JOAN

Privacy Policy

Last updated: August 26, 2026 · Pilot version

1. What we collect during a screening

When you use JOAN, the following happens:

• Your typed answers are sent to JOAN's server and then forwarded to our AI provider (Anthropic) to generate follow-up questions and the final screening result.
• Your screening result (scores and clinical brief) is returned to your browser. It is not saved to any JOAN account.
• Your session ends when you close your browser tab. At that point, JOAN's servers do not retain the raw text of your conversation.

2. What we do store, on aggregate

JOAN records anonymous, aggregate counters so we can understand how the pilot is being used and manage capacity responsibly. These counters include:

• Number of screenings started and completed per day and per month
• Distribution of concern-level outcomes (minimal, mild, moderate, high)
• Frequency at which the self-harm crisis pathway is surfaced
• Average time to complete a screening
• Number of times the "at capacity" screen was shown
• An anonymous, randomly-generated device identifier stored in your browser's local storage, used only to compute aggregate return-visit metrics; not linked to your identity, not shared with third parties, and clearable by clearing your browser storage for hellojoan.co

None of these counters are linked to individual users, to conversation content, or to any identifying information.

3. Rate limiting

To keep the pilot open to as many people as possible, JOAN limits how many screenings can be completed from a single network address in a 24-hour window. To enforce this we temporarily store a counter keyed by your IP address. This counter expires automatically after 24 hours and is never combined with any other data about you.

4. Email waitlist

If you choose to submit your email address for future updates about JOAN, we store that email address along with the date submitted. Your email is not linked to any screening result you produced. You may request removal from the waitlist by emailing help@hellojoan.co.

5. Third-Party AI Processing

JOAN uses Anthropic, PBC and the Claude artificial intelligence service to conduct the conversation with you and to generate your screening scores and clinical brief. This section describes exactly what information is shared with Anthropic, why, and how it is handled.

What is transmitted to Anthropic:

• The text you type during your conversation with JOAN, which includes your screening responses and any health information you choose to share.
• JOAN's own prompts and scoring instructions that direct Claude how to generate your report.

What is NOT transmitted to Anthropic:

• Your name, email address, phone number, or any other personal identifier.
• Your IP address or device identifiers.
• Any account information (JOAN has no accounts).
• Any analytics events beyond the conversation content itself.

Why the information is transmitted: solely to process your assessment and generate your screening report (EPDS, PHQ-9, GAD-7 scores and clinical brief).

How the data is handled by Anthropic: Anthropic is a third-party processor. The transmission is governed by Anthropic's Commercial Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Under Anthropic's standard commercial API terms, data submitted through the API is not used to train Anthropic's models. See Anthropic's Privacy Policy and Anthropic's Commercial Terms.

Retention on JOAN's side: After Claude returns your screening report to your browser, JOAN does not retain the raw text of your conversation on JOAN's servers.

How to exercise your rights: Because JOAN does not persist your conversation content on JOAN's servers, there is no historical conversation record on JOAN's side to request or delete. For questions about your data as it may reside with Anthropic, contact Anthropic per their Privacy Policy linked above. For all other JOAN-side privacy requests (email waitlist removal, general questions), contact help@hellojoan.co.

BAA status: JOAN does not currently operate under a Business Associate Agreement (BAA) with Anthropic. This is why we ask you not to include personally identifying information in your conversation during the pilot.

6. Other third-party services

JOAN uses the following additional third-party service providers to operate:

• Vercel, Inc. (hosting provider). JOAN runs on Vercel serverless infrastructure. Vercel collects standard server logs (IP address, request timestamps) for security and operational purposes. See Vercel's Privacy Policy.
• Upstash Redis (data store, via Vercel Marketplace). Anonymous aggregate counters and, if you opt in, your email waitlist submission are stored in a managed Redis instance. See Upstash's Privacy Policy.
• Cloudflare, Inc. (DNS provider). Cloudflare provides authoritative DNS for hellojoan.co. Cloudflare's DNS-only configuration does not proxy application traffic. See Cloudflare's Privacy Policy.

JOAN does not use any payment processors, authentication providers, data brokers, third-party analytics services, or advertising SDKs.

7. Not HIPAA-covered during pilot

JOAN's pilot phase operates outside of HIPAA covered entity status. Do not use JOAN as a substitute for HIPAA-protected clinical intake. When JOAN moves out of pilot phase, this section will be updated with the applicable HIPAA framework.

8. Your rights

• You can request removal of your email from the waitlist at any time.
• Because JOAN does not persist raw conversation text or personally identifying data beyond the session and the optional waitlist email, there is no historical conversation record to request or delete.
• You can decline the consent screen at any time and JOAN will not proceed.

9. Children

JOAN is not intended for use by anyone under 18. We do not knowingly collect data from anyone under 18.

10. Changes to this Policy

As JOAN moves out of pilot phase, this Policy will be updated. Material changes will be posted here with a revised "Last updated" date.

11. Contact

Privacy questions or waitlist-removal requests: help@hellojoan.co.