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Disclaimer, Terms and Conditions of the
“18111 - Mental Health Support Hotline” WhatsApp Account

By continuing this conversation on the “18111 - Mental Health Support Hotline” WhatsApp Account, you confirm that you have read, understood, and agree to the Terms and Conditions below (the “Terms”).

If you are in danger or need emergency help, call 999 or go to the Accident and Emergency Department at a nearby hospital immediately.

About the Account

  • The “18111 - Mental Health Support Hotline” WhatsApp Account (the “Account”), providing round-the-clock emotional and mental health support and referral services via WhatsApp text messaging for people with mental health needs.
  • The Account is delivered by handlers and supporting staff who are trained in mental health support. For quality assurance and safety, conversations might be supervised by supervisors or service-in-charge.
  • The Account supports text messages, images (excluding WhatsApp stickers) and voice messages.
  • The Account does not support voice or video calls.

Important Notice (No professional relationship; not a substitute for professional care)

  • Your use of the Account does not create a medical treatment, psychotherapy, or other licensed professional–client relationship. The Account is not a substitute for professional medical or other licensed services.
  • Always seek advice from qualified health professional or related helping professional regarding any medical or mental health condition. If you are in danger or need emergency help, call 999 or go to the Accident and Emergency Department at a nearby hospital immediately.

Acceptable Use and Termination

  • You agree to use the Account lawfully and appropriately, and not to engage in harassment, threats, hate, discrimination, obscenity, defamation, infringement, fraud, malware distribution, or any conduct that disrupts operations. Do not impersonate others or improperly collect others’ data.
  • We may suspend or terminate the chat or your access if you breach these Terms or for safety and operational reasons.

Privacy and Personal Data

  • Recording of communications: To support service operations, quality assurance, crisis management, training, auditing, record-keeping, and legal compliance, all WhatsApp conversations conducted through the Account will be recorded and retained (including message content, timestamps, and technical logs).
  • We will collect your WhatsApp-displayed phone number and any personal data you voluntarily share (e.g., name, age, location, language preferences, your situation). We may also collect aggregated, non-personally identifiable information (e.g., age, gender, language, location, conversation duration and message volume).
  • We use data to assess whether you are reasonably suspected to be, or are actually, in a life-threatening situation; provide and improve support; enable supervision and quality assurance; conduct training, auditing, statistics and research; and maintain security and operations. For research, training, or teaching, data will be used in a de-identified or anonymised manner.
  • Call handlers, supporting staff, supervisors, and relevant staff may review your conversation for quality control and crisis management. In instances where we have reasonable grounds to believe that it is necessary to protect your personal safety or that of others, we may disclose the required information to the appropriate supervisory authorities and/or to your immediate family members or legal guardians (for example, by contacting emergency services).
  • Except as described in these Terms, we will not provide your personal data to third parties for direct marketing or unrelated purposes without your consent.
  • Under the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance of Hong Kong, you may request access to, correction, or erasure of your personal data. To verify identity, please make such requests via this same WhatsApp account.
  • For enquiries about data protection practices, kinds of data held, or to exercise your data subject rights, please raise your request in this chat or call 18111 to contact the duty officer.

Security

  • We value your privacy and security and have adopted appropriate technical and organisational measures; however, the internet and messaging platforms are not perfectly secure. Despite the above safeguards and recording mechanisms, unauthorised access or service disruption may still occur. You agree to use the Account at your own risk, and we are not liable for losses arising from unauthorised access.
  • WhatsApp is a third-party platform subject to its own terms and privacy policy, which we do not control. If you do not wish to be subject to the Disclaimer, Terms and Conditions of the “18111 - Mental Health Support Hotline” WhatsApp Account, please contact us by calling 18111 (conversation will be recorded).

Risks, Disclaimer, and Indemnity

  • You assume all risks arising from your use of the Account. The Account and its call handlers, supporting staffs, supervisors, and service-in-charge are not liable for any decisions, actions, or outcomes by you or third parties while, as a result of, or after using the Account, including whether you seek or forego professional care, or modify or stop any treatment.
  • The Account is provided “as is” and “as available,” without warranties of any kind (including uninterrupted, timely, secure, error-free, accuracy, merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or meeting your expectations).
  • To the extent permitted by law, the Account and its related personnel shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, consequential, or special damages. You agree to indemnify and hold us harmless from claims, losses, and liabilities arising from: (a) your breach of these Terms; (b) your violation of law; (c) third-party claims alleging your breach of these Terms; (d) information you provide via the Account; or (e) your use of the Account.

Third-Party Services and Links

  • You are contacting us via WhatsApp. Where other third-party websites/apps/services are involved, their terms and policies also apply. We are not responsible for third-party policies or practices.

International Users and Governing Law

  • The Account is operated primarily in Hong Kong. If you are outside Hong Kong, your information will be collected in or transferred to Hong Kong and used in accordance with Hong Kong law.
  • These Terms and the provision of the Account are governed by the laws of Hong Kong. The courts of Hong Kong shall have exclusive jurisdiction over disputes arising out of or in connection with the Account.

Updates and Effectiveness

  • We may amend these Terms from time to time; changes take effect immediately upon posting or notification. Your continued use constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms.
  • Last updated: 27-8-2025