's Separate Data Retention

OpenAI maintains separate, independent data retention policies. Data you send to OpenAI (your conversation messages) is retained according to OpenAI's Privacy Policy, not SerenKind's.

  • OpenAI processes your conversation data according to their published retention policies
  • SerenKind does not control how long OpenAI retains your message data
  • For details on OpenAI's data practices, please refer to OpenAI's published documentation

You can request deletion of your account anytime. We will delete your SerenKind records, though OpenAI maintains separate retention policies for data sent to their service.

6. Your Privacy Rights

Depending on your location, you have the following rights:

Right to Access

Request a copy of all data we hold about you

Right to Correction

Correct inaccurate or incomplete information

Right to Deletion

Request deletion of your data (with legal exceptions)

Right to Portability

Export your data in a readable format

Right to Object

Opt out of certain data uses (marketing, analytics)

Right to Withdraw Consent

Withdraw consent to data processing at any time

To exercise any of these rights, email privacy@serenkind.com with your request. We'll respond within 30 days.

6. Sharing & Third Parties

🚫 We Do NOT Sell Your Data

We never sell, trade, or rent your personal or mental health information to advertisers, marketers, or third parties for profit.

We may share information only in these circumstances:

  • •Service Providers: With vendors who help us operate (cloud hosting, payment processing) under strict confidentiality agreements
  • •Crisis Situations: If you disclose intent to harm yourself or others, we may contact emergency services or mental health professionals
  • •Legal Requirements: When required by law, court orders, or law enforcement (with notice when legally permitted)
  • •Business Transfers: If SerenKind is acquired or merged, your data may transfer to the new entity

7. Crisis Support & Safety

SerenKind is not a replacement for professional mental health treatment or crisis services. If you're experiencing a mental health crisis:

☎️

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline

988 (available 24/7 | confidential & free)

🏥

Mental Health Crisis

Call 911 or go to your nearest emergency room

8. Cookies & Tracking Technologies

We use cookies to improve your experience, remember preferences, and analyze usage:

  • Essential Cookies: Required for login and basic functionality
  • Analytics Cookies: Help us understand how you use the app
  • Preference Cookies: Remember your settings

You can manage cookies in your browser settings. Disabling cookies may affect app functionality.

9. Contact Us

Questions about our privacy practices? We're here to help:

Email: privacy@serenkind.com

Response Time: We'll respond to privacy requests within 30 days

Updates to This Privacy Policy

We may update this policy occasionally to reflect changes in our practices or legal requirements. We'll notify you of material changes via email or through the app. Your continued use of SerenKind after updates means you accept the new terms.

Last updated: April 1, 2026. This Privacy Policy is effective as of January 1, 2026.