Health disclaimer

This is an English translation provided for convenience. The French version is the authoritative one.

This page explains, in plain language, what the app can do for you, and what it does not do. Its key points are shown to you in the app before you first use it, and you must accept them to continue; you can read them again at any time in the settings.

1. What Depression is

• A tool for wellbeing, general information and personal organisation, designed to support you through difficult days: logging your mood, taking stock, practising breathing and relaxation exercises, following a programme of activities, keeping a journal, preparing a safety plan and keeping your trusted contacts close at hand.
• Its content draws on recognised methods (in particular cognitive and behavioural approaches, behavioural activation, mindfulness and self-compassion). It is general: it does not take into account your personal situation, your history or your treatments.
• A possible complement to support from professionals, never a replacement.

2. What Depression is not

• It is not a medical device within the meaning of Regulation (EU) 2017/745 (Medical Devices Regulation): the app is not intended to diagnose, prevent, monitor or treat any disease.
• It is not a consultation, nor psychotherapy, nor personalised medical or psychological advice.
• It is not an emergency service, a helpline or a monitoring service. Nobody reads what you write in the app in real time. The app does not alert the emergency services, your loved ones or the publisher.
• No result is promised: the app guarantees neither improvement nor recovery.

3. In an emergency

If you are having suicidal thoughts, if you have already started to harm yourself, or if you are worried about someone: do not wait, and do not rely on the app to deal with it.

• Immediate danger, you have already harmed yourself, you feel unwell: in France, call 15 (SAMU, the emergency medical service) or 112, or go to the nearest emergency department.
• Suicidal thoughts, distress: in France, call 3114, the national suicide prevention line, free, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, for yourself or for someone close to you.
• If you cannot speak, or if you are deaf or hard of hearing: 114 in France, by text message (SMS).
• Outside France: 112 works throughout the European Union; elsewhere, call the country's emergency number. Helplines for many countries are listed on our urgent help page and on findahelpline.com.

In the app, the help button remains available free of charge, with no subscription, from the main screens. It shows French helplines when your phone is set to France (mainland and overseas departments); elsewhere, 112 and an international directory of helplines. Calls and text messages are made by your phone itself: the app does not guarantee that they will go through (network, mobile plan, phone settings).

The app and the assistant automatically pick up certain words of distress in order to offer you help. This detection is imperfect: it may fail to recognise a serious situation, or be triggered by mistake. It does not alert anyone.

4. The PHQ-9 questionnaire

• The PHQ-9 is a recognised self-assessment questionnaire, used by professionals to gauge the intensity of depressive symptoms over the past two weeks.
• Its result is not a diagnosis. Only a health professional can make a diagnosis, after an appointment. A low score does not mean that everything is fine; a high score does not, on its own, mean that you have an illness.
• Never decide on your own to start a treatment, or to stop one, based on this score. The app lets you share your results with your doctor: that is the most useful way to use them.
• If you answered that you have had thoughts of death or of harming yourself, talk to a professional without delay, whatever your total score.

5. Kolo, the assistant

• Kolo is an artificial intelligence, not a person. You are talking with a computer program, not with a health professional, and nobody reads your messages in real time.
• Its answers are generated automatically. Despite our precautions, they may be inaccurate, incomplete, unsuited to your situation, or simply wrong.
• Kolo is instructed never to make a diagnosis or give advice on medication. If a reply seems to do so, disregard it and report it. Never follow advice from Kolo instead of the advice of a healthcare professional.
• Kolo may be unavailable (maintenance, a provider outage, a usage limit). When a crisis is detected in a message, the app shows the helpline numbers, even without a subscription and even if the daily limit has been reached; this detection remains imperfect.
• Does an answer seem wrong, inappropriate or dangerous to you? Report it in the app by pressing and holding the answer, then choosing “Report this reply” (« Signaler cette réponse »), or write to us.

6. Exercises, programme and lessons

• Breathing, relaxation and grounding exercises may, in some people, cause dizziness, discomfort or strong emotions. Breathe at your own pace and stop as soon as you feel unwell. If you have a respiratory or heart condition, are pregnant or are in pain, ask your doctor for advice first and adapt or avoid the exercises concerned.
• Do not do an audio exercise while driving, or during any activity that requires your attention.
• The help for panic attacks does not replace medical advice: chest pain, feeling faint or a first attack are reasons to call 15 (or 112) in France, or the emergency number of the country you are in.
• The programme and lessons offer general activities and guidance. Go at your own pace; if an activity is difficult for you, set it aside and talk to a professional about it.

7. Treatment reminders

• Treatment reminders are simply a memory aid. You remain responsible for taking your treatment.
• A notification may arrive late or not at all (phone settings, battery saving, permission withdrawn, change of phone). Do not rely solely on the app for an important treatment.
• Never start, stop or change a treatment without the advice of your doctor or pharmacist. The app checks neither doses nor interactions.

8. What you should never do

• Use the app instead of calling the emergency services or a helpline when you are in danger.
• Put off an appointment, or ignore symptoms, because a score, an exercise or an answer seems reassuring.
• Stop, start or change a treatment based solely on the app.
• Prefer information from the app, or an answer from Kolo, to advice given by your doctor, your psychologist or your psychiatrist.

9. When to ask for help

If sadness, loss of interest, tiredness or sleep problems last more than two weeks, if they weigh on your daily life, or if you have dark thoughts, talk to a professional. Your GP is a good first person to speak to. In France, you can also use Mon soutien psy, the French scheme that lets you see a partner psychologist, covered by the national health insurance (Assurance Maladie); information is available on ameli.fr. Asking for help is not a failure: it is often the first step.

10. Legal status

This page forms part of the terms you accept in the app. It supplements the terms of use and sale and the privacy policy; in the event of any conflict, the terms of use and sale prevail.