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FAQs
What is the intended use statement for Everyday Mental Health by Wysa ("EMH-Wysa App")?
The EMH-Wysa app is a stand alone software application available on android, IOS or over the web for the self-help and self-monitoring of mental wellbeing by individuals.
The app is an AI-driven conversational agent intended to assist individuals with subclinical or clinical symptoms of anxiety or low mood in managing emotional distress through evidence based techniques such as CBT, goal setting and emotional acceptance. The software provides feedback and personalised insights based on user-input data and helps users set meaningful personal goals and take actionable steps towards positive change. It is intended for use by individuals over the age of 13 (or 11+ if agreed by the provider) as a stand alone support tool or in conjunction with regular physical or mental health focussed clinical care (during waiting periods, between appointments, and/or as an adjunct to individual or group therapy). It is not a substitute for professional medical advice, and does not provide medical advice or diagnoses. It is not recommended for use in crisis situations, nor is it suitable for use by those with severe and enduring mental health problems.
What is Wysa's Therapeutic AI?
Wysa's AI uses a combination of rule based algorithms and large language modelling to listen and respond intelligently to the thoughts and emotions that you express. As well as listening and responding through conversation, Wysa also recommends skills and techniques that may be helpful for the particular difficulty that you are experiencing. These skills are evidence-based and aim to help you improve your mental resilience and well-being.
Is Wysa a human or a robot?
All the conversational responses provided by Wysa are AI generated.
Who is the App designed to help? Are there situations where the App wouldn't be recommended?
Wysa is designed to help people over the age of 13 (or 11 if agreed by the provider) who are experiencing low mood, stress or anxiety, or who are interested in improving their wellbeing and emotional resilience. Wysa is not recommended for crisis situations, nor is it suitable for use by those with severe and enduring mental health problems.
How can Wysa help me?
Wysa can help you by listening, whenever and wherever you are, and by helping you to identify and practice proven skills and behavioural change techniques that can lead to improvements in how you feel.
Is there an age limit?
We have users from all age groups. However, if you are less than 18 years of age, please read through the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy along with your parent or legal guardian to understand eligibility before use. Wysa is not to be used by children under 13 years (11+ if agreed by your Institution or care providers).
What is the science behind the suggested techniques?
The skills and techniques offered by Wysa are evidenced for effective use in the management of common mental health problems such as low mood and anxiety. Tools included within the applications include those based on Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, Solution Focussed Therapy, and Mindfulness. Some skills are practised through audio recordings, others through conversations with Wysa, and all content is clinically approved and tested prior to release.
Is Wysa designed along app design standards and accessibility guidelines?
We align to WCAG requirements (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines), including:
- Providing contrast between foreground and background
- Providing clear and consistent navigation options so that the different parts of our app/web page are easy to locate and identify
- Using headings and spacing to group related content, reducing clutter and making it easier to scan and understand
- Creating designs for different viewport sizes, making it easier to read and navigate content on different screen sizes.
We also follow Apple iOS and Google Android provided design guidelines and best practices.
Please read our Accessibility Statement.
Wysa's Statement on User Feedback
Wysa’s ethos is that everybody should have access to quality wellbeing support in a way that suits them, and we work closely with users from all over the world to ensure Wysa incorporates and reflects the views and needs of a variety of people. From clinical professionals to everyday members of the public we take your feedback very seriously and use it to help our product grow. We use in-app and app store feedback to guide changes and improvements to our products, and we set up specialist co-design groups to help us support our research projects.
What Service Levels does the App provide?
Wysa ensures a > 99% service availability of its App and Services. To check availability status for your apps, please click here
Privacy and data sharing
Does the App meet compliance standards that test for safety, privacy and security?
Wysa ensures that it follows standards to keep our App and Services compliant. We have a 3rd party audited Information Security Management System (ISMS) and Privacy Information Management System (PIMS) and certified for ISO 27001:2022 and ISO 27701:2019. Wysa is also Cyber Essentials certified. Wysa is compliant to DCB 0129 Clinical Risk Management Standard. Wysa meets standards of NHS Digital Data Security and Protection (DSP) Toolkit.
Where can I read your Privacy Notice?
You can read our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service here.
Is my data private?
Yes. The App generally does not ask for Personal Data. If You inadvertently submit any Personal Identifiable Information (including but not limited to email identifier, location address, mobile numbers) then we will take adequate measure to irreversibly redact any Personal Identifiable Information within 24 hours in our system. Unless asked, please do not share any personal data that directly or indirectly identifies you at any time during your use of our service such as while in conversation with the AI Coach. All conversations with the AI Coach are private.
