Safeguarding at My Soul Purpose

My Soul Purpose exists to help people discover who they were always meant to be. That journey sometimes means reflecting on difficult life experiences — divorce, loss, career change, loneliness. Some of the people using this platform may be going through challenging times right now. We take that responsibility seriously — not as a legal obligation, but as a moral one.

Every feature, every policy, and every decision we make starts with one question: does this protect the person using it?

What happens when we’re worried about you

If your activity on the platform suggests you may be struggling — for example, consistently low mood scores, or content that indicates distress — we will never:

• ✗Lock your account
• ✗Delete your content
• ✗Cut you off from the community
• ✗Send you a cold automated warning

Instead, we will:

• ✓Show you a care banner with three clear options: call Samaritans (116 123), find professional support, or confirm you are okay
• ✓Temporarily pause new community posts in your feed — your journal, your plan, your music, and your results all remain fully accessible
• ✓Log the event in our safeguarding records so we can review patterns and offer appropriate support
• ✓Give you a clear, warm route back to full access when you are ready — nothing is deleted, nothing is hidden
• ✓In cases of imminent risk to life, we may contact emergency services — but only as a last resort, and we will always tell you if we do this

Expression vs crisis

There is a vital difference between someone sharing their experience of pain and someone in immediate danger.

“I felt like I wanted to end everything, but writing in my journal helped me see things differently” — this is expression. This is recovery in action. This is exactly what this platform is for.

“I want to end it tonight” — this is a crisis signal. This requires immediate, gentle intervention and access to trained professionals.

Our moderation system is designed to understand this difference. It operates in three layers: (1) immediate keyword screening against a list of terms that indicate imminent risk, (2) AI-assisted distress scoring that assesses the emotional tone and urgency of community posts on a 1–10 scale, and (3) human review for any content flagged by the first two layers. Posts scored at distress level 5–7 trigger a support banner with helpline resources. Posts scored at 8 or above trigger the Care State. Content that matches our blocked keyword list is held for review immediately. We never rely solely on automation for something this important.

How we keep this space safe

Every post shared in the community passes through a three-layer safety system:

Layer 1: Immediate keyword screening for content that is illegal under UK law (Online Safety Act 2023, Section 184 — encouraging or assisting serious self-harm is a criminal offence)

Layer 2: AI-assisted distress scoring that assesses the emotional tone of each post — not to censor, but to identify when someone might need support

Layer 3: Human review for any content flagged by the first two layers. Every flagged post is reviewed within 24 hours by a trained member of our team.

Content that expresses pain, grief, struggle, or honest emotion is always welcome here. Content that describes methods of self-harm, encourages destructive behaviour, or could put other vulnerable users at risk will be held — not deleted — and the author will be shown warm support resources.

If your child uses My Soul Purpose

My Soul Purpose is designed for adults (18+). We require age confirmation during signup and do not knowingly allow anyone under 18 to create an account.

If you believe your child is using the platform:

• Contact us at safeguarding@mysoulpurpose.co.uk and we will work with you
• We will never share your child’s private journal content with you without their knowledge — but we will ensure they have access to appropriate support
• If your child is under 18 and in distress, please contact Childline on 0800 1111 (free, 24/7)

For parents of young people who may be struggling:

• Samaritans — 116 123 (free, 24/7)
• Childline — 0800 1111 (free, 24/7, for under-18s)
• PAPYRUS — 0800 068 4141 (prevention of young suicide)
• Young Minds — youngminds.org.uk (parent helpline: 0808 802 5544)

Compliance and standards

My Soul Purpose operates in full compliance with:

• UK Online Safety Act 2023 — We meet all duties of care for user-to-user services, including content moderation, risk assessment, and safeguarding obligations
• Ofcom Codes of Practice — We follow Ofcom’s guidelines for protecting users, including the Children’s Codes effective from July 2025
• Samaritans Platform Guidelines — Our content moderation and care state system is built on Samaritans’ best-practice guidance for managing self-harm and suicide content online
• UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018 — All personal data, including sensitive mental health data, is processed lawfully and stored securely on EU-based servers
• ICO Registration — We are registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office

We maintain:

• A named Safeguarding Officer (Matt Andrews, founder)
• A documented risk assessment updated quarterly
• A moderation queue with a 24-hour response SLA
• Safety event logs retained for a minimum of 12 months
• Annual transparency reporting on safeguarding actions

The Care State — how it works

When our system detects signs that someone may be in distress — through consistently low mood scores (three or more consecutive scores of 2 or below), distress language in community posts, or AI-assessed emotional tone scoring above our concern threshold — we activate what we call a Care State. Here is exactly what happens, step by step:

1. Your community feed pauses — new posts from others are temporarily hidden. You retain full access to your journal, your 90-day plan, your music and meditation library, your results, and all personal tools. Nothing is removed or restricted except the community feed.
2. A care banner appears with three options: — Talk to Samaritans (116 123, free, 24/7) — Find professional support (/help-now) — “I’m okay, take me back” (dismisses the care state)
3. “I’m okay, take me back” restores your community feed and full access. The care state is dismissed and recorded in our safeguarding log.
4. Your account, your content, your journal, your community posts — everything stays exactly as you left it. Nothing is deleted. Nothing is hidden.
5. We log the care state event for safeguarding records, but we do not share your personal data with anyone unless there is an imminent risk to life.

Content we cannot allow

Under the Online Safety Act 2023 (Section 184), certain content is illegal and must be blocked immediately:

• Detailed descriptions of methods of self-harm or suicide
• Content that encourages or assists serious self-harm
• Content that glorifies or promotes self-destructive behaviour
• Content sexualising minors
• Hate speech targeting protected characteristics

When content is blocked, the author sees:

The attempt is logged for safeguarding records. The author’s account is not affected — they can continue using all other features of the platform.

If you’re worried about someone

If you see content that worries you — about yourself or someone else — please:

• Use the Report button on any community post
• Email safeguarding@mysoulpurpose.co.uk
• Call Samaritans on 116 123 if you believe someone is in immediate danger
• Call 999 if there is an immediate threat to life

Every report is reviewed within 24 hours. We do not reveal who made a report. Both the reporter and the person reported receive appropriate follow-up and support information.

Safeguarding Officer: Matt Andrews

Email: safeguarding@mysoulpurpose.co.uk

Last updated: April 2026