Privacy Policy

CounselMe is operated by Joshua van Vuuren, based in South Africa. We can be reached at support@counselme.app. CounselMe is a digital practice platform for counselling students and practitioners.

We collect the following when you use CounselMe:

• Account information: your name, email address, and password (stored securely and never visible to us in plain text).
• Usage data: sessions you complete, skill scores, study progress, streak data, and session feedback reports.
• Session content: the text exchanges between you and AI clients during practice sessions. These are stored to generate feedback and track your skill development.
• Payment information: when you subscribe, payment is processed by PayFast. CounselMe does not store your card details.
• Device information: browser type, device type, and approximate location for security and performance purposes.

We use your information to:

• Provide and improve the CounselMe platform
• Generate AI-powered skill feedback after your sessions
• Track your progress across the 8 core counselling skills
• Send you transactional emails (session updates, trial information, subscription notices)
• Respond to your support requests
• Maintain the security of your account

CounselMe uses artificial intelligence to power client simulations and generate skill feedback. Your session content is processed by AI models to produce feedback reports. Session content may be processed by third-party AI providers under data processing agreements. We do not use your session content to train AI models without your explicit consent.

We do not sell your personal information. We share data only with:

• Supabase (database and authentication infrastructure)
• PayFast (payment processing)
• AI model providers (session processing for feedback generation only)
• Lovable (hosting infrastructure)

We require all third-party providers to maintain appropriate data protection standards.

We retain your account data for as long as your account is active. If you delete your account, your personal data is deleted within 30 days. Session content and feedback reports are retained for the duration of your account to support your skill tracking.

Under the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA), you have the right to:

• Access the personal information we hold about you
• Request correction of inaccurate information
• Request deletion of your information
• Object to the processing of your information
• Lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator of South Africa

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at support@counselme.app.

CounselMe uses essential cookies to maintain your login session and app functionality. We do not use advertising or tracking cookies.

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of significant changes by email. Continued use of CounselMe after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

For any privacy-related questions or requests, contact us at support@counselme.app.