Frequently Asked Questions

Anchr is a mental wellness companion that provides evidence-based self-care drawing on 6 clinical frameworks - Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT), Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT), Psychodynamic Therapy (PT), Interpersonal Therapy (IPT), and a General evidence-based synthesis. With 276 self-care modules and 1,201 lessons, Anchr lives in the space between “I’m fine” and “I need help.”

No. Anchr is a self-care mental wellness tool, not a medical device, therapist, or healthcare provider. It does not provide medical advice, diagnoses, or treatment. Think of it as a bridge to professional care - a resource you can use alongside, between, or while waiting for therapy sessions.

Anchr is for anyone 16 or older looking for structured, evidence-based mental health support. Whether you’re therapy-curious but can’t afford regular sessions, between therapists, maintaining progress after therapy, or simply want tools to better understand your mental health - Anchr meets you where you are.

The anchor metaphor is at the heart of what we do. Most suffering lives in the past or future - rarely right here. Like an anchor keeps a vessel steady in turbulent waters, Anchr helps you stay grounded in the present moment using evidence-based techniques.

Anchr Guide is your AI-powered self-care companion - a warm, intelligent conversation designed to help you understand yourself better. It’s a safe space to be heard, not assessed, not labelled, not rushed. It asks one thoughtful question at a time and remembers your previous sessions.

Pathway Discovery - The Guide takes time to understand your situation and recommends 2-3 personalised self-care modules from our library.

Self-Care Conversation - An ongoing supportive conversation using principles from CBT, DBT, ACT, Psychodynamic, and Interpersonal Therapy.

Anchr Guide will never diagnose you, apply clinical labels, prescribe medication, recommend treatment changes, claim clinical authority, or act as a licensed professional. It will never replace your relationship with a qualified healthcare provider.

Yes. The Guide maintains context across your sessions through secure semantic embeddings, so each conversation builds on the last instead of starting from scratch. (This is a self-help tool, not a therapeutic relationship - only a qualified professional can provide that.)

Anchr Guide is powered by Anthropic, PBC’s Claude AI. To generate each response, Anchr sends your typed messages plus a small amount of context (your active pathway and brief recent check-in summaries) to Anthropic. Under our commercial API agreement, Anthropic does not use your inputs or outputs to train or improve their models.

What is never sent to Anthropic: your real name, email address, date of birth, payment details, IP address, device identifiers, screening scores (PHQ-9, GAD-7, AUDIT-C, PC-PTSD-5, K6, ISI), Vulnerability Vault entries, Defusion journal entries, Living Compass entries, and your mood-tracking history.

The first time you open Anchr Guide, you’ll see a disclosure that names Anthropic and asks you to opt in before any data leaves your device.

The Anchr Score is a rolling 7-day composite wellness metric calculated from your mood, sleep, energy, stress, engagement, and activity data. It provides a simple snapshot of your overall wellbeing and shows trends over time. Progressive insights unlock at Day 3, 7, 14, 21, 30, 60, and 90+.

Anchr Moments are 14 grounding exercises - each about 60 seconds - designed to bring you back to the present. They include techniques like 5-4-3-2-1 Grounding, Box Breathing, Physiological Sigh, and more, many with haptic feedback to guide you.

Anchr Circles are small-group (4-10 people), AI-moderated peer support sessions lasting 30 minutes. They follow a structured 6-phase format - from welcome and warm-up through sharing, deepening, and a closing grounding ritual. These are peer support, not group therapy.

Anchr Someone is an anonymous peer encouragement feature. When you’re having a good day, you can write a short support message for someone who’s struggling - and vice versa. Matching is random and anonymous, with no profiling involved.

Living Compass is a values-driven behavioural activation tool spanning 10 life domains (Family, Career, Health, Relationships, Creativity, Learning, Spirituality, Recreation, Community, Personal Growth). You set intentions aligned with your values and track which domains most improve your mood.

Based on Acceptance & Commitment Therapy, the Thought Defusion Journal offers 9 techniques (including Leaf on a Stream, Naming the Story, and Silly Voice) to help you create distance from unhelpful thoughts. It tracks before/after intensity so you can see which techniques work best for you.

A completely private, encrypted journal for text entries, unsent letters, voice memos, and photos. No social element - just a safe space for your most personal reflections.

An evening winddown ritual with four phases: reflection, a mood-adaptive activity suggestion, guided breathing, and a restful close to your day. It’s designed to help you transition away from screens before sleep.