If you are offered Wysa through an institution, then anonymized and summarized information may be exchanged, however the details of your specific conversations are never shared with any external parties outside Wysa, including any partners. If your Institution refers you to our App, then we may receive your Institution-registered phone number, for us to send a unique code for verification. Your phone number and identifiers received from your Institution will always be encrypted and secured in our database and your identifiers will not be shared or used for any other purpose. You can read our Privacy Policy to learn more on how we handle and secure your data.
Do I have to use real names?
No you don’t have to use your real name - you can use a dummy name or a nickname.
Who can read and use my messages?
Only Wysa. The Wysa team occasionally uses some anonymized messages to train Wysa's AI to help improve its ability to have conversations.
How will my responses to assessments be used?
You may be asked to complete validated assessments or outcome measures at defined time-intervals. Based on your consent we will share your assessment responses, scores and any at-risk safety flags for the purposes of your clinical care and safety. Where required and also with your consent, we will also create an aggregated summary of your responses to assessment and clinical questions, without any additional modification or interpretation or decision-making and share it with your Institution. Please read our Privacy Policy to understand more about how your data is handled.
Your conversations and assessment responses are anonymous and never processed to form a diagnostic opinion nor for any medical purposes or for giving clinical advice. Please read our Privacy Policy to understand more about how your data is handled.
What security measures are taken to keep my data safe?
Wysa uses industry-standard safeguards to prevent unauthorized access to your data. We encrypt all data provided by you using strong TLS encryption protocols and transmitted securely from your mobile device to our servers. Your data is also encrypted within our UK based storage servers using strong industry compliant AES-256 encryption protocols. Our servers are hosted and managed by industry leaders in the provision of cloud hosting services who have stringent GDPR and HIPAA compliant security programs and controls. We maintain service level and Data Protection agreements with our hosting partners.
If using Wysa on the phone, you can set a PIN from the settings inside the Wysa app to ensure only you see your chats with Wysa.
I need access to my past conversations, can I?
Yes, your conversations with Wysa can be accessed at any time from the "Journey" tab in your app.
I've switched to a new phone, how do I move my data from the old to the new phone?
If your Institution has provided you access to Wysa, your data will be automatically moved to the new device when you log in using your phone number for verification. If you have not logged in using your phone number but wish to move the data to another device, please write to us at [email protected]. At any given point of time, you can have access to Wysa on a single device only. If you have changed mobile phone number please contact your Institution.
How do I delete my data?
You can at any point of time, delete all your provided data by using the “reset my data” feature available in the Wysa App settings. Please be aware that post reset, all your data will be deleted from our servers and cannot be recovered.
If you provided consent to send App data to your Institution Electronic patient Records (EPR) system or to your clinician/GP, the data that is already sent till that point of time cannot be deleted. You will need to contact your Institution to exercise your rights.
Whom to contact if I have additional questions, concerns or complaints?
You can read our Privacy Policy and if you still need to talk to the Wysa team, please send us an email at [email protected].
Counselor/Support Tab FAQs
What additional support is available through the App?
The App is not designed to provide assistance in critical cases and conditions. Therefore, it has a list of external helplines and chatlines for users to get in touch with in such situations. These are appropriate and vetted resources that one can get personalized and guided help from.
Will the App provide additional support ?
Unfortunately, The App is not designed to provide assistance in critical cases and conditions. Therefore, it only provides access to relevant and validated resources in the form of externally validated helplines and chatlines or resources provided by your Institution.
Am I guaranteed support if I go through the App?
We include only credible, verified and reliable resources in our app. However, there might be cases where you don't get a response immediately. As these are external resources, Wysa cannot claim responsibility for them. But we truly hope you get the required assistance immediately.
What are helplines/textlines?
Helplines and textlines are telephone and text-based services respectively that can provide assistance in emergency and crisis situations. These services are run by national-level governmental/ non-governmental agencies to help people going through medical and/or a mental health crisis.
What is a Safety Plan?
A Safety Plan is a guide that you create for yourself with the AI Coach. This personalized plan is used while facing crisis like situations and includes resources such as your emergency contacts, places you feel safe at, people you can turn to etc.
Is Safety Plan a guided plan?
Unfortunately no, Safety Plan is not a guided plan. It is a plan created by yourself with the help of the AI Coach as per your preferred resources.
What is Grounding for Panic?
This is a mindfulness tool created by our psychologists using an empirically supported technique. It is aimed to help you calm down, reduce feelings of panic and attain a sense of clarity.
Is Grounding for Panic a guided plan?
Grounding for panic is not a guided plan. It is a mindfulness exercise that helps you think through your worries and look at the situation through new lens. It also offers the option to manage your anxiety with a guided visualization.
