Last updated November 6, 2026 · Operated by CBTHero.com
CBT Hero needs no account to play, asks children for no personal information, and never stores anything a child types. There is no patient record and no database of players. Every answer in the games is a tap on a pre-written option. Adults — therapists, parents, and caregivers — may optionally create a free account to save their rooms, request custom scenarios, and keep session summaries: a record of which game was played and which options were chosen, with no name and nothing typed. A session summary is stored only under a signed-in adult’s own account, when that adult plays a game with a child in the room (or solo while trying the games), including a game ended early, and can be deleted at any time. Everything else described below is either kept on your own device, passed between the two players in a room, or collected as anonymous, aggregate usage statistics.
1. On your own device. Your browser’s local storage keeps a few small items so the game works between visits: your lifetime points and badges, which chapters you’ve completed, a random identifier for each room you’ve joined (so you return as the same player if you reload), and your chosen character. This never leaves your device, and you can erase it at any time by clearing this site’s data in your browser.
2. The real-time relay between two players. When a Guide and a Hero share a room, the current game state — which chapter you are on, which choice was just made, the display name each player typed — is sent through a real-time connection service so both screens stay in sync. The connection service keeps the latest game state for a room only so that a player who refreshes or loses connection can rejoin where they left off; it is deleted automatically within 24 hours of the room going quiet and is never copied into any database of ours. Room codes are random. Our analytics may use a scrambled version of a code so that activity in the same room can be counted together.
3. Anonymous usage analytics. We use PostHog, a privacy-focused analytics service, to understand how the site is used in aggregate — for example how many people visit, which games are started and finished, and whether the invite link is used. This is limited to page views and a handful of named events. It is configured with session recording and automatic click capture turned off; room codes are removed from web addresses before anything is sent; and scores are recorded only as broad ranges, never exact values. Like any web service, the analytics provider and our hosting provider receive standard technical information from your browser, such as your IP address (used to derive an approximate location and then not retained by us), browser type, device type, and the pages requested. Analytics are anonymous for visitors without an account. For therapists who sign in, usage is associated with their account so we can understand how the service is used over time. Children are never identified.
4. Homework codes. After a solo session, a child may choose to generate a short code — and a link that contains it — to share with their therapist. The code contains only which game was played, a score, how many chapters were played, and a general topic category (such as “school” or “friends”) plus which scenario felt closest. It contains no name and none of the child’s actual answers. It is generated on the device and is not stored by us; whether and with whom it is shared is entirely the child’s and family’s choice.
5. Optional accounts for adults. A therapist, parent, or caregiver may create a free account to save rooms, see their homework reports in one place, and request custom scenarios. We store the email address and display name they provide, whether they told us they are a therapist or a parent/caregiver (used only to word the site for them), the scenario requests they submit — which are designed and instructed to describe a situation, never a client — and the session summaries kept in their history (item 6). We use the email address to send updates about those requests (sent through Resend, an email delivery provider); we do not send marketing email. Sign-in is by a one-time link sent to their email; we never store a password. Accounts are handled by Clerk, an authentication provider, under its own security and privacy terms. Children never have accounts. Use of the service while signed in is associated with your account for analytics (see section 3).
6. Session summaries. At the end of a game, the adult’s screen (or a solo player’s) shows a summary link. The link itself contains the summary — which game, which chapters, which pre-written options were tapped, which ratings were given, points, and the date — so opening it stores nothing with us. It never contains a name or anything typed. When the adult is signed in, the summary is also saved automatically to their account’s session history, where it is stored until they delete it. A parent or caregiver may attach a short label of their own choosing to a saved session; therapist accounts cannot attach any label or free text to a session, so nothing we hold for a therapist can identify a client. From their account an adult can email a summary link to an address they type, with an optional note written by them; the message is sent through our email delivery provider and we do not keep a copy of the note or the recipient. Whether a summary is shared or sent is always the adult’s decision, and any saved summary can be deleted at any time.
The strongest protection is not holding the data in the first place. Children never have accounts, and the games never ask for a name, an email address, or anything about a child’s health.
For the information we do hold:
No online service can promise perfect security. If you believe you have found a security problem, or that information reached us that should not have, write to support@cbthero.com and we will act on it promptly.
The Service is designed to be used by children and teens with a parent, guardian, or professional. Because children never have accounts and we do not ask them for personal information, we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. A display name typed into a room is used only to label that player’s screen during the session and is not stored by us; we encourage using a first name or a nickname. If you believe a child has provided personal information to us in some way, contact us at support@cbthero.com and we will delete it.
We describe CBT Hero as “HIPAA-friendly by design” because it is built so that no protected health information reaches us: no clinical content is entered, transmitted to, or stored by our servers, and a session summary saved by a therapist holds only which game options were tapped, with no name, label, or other identifier of the client. We are not a health-care provider and, in the ordinary use of the Service, we do not act as a HIPAA covered entity or business associate. Licensed professionals remain solely responsible for their own privacy, security, and recordkeeping obligations, including any notes they keep about a session outside the Service.
We do not use advertising or cross-site tracking cookies. The analytics service described above may set a first-party identifier in your browser so that repeat visits from the same browser are counted once rather than as new visitors; it is not tied to any personal information. If an adult signs in, the authentication provider sets a session cookie so they stay signed in; it is essential to that feature and is not used for tracking. Local storage is used as described in section 1.
If we change how the Service handles data, we will update this page and the “Last updated” date above. Material changes will be described plainly here.
Questions about privacy can be sent to support@cbthero.com. This policy should be read together with our Terms of Service.