Your safety is our priority

We take your safety seriously. Sylva is built on models that have been rigorously tested. We strive to make sure that everyone is looked after properly.

If somebody is at risk of harm, Sylva draws on Mental Health First Aid principles to help guide people through a difficult moment. This includes giving them reassurance, support and information. 


Read our safeguarding policy

Crisis helplines and emotional support

For your child:

  • Childline

    Childline

    0800 1111
    Free, confidential support for anyone under 19
    Online chat available at childline.org.uk

  • Papyrus HOPELINEUK

    Papyrus HOPELINEUK

    0800 068 4141
    For young people under 35 having suicidal thoughts
    Text 07860 039967 or email pat@papyrus-uk.org
    Available 24 hours a day

  • The Mix

    The Mix

    0808 808 4994
    Support for under-25s
    Online chat available at themix.org.uk

  • CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably)

    CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably)

    0800 585 858
    For people aged 15 and over
    Webchat also available at thecalmzone.net

For you as a parent or carer:

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Built on Clinical-Grade Safety Standards

Sylva provides immediate support with your safety assured. It meets NHS-level safeguarding requirements through DCB0129 certification, the clinical safety standard mandatory for all NHS health IT systems.

Every conversation is monitored in real-time by Barbara, our independent AI safeguarding system, trained on 2,000+ test scenarios covering all abuse and harm indicators including suicide ideation, self-harm, harm to others, and abuse disclosures.

Our Designated Safeguarding Lead, a qualified Social Worker, reviews every flagged case. Our Clinical Safety Officer, a registered Clinician, ensures that all clinical risks have been mitigated and provides oversight of clinical safety incidents with the DSL. 

We're externally audited by the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) for safeguarding policies and systems, plus DCB0129 clinical risk management, DSPT data security, and ISO 27001 information security.

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Ethics

Your wellbeing is fundamental.

  • Sylva is carefully managed. It operates with human oversight so that safeguarding is overseen properly and responsibly.

  • We have trained Sylva to be skilful. It can handle complex, sensitive conversations that harm and distress is minimised.

  • Traceability systems are in place, meaning the replies made by Sylva can be explained to people that use it.

Taking our ethical commitments further

We have created an automated supervisor, powered by AI and overseen by qualified human professionals, to review how Sylva interacts with you and flag any ethical concerns. It's built on three guiding principles: your safety, our accountability and the quality of support.

It reviews Sylva to make sure that ethical guidelines are consistently followed. It also provides us with constructive feedback, which we use to improve Sylva.

Security

We hold your data with care.

Read our privacy policy

Conversations

Your conversation history is securely stored on your device, not on our servers. No humans read your chats except in rare safety situations

Anonymous sign-up

If you wish, your app onboarding can be completely anonymous

Certification

We hold multiple security certifications, which require independent audits

Server security

All communication between your device and our servers is encrypted, protecting you from breaches and unauthorised access