Community guidelines
How we keep this place safe for everyone.
FriendListen exists for the everyday weight: a hard day, a long stretch of loneliness, something you need to say out loud. It is not crisis care, not therapy, and not a place to chase advice. These guidelines describe what we ask of the people who use this site, what we promise back, and how to report something that doesn't feel right.
If you're in a crisis right now, FriendListen is not the fastest help. Please call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline), text HOME to 741741 (Crisis Text Line), or call 911 if you're in immediate danger.
What we ask of everyone
Be kind. Listen more than you speak. Respect that the person on the other end of the chat is a stranger giving you their time, not a service representative obliged to satisfy you. Don't try to move the conversation off the platform. Don't share contact information. Don't pretend to be a therapist, doctor, or licensed counselor.
If a conversation makes you uncomfortable, end it. The exit is always one click away, and you don't owe anyone an explanation.
If you're here to talk
Bring whatever's on your mind. You don't have to have a clean story or a specific question. Your listener is not there to fix you. They're there so you don't have to carry the thing alone for the next twenty minutes. You can ask them to just listen, or you can ask them to respond. Both are fine. Tell them which.
Don't share information that identifies you in real life: full name, address, phone, workplace, school. The anonymity is for your protection, not just ours.
If you're here to listen
Your job is presence, not problem-solving. Reflect back what you hear. Validate the feeling before you reach for anything else. Ask open-ended questions if it helps. Avoid advice unless the person asks for it. Avoid claiming expertise you don't have.
You are not a substitute for professional care. If the conversation surfaces serious self-harm, abuse, or crisis, gently point to the resources above and end the chat. That's the right call. It is not your job to handle situations that need clinical training.
Privacy and what we store
The privacy story matters, so we'd rather state it plainly than hide it:
What stays private: You don't register, log in, or share a real name. Your nickname is the only thing the other person sees. Chat content is never shown publicly or to other users. Conversations are not used to train AI.
What we keep on the server: Chat messages, briefly, so we can review safety reports. Your nickname and chosen topic for the duration of the session. An email address only if you provide one on the "leave a message" form. Standard server logs and IP-based rate-limit counters.
When we might look at stored content: If it relates to a safety report, immediate danger, suspected abuse, a lawful request, or a clear violation of these guidelines. Not for marketing, not for product analytics, not for any reason that isn't safety.
Reporting something that doesn't feel right
In an active chat, click the small Report link below any partner message. A moderator will look at the conversation. You can keep talking or end the chat. Either is fine. The report stays after the chat ends.
If you want to flag a broader concern (a pattern of behavior, a feature suggestion, a worry about how the site works), use the contact form and pick Safety Concern as the topic.
Things we won't tolerate
- Harassment, abuse, or sexually explicit content directed at another user.
- Threats, intimidation, or attempts to incite harm.
- Pressuring anyone to share personal information, photos, or off-platform contact.
- Pretending to be a therapist, doctor, lawyer, or other licensed professional.
- Promoting a product, service, or external community.
- Discriminatory speech of any kind.
Violations end the session. Repeated violations end the account-shaped trail of sessions we can connect.
What FriendListen is not
FriendListen is not therapy. The people listening are volunteers, not licensed counselors. They are not trained to diagnose, treat, or manage a mental health condition. If what you're carrying is bigger than one good conversation, and there's no shame in that being the case, the resources at the top of this page are equipped for it and we are not.
FriendListen is also not an AI chatbot dressed up to sound like a person. There is no AI on the listener side. Every conversation is between two real humans who chose to be there.
Questions?
Use the contact form. We read everything that comes through.