Even if you hold a qualification in psychology, counselling, medicine or social work, on SafeEar you only listen and offer companionship. You never diagnose, treat, prescribe or give professional advice.
This Listener Agreement (“Agreement”) is between you and SafeEar, operated by Harshit Pathak from Mumbai, Maharashtra, India (“SafeEar”). It applies in addition to the Terms & Safety Notice and the Privacy Notice. By creating a listener account, going online, accepting a request or hosting a circle, you accept it.
1. Your role
You offer attentive, respectful, non-judgmental listening and companionship to adults who choose to talk with you through SafeEar, by text or call, and may host support circles when invited. You may reflect back what you hear, share general encouragement and point people to SafeEar’s urgent-help information and to qualified professionals. That is the whole of the role.
2. Independent, not employed
You are an independent service provider. Nothing in this Agreement makes you SafeEar’s employee, worker, agent, partner or representative, or entitles you to employment benefits. You choose when you are available and whether to accept a request. You may not make any promise or statement on SafeEar’s behalf. You provide your own device, internet connection and quiet, private place to listen.
3. What you must not do
You must not: diagnose, label or assess anyone’s mental or physical health; offer therapy, counselling, treatment or medical, legal or financial advice; recommend, start, stop or change any medicine or treatment; tell anyone what they must do about a major life decision; promote any religion, ideology, product, service or person; ask for or accept money, gifts or favours outside SafeEar; or form any romantic, sexual or financial relationship with someone you met through SafeEar.
4. Stay on SafeEar
All contact with people you meet through SafeEar must stay on SafeEar. You must never share, ask for or accept phone numbers, email addresses, social media or messaging accounts, addresses or any other contact details; never move a conversation to another app, call or meeting; never meet anyone in person; and never try to find or contact a user outside SafeEar. If a user offers or asks for contact details, decline kindly and report it in the app.
During this Agreement and for 12 months after it ends, you must not offer listening, counselling, coaching or any paid service to anyone you met through SafeEar, except through SafeEar.
Any contact you have with a user outside SafeEar is a serious breach of this Agreement, is entirely your own responsibility and not SafeEar’s, and will lead to immediate removal, the withholding of earnings connected with the breach where the law allows, and, where appropriate, a report to the authorities.
5. Confidentiality
Everything a user or circle participant shares with you is confidential. You must not record, screenshot, copy, write down identifying details of, or share any conversation or circle, or anything about the people in it, with anyone, in any form, during or after this Agreement, except: (a) through SafeEar’s own report and safety tools; (b) when SafeEar asks you to help with a safety review or a lawful request; or (c) when the law requires it. You must keep your SafeEar account, password and devices secure, never let anyone else use your account or listen in, and tell SafeEar at once about any possible breach. You must follow the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 in how you treat anyone’s personal data.
6. Safety and risk
If someone says they may harm themselves or someone else, is in danger, or is a minor, you must: stay calm and kind; share SafeEar’s urgent-help information (112, and Tele-MANAS on 14416); encourage them to contact emergency services or a trusted person who can be with them; and report the conversation in the app straight away so SafeEar can review it. If a user appears to be under 18, end the conversation politely and report it. You are not expected to act as an emergency responder and must not put yourself at risk, but you must never ignore a risk or advise anyone against getting help.
If a conversation becomes abusive, sexual or unsafe for you, you may end it immediately and report it. SafeEar will review reports and may block the user.
7. Hosting circles
When you host a support circle you facilitate a respectful group conversation; you do not run group therapy. You must start and end on time, remind participants about confidentiality and not recording, keep the conversation safe and on topic, remove anyone who breaks the rules, never record the meeting, and report any safety concern after the circle. You must use only the meeting link SafeEar provides and must not collect or keep participants’ contact details.
8. Earnings and taxes
SafeEar pays you for completed paid sessions and hosted circles at the rates shown in your listener dashboard, which SafeEar may change for future sessions with notice. Earnings are paid to your verified account after the checks in your dashboard (such as payout details and KYC) are complete. SafeEar may hold or adjust earnings linked to a session that was refunded, disputed, fraudulent or in breach of this Agreement. You are responsible for your own income tax, GST (if applicable) and other obligations; SafeEar may deduct tax at source where the law requires.
9. Conduct and quality
You must give accurate information about yourself, your languages and any qualifications, keep your profile honest and up to date, be respectful to everyone regardless of who they are, follow SafeEar’s guidance and training, and accept that SafeEar may review reported conversations, ratings and complaints. SafeEar decides, at its discretion, who is approved as a listener and how listeners are shown.
10. Your responsibility
You are responsible for your own words, conduct and decisions as a listener. You agree to compensate and hold harmless SafeEar and its operator against any claim, loss, penalty, cost or expense (including reasonable legal fees) arising from your breach of this Agreement or the law, any advice or statement you give in breach of section 3, any contact or dealing with a user outside SafeEar, or any breach of confidentiality. To the fullest extent the law allows, SafeEar’s total liability to you under this Agreement is limited to the earnings due to you for the 3 months before the claim.
11. Suspension and ending
You may stop listening at any time. SafeEar may suspend or remove you at any time, with or without notice, including for a breach of this Agreement, a safety concern, repeated complaints or low quality. Earnings properly due for completed sessions before removal will be paid, less any amounts SafeEar may hold under section 8. Sections 4, 5, 10 and 12 continue after this Agreement ends.
12. General
This Agreement is governed by the laws of India. Disputes are resolved as set out in section 20 of the Terms & Safety Notice (written complaint first, then arbitration seated in Mumbai, with the courts at Mumbai having jurisdiction). SafeEar may update this Agreement and will tell you about material changes before they apply; continuing to listen after that means you accept them. If any part is unenforceable, the rest remains in force. Questions: support@safeear.life.
People come to SafeEar at tender moments. Staying on the platform, keeping confidences and knowing the limits of the role protect them, and protect you.