7 Cups

7 Cups is an online mental health platform that provides emotional support by connecting users with trained volunteer listeners and licensed therapists. The service offers free, anonymous 24/7 chat with listeners, as well as paid online therapy sessions and community support forums. Users share deeply personal and sensitive information about their mental health, relationships, and life struggles, which the platform collects. While chats with licensed therapists may be protected under health privacy laws, conversations with volunteer listeners may not have the same level of legal protection. The exposure of such intimate data carries significant risks; if breached or misused, it could lead to emotional distress, blackmail, or social stigma. The company's privacy policy states that it may review chat transcripts for quality control and use aggregated, anonymized data for research. To protect themselves, individuals should avoid sharing personally identifiable information in public forums or chats and use anonymous usernames. It is also wise to review the platform's privacy policy and understand how to request data deletion.