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Retention Policy

Talkspace Services include messaging therapy (text, recorded video, and recorded audio) as well as live video therapy. Your transcripts, including any messages sent to your therapist, will be treated similar to medical records and retained in a HIPAA compliant manner (for a period of 10 years).

Is my transcript private?

Yes. Your transcript is your medical treatment and is private. It will not be shared with any third party and can only be reviewed by the Talkspace Chief Medical Officer in very rare circumstances related to a review of a complaint related to your treatment.

Is Talkspace confidential?

Yes. Talkspace will not share your information with your organization. In order to protect confidentiality according to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), we require all users to create a unique nickname during the registration process, which is only shared with a therapist.You can determine whether you want your therapist to call you by your first name or nickname during therapy. While Talkspace will not share your information with your organization, we do require every user to submit emergency contact information, which is only accessed according to safety and reporting mandates.

Is the Talkspace service secure?

Yes. On the Talkspace platform, privacy and safety are always our first consideration. We deploy a variety of techniques to ensure that you and your data are always kept safe and confidential, and our technology is fully compliant with HIPAA. All data is encrypted on the servers, and all communication between our software and the servers is encrypted. The Talkspace app requires you to enter your password and allows you to create a unique passcode for extra security. If you have a device that supports fingerprint authentication, we also have a feature that recognizes your fingerprint.

Can I have my transcript released to a third party, including another physician or therapist?

No. Talkspace does not release transcripts to third parties even if you request a release. Talkspace believes that the transcript is the treatment and is not the medical record.

Can I print my transcript?

Yes. While we do not recommend this, it is your transcript of treatment to use at your discretion.

What happens if Talkspace receives a subpoena requesting my medical records? What will Talkspace turn over to the court?

Talkspace will turn over notes and documentation from your therapist, including your treatment summary, diagnosis, and dates you used the Talkspace platform; similar to traditional bricks and mortar practices. This does not include any transcript of treatment. Talkspace has never supplied a client transcript to a court or lawyer. As stated above, Talkspace treats the transcript as the treatment.

Is it possible that Talkspace will ever turn over my transcript?

Talkspace has never turned over a transcript in the 10 years we have been providing therapy, and while unlikely we would ever turn over one in the future, we cannot 100% guarantee that a court would not compel us to turn over a transcript.

What happens after 10 years?

All medical records and transcripts are deleted from our system.

Why does Talkspace keep my medical records and transcript for 10 years?

By law, all 50 USA states and all participating European Union countries designate 7 to 10 years as the required medical records retention period. Currently, there is no updated guidance from any regulatory body pertaining to messaging transcript retention as a relatively new technology, and as those transcripts contain similar information to your treatment summary and diagnostic progress; Talkspace holds transcripts for the same period designated by the medical document retention laws requirements. Due to the lack of guidance noted above, this has led Talkspace to consider your transcript an equivalent of a medical record.