How Dr. Thoughts Handles Possible Crisis Situations
Last updated: 23 October 2026
Dr. Thoughts is an AI self-reflection service. It is not an emergency service, medical service or substitute for professional help.
1. Safety checks
Messages submitted to AI chat, check-ins and supported reminder-reply channels are assessed by an automated safety system for possible indications of:
- Suicide or self-harm;
- Serious harm to another person;
- Abuse, coercion or controlling behaviour; or
- A medical emergency.
The system can be wrong. It may fail to identify danger or may display resources where no emergency exists. If the safety system is unavailable, Dr. Thoughts is designed to take the more cautious route and display fixed support information.
2. What happens after a flag
Where a possible immediate safety concern is detected:
- Ordinary self-reflection pauses;
- Dr. Thoughts displays fixed, human-written safety wording;
- The app displays verified support resources appropriate to the user's selected or detected country where available;
- Humour, challenge, celebrations and personalised notification previews are disabled;
- Topic-specific reminders pause; and
- Support resources remain readily available for 14 days.
In the United States, crisis information includes the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. A person in immediate danger should call 911 or the appropriate local emergency number. Users elsewhere should call their local emergency number or an appropriate verified crisis service.
3. Human review
Dr. Thoughts is not monitored in real time. A trained and authorised reviewer may examine the limited flagged excerpt to evaluate whether the safety system operated correctly, where permitted by the Privacy Policy and applicable law. Access is restricted and logged.
4. What Dr. Thoughts does not do
Dr. Thoughts does not promise to:
- Contact emergency services;
- Contact family, friends, an employer or another person;
- Identify a user's precise location;
- Provide a diagnosis, risk assessment or treatment; or
- Keep an AI conversation available without limits during an emergency.
If the free-message limit has been reached, Dr. Thoughts still displays a fixed safety message, local support information and help controls.
5. Resource verification
Country-specific emergency and crisis resources are verified before publication and reviewed at least quarterly. A resource is removed or corrected promptly where a user, provider or authority reports that it is inaccurate.
6. Privacy
Safety events and any reviewed excerpt are handled as sensitive data. A reviewed excerpt is kept for no more than 90 days. Minimal event records may be kept for up to 24 months for safety evaluation and legally required reporting. Aggregate reports do not contain chat text or identify individual users.