Effective date: 2026-05-18
Last updated: 2026-05-18

This Privacy Policy explains, in plain language, what information we collect when you contact How To Beat Loneliness, why we collect it, who can see it, and what choices you have. We tried to write it like a person, not a lawyer.

Who we are

How To Beat Loneliness is operated by How To Beat Loneliness LLC, a U.S. limited-liability company. Our website is howtobeatloneliness.com. Our free phone line is 877-638-1122. You can reach us about anything in this policy at contact@howtobeatloneliness.com.

We are not a medical service, a counseling service, or a crisis line. We are a free, human-answered phone line for people who feel lonely and want someone to talk to. If you are in a moment of real crisis, please call or text 988 (US Suicide and Crisis Lifeline) right away.

What information we collect

We collect only the information you choose to give us.

When you submit the contact form on our website, we collect: your name, your email address, your phone number (if you provide it), and the message you write. We collect this so we can call or write you back.

When you call our phone line, our phone system (RingCentral) logs: the phone number you called from, the date and time, the length of the call, and whether the call was answered or missed. We do not record the audio of phone calls.

When you book a scheduled session through our website (if and when our /sessions/ page is live), we collect: your name, your email, the session type and time you booked, and — for paid sessions — your payment is processed by Stripe. We do not see or store your card number; only Stripe does.

When you opt in to our weekly newsletter, we add your email address to our newsletter list (hosted by SendFox) so we can send you the weekly note. You opt in either by ticking a box on the contact form, or by clicking a link in the welcome email. You can unsubscribe with one click in any newsletter we send.

When you simply visit our website, our website hosting and any embedded analytics may log basic technical information — your IP address, the type of browser you use, and which pages you visited.

We do not ask for, collect, or store: government ID numbers, social security numbers, financial account numbers (other than through Stripe, which we never see), health records, race or ethnicity, religion, or sexual orientation. If you volunteer any of this information in a phone call or message to us, we do not write it down in any database.

How we use your information

We use the information you give us to: call you back when you ask us to; reply to messages you send us; send you the welcome email when you contact us; send the post-call check-in email (about an hour after we talk); send the weekly newsletter, only if you have opted in; track how often you’ve contacted us, so we know whether you’re a first-time or returning caller; and process payment if you book a paid scheduled session.

We do not use your information to target advertising to you, to sell to data brokers, or to train AI systems.

Who we share your information with

We use a small number of trusted service providers to operate the line and the website. Each one only sees the data they need to do their job:

• HubSpot (US, GDPR-compliant) — our main contact database; sees your contact details, call history, and message history.
• RingCentral (US) — our phone system; sees phone call metadata (numbers, times, durations).
• Gravity Forms (on our WordPress site) — the form on our site; sees form submissions.
• WordPress.com / hosting (US) — the site itself; sees website visit logs.
• Stripe (US, PCI-compliant) — payment processing; sees payment card details (we never see them).
• SendFox (US) — the weekly newsletter; sees newsletter subscribers’ email addresses. Only if you opted in.
• Google Workspace (US) — our email system; sees emails to and from our @howtobeatloneliness.com addresses.
• Zapier (US) — the wiring between the systems above; sees limited data in transit.

We do not sell your data to anyone. We do not share your data with advertisers, data brokers, or third parties not listed above. We do not share what you tell us on the phone with anyone outside the team that needs to know to do their job.

If we are ever legally required to share information (for example, by a valid court order), we will — and we will tell you, unless the legal order forbids us from doing so.

How long we keep your information

• Contact details and conversation history: As long as you remain in contact, plus 3 years after your last contact. You can ask us to delete this any time.
• Phone call metadata in RingCentral: 12 months by default.
• Newsletter subscription: Until you unsubscribe.
• Payment records (Stripe): 7 years (US tax law requirement).
• Website visit logs: 90 days by default.

Your rights

You can, at any time, ask us to:

• Show you what we have about you. Email contact@howtobeatloneliness.com and we’ll send you a copy within 30 days.
• Correct anything that’s wrong. Just tell us.
• Delete everything we have about you. Email us and we’ll do it within 30 days, except for what we’re required to keep by law (mainly payment records).
• Stop the newsletter. Click unsubscribe in any newsletter, or email us.
• Stop all marketing communication entirely. Email us and we’ll stop.
• Export your data in a portable format. Email us.

If you live in the European Union, the United Kingdom, or California, you have additional formal rights under the GDPR or CCPA, including the right to lodge a complaint with your data protection authority. We honor those rights worldwide regardless of where you live.

Children

This service is intended for adults — typically people 18 and over. We do not knowingly collect information from anyone under 13. If you believe a child has contacted us, please email us and we will delete the information.

Cookies

Our website uses a small number of cookies to remember your preferences and to understand which pages are most useful. We do not use cookies to track you across other websites or to retarget you with ads. You can disable cookies in your browser settings; the website will still work.

Security

We use industry-standard security measures — encryption in transit (HTTPS everywhere), strong access controls on who in the team can see your data, and regular security reviews. No system is perfect, and no one can guarantee absolute security, but we take it seriously and we will tell you within 72 hours if we ever discover a breach involving your information.

Changes to this policy

If we change this policy in a meaningful way, we will update the “Last updated” date at the top, and — if you’re subscribed to the newsletter — we’ll mention it in a newsletter so you know.

How to contact us

For any question about this policy, or any request about your data:

• Email: contact@howtobeatloneliness.com
• Phone: 877-638-1122
• Mail: How To Beat Loneliness LLC, [mailing address to be added before publish]

If you’d rather talk to a person than send an email, just call. That’s literally what we do.

This policy was written to be honest and clear. If something in it doesn’t make sense to you, please tell us — we’d rather rewrite it than have you confused about what we do with your information.