A 15-question self-assessment that helps you check whether your relationship with AI tools (including Anchr) remains healthy. It measures dependence, creativity, judgement, autonomy, and boundaries, giving you an AI Balance Score from 0-100.

A daily offline micro-mission across categories like social, mindful, creative, movement, and connection. It’s explicitly designed to be done away from your phone - because Anchr believes the real world needs you.

Anchr offers structured self-care content drawing on six evidence-based frameworks:

• CBT - Thought records, cognitive restructuring, behavioural activation
• DBT - TIPP skills, STOP skill, emotion regulation, distress tolerance
• ACT - Defusion techniques, values clarification, committed action
• Psychodynamic - Pattern recognition, attachment styles, mentalization
• Interpersonal - Communication analysis, grief processing, role disputes
• General - Evidence-based synthesis drawing from all five frameworks

No. The modules are educational, evidence-based self-care content. The framework names describe the academic evidence base the content draws from, not licensed therapy being delivered. Only a qualified professional can provide therapy.

Anchr incorporates two validated, publicly-available screening instruments - the PHQ-9 and GAD-7 - as an internal signal to help personalise your self-care experience and track changes over time. These scores are never surfaced as a diagnosis, and only a qualified healthcare professional can diagnose a condition. If you ever want to share a progress summary with your own clinician, you can export your data at any time.

No. Your personal data will never be sold, rented, licensed, or shared with third parties for marketing, advertising, or any commercial purpose. Period.

No. Anchr uses no third-party analytics (no Google Analytics, Firebase, Segment, Amplitude, or Mixpanel), no advertisements, no cross-app tracking, no data brokers, and no device fingerprinting.

• Supabase - Database, authentication, and file storage (hosted on AWS with row-level security)
• Anthropic - AI language model (Claude) for conversations, moderation, and crisis detection
• Expo - Push notification delivery (no health data in notification payloads)
• Apple & Google - App distribution and payment processing

No. Anthropic (which powers Anchr Guide) does not use API inputs or outputs for model training, per their API terms of service.

Anchr collects account information, mood and wellness data, screening responses, AI conversation history, journal entries, community interactions, and device/technical data needed to run the app. For a complete breakdown, see our Privacy Policy.

Anchr does not collect your precise location, contacts, browsing history, data from other apps, biometric identifiers, or device fingerprinting data.

Yes. You can export all your data in JSON format and delete individual entries or your entire account at any time through Settings. Account deletion is permanent and completed within 30 days, including encrypted backups.

All data is encrypted in transit (TLS 1.2+) and at rest (AES-256). Row-level security ensures only you can access your data. The Vulnerability Vault uses additional encryption. Immutable audit logs track all data access.

Anchr uses a 3-layer moderation system: client-side keyword filtering, server-side keyword detection, and AI-powered semantic moderation. Messages in Circles, community posts, and peer support are all automatically screened and classified.

Anchr’s automated crisis detection surfaces crisis resources immediately. However, this system is not infallible. Anchr is not an emergency service and cannot call emergency services, dispatch assistance, or monitor your safety. If you are in immediate danger, please call your local emergency number.

Crisis resources are always accessible via the “CRISIS” button in the app header, from your Profile settings, or on the Crisis Resources screen. Resources include country-specific hotlines for the US, Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, and international services.

Yes. You can block users and report concerning content using the in-app reporting tools. Violations may result in content removal, temporary muting, session removal, or permanent suspension.

You must be 16 years of age or the age of majority in your jurisdiction to use Anchr. The app is not intended for anyone under 16, and we comply with COPPA regulations.

All features within Anchr are currently available to users upon creating an account.

You can delete your account through Settings in the app or by emailing privacy@anchr.health. Deletion is permanent - all personal data is removed within 30 days, including encrypted backups.

Anchr is available on iOS (App Store) and Android (Google Play).

Anchr complies with GDPR (EU/UK), CCPA/CPRA (California), VCDPA (Virginia), CPA (Colorado), CTDPA (Connecticut), and honours privacy laws across other US states and international jurisdictions.

Depending on your jurisdiction, you have rights to access, delete, correct, port, restrict, and object to processing of your data. Most rights can be exercised directly through the app’s Settings. For formal requests, email privacy@anchr.health.

Anchr encourages informal resolution first (contact privacy@anchr.health). If unresolved after 30 days, disputes are settled via binding individual arbitration under JAMS Streamlined Rules. You may opt out of arbitration within 30 days of first accepting the Terms. EU/UK users retain access to local courts.

Material changes come with at least 14 days’ notice via an in-app banner. Continued use after the notice period constitutes acceptance.