Access Now Digital Security Helpline Terms of Service
Last Updated: July 2025
User agreement
In using information and services provided by Access Now, the Access Now Digital Security Helpline (“Helpline”), and any Access Now team members or our authorized agents, you agree to the following terms of service. For information on how we collect and protect your data, please find Access Now’s Data Notice here.
Responsibilities of the Helpline
Access Now’s Digital Security Helpline is a free-of-charge resource for civil society worldwide, offering direct technical advice and rapid-response emergency assistance to diverse at-risk groups, including individual activists, researchers, media organizations, journalists, bloggers, and human rights defenders, as well as civil society collectives or organizations.
To provide these services, the Helpline may request personally identifiable information, such as details related to your computing system or website, or access to your devices and their contents, which may also include third party information. The Helpline only requests the data needed to provide direct technical assistance, and takes best effort measures to protect the data it stores or has access to.
The Helpline only shares personally identifiable information with selected Access Now team members, such as the Legal or the Security team, with trusted partners, or tech platforms or tech companies, as and when needed to solve issues for which the beneficiary has requested assistance.
The Helpline reserves the right to share anonymized and/or aggregated information about digital security trends with other parts of the Access Now team or trusted partners, or as a part of public or private reporting, in order to improve our effectiveness and to confront emerging threats to civil society worldwide.
Vetting and service mandate
Before undertaking to assist any beneficiary with their request, the Access Now team conducts a vetting and service mandate check to ensure that the request fits within our mandate and the services we can provide. This also helps to reduce and mitigate the risk to the Helpline and its beneficiaries. The Helpline may reject a request for support or decline to deliver further services if it is determined that:
- The individual requesting assistance is under the age of majority under applicable law or under the age of 18, even if they belong to a civil society group falling within our mandate;
- The individual or organization seeking assistance is not a member of civil society, or is affiliated with:
- Current holders of political office;
- Criminal groups or groups involved with any kind of criminal activities;
- Military arms or known violence;
- The type of assistance required or requested does not fall within the Helpline’s mandate (for example, the Helpline cannot support with medical emergencies or relocation services);
- The request exposes Access Now team members or partners to an unacceptable risk of physical, digital, or other harm, including mistreatment, harassment, or defamation;
- The request poses an unacceptable risk to Access Now’s reputation or is associated with views, objectives, or methods that are contrary to human rights and do not align with our organizational values.
The Helpline services are not intended for any of the above-mentioned groups or requests. The Helpline reserves the right to re-evaluate any beneficiary at any point in time, even once initial vetting has been conducted. Providing initial support does not guarantee the provision of further services pursuant to future requests.onducted. Providing initial support does not guarantee the provision of further service pursuant to future requests.
Responsibilities of Helpline beneficiaries
1. Conduct
In using Helpline services, Helpline beneficiaries agree not to engage in the following behaviors:
- Illegal, unethical, violent, or immoral activity;
- Disrespectful language or threatening behavior;
- Purposeful spreading of misinformation;
- Breaches of confidentiality;
- Code of Conduct violations.
2. Confidentiality
Access Now strives to protect the confidentiality of your information. We ask that you likewise respect the privacy of our Helpline team members and their work. You hereby agree not to mention, describe, or otherwise refer to Access Now, the Helpline, or Helpline team members, in relation to any technical services, advice or technical methodology you have received from Access Now and/or the Helpline, for the purposes of being published or posted in any public medium or forum, including, but not limited to, newspapers, magazines, online blogs, social media posts, petitions, or legal filings.
Such publications may endanger our team’s safety and security and therefore require express, prior, and written consent. Please contact [email protected] to request such consent.
3. Consequences
Failure to adhere to the appropriate conduct and/or confidentiality requirements outlined above may result in any of the following consequences:
- Issuance of a warning;
- Temporary suspension of access to Helpline services;
- Termination of Helpline services; and/or
- Termination of access to all of Access Now’s services and activities.
Technical tools
Access Now’s Digital Security Helpline provides a tailored service, meaning we need to understand each beneficiary’s specific needs and offer specialized assistance on a case-by-case basis. In the course of providing assistance to beneficiaries, our Helpline team may recommend or use specific technical tools (“Tools”) intended to mitigate or manage security risks. We recommend and use the Tools that are most appropriate for the beneficiary, depending on their threat model and their specific needs, following our initial evaluation. We need to assess and understand the threats the beneficiary is facing, and evaluate how we can respond.
Some of the Tools that our Helpline team members may use are private, which is why we may ask that you do not share these Tools or any related documentation without our explicit permission. Please note that certain Tools are accompanied by warnings that attempt to identify potential risks associated with the use of that Tool, but you should not treat any lack of a warning as a wholehearted endorsement of that Tool. Where possible, we encourage everyone to review each Tool and the accompanying documentation found on that particular Tool’s website to ensure its use is suitable for your individual circumstances. If you would like to contribute to our documentation or flag security issues with our current recommendations, please do so through our GitLab repository.
Access Now makes no warranty whatsoever with respect to the particular Tools listed on our website(s), including any (a) warranty or condition of merchantability; (b) warranty or condition of fitness for a particular purpose; or (c) warranty against infringement of intellectual property rights of a third party; whether express or implied and whether arising by law, course of dealing, course of performance, usage of trade or otherwise. Neither Access Now, the Helpline, nor any other person acting on Access Now’s behalf have made or makes any express or implied representation or warranty, either written or oral, including any representation or warranty as to the accuracy or completeness of any information regarding the Tools listed or otherwise made available to any visitor to our website(s), or potential user of the Tools listed on our website(s).
Release
Access Now information and services are provided “as-is,” with all faults, and without a guarantee or warranty of any kind, whether express or implied. Though we aim to provide the best possible service and expert technical guidance, we cannot guarantee that the information or services provided are completely accurate or reliable, will meet all user’s requirements, or be uninterrupted, timely, secure, or error-free. You understand and expressly agree (a) to use our information and services at your sole risk, (b) that any material, software, information and/or data downloaded or otherwise obtained through Access Now is at your own discretion, and (c) that you are solely responsible for any damage to your computer system, loss of data, or other harms that may result from the download or use of such material, information and/or data, including to third parties. Access Now also does not provide any guarantee or warranty of any kind, whether express or implied, for services provided by third parties as a result of our recommendations or referrals.
Limitation of liabilities
Access Now will not be liable for damages of any kind resulting from the use of, or the inability to use, our information and services, including to third parties. In particular, we are not liable for the loss of, unauthorized access to, or alteration of a user’s transmissions or data, nor for the cost of procurement of substitute information, goods, and services, including but not limited to damages for loss of profits, use, data or other intangibles, even if Access Now or any of its authorized agents had been advised of the possibility of such damages or were negligent.
Agreement terms
If any provision of this agreement is declared invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions of this agreement will remain in effect. We will post notice of any changes to these terms at least thirty (30) days before they are implemented.
The Helpline’s services are not intended for, or designed to attract, individuals under the age of majority pursuant to applicable law, or those persons under the age of 18. We do not knowingly collect personally identifiable information from any person under the age of majority pursuant to applicable law, or those persons under the age of 18.
Updates and contact information: We will archive all versions of these Terms of Service and provide links on this page. Let us know of any questions, comments, or concerns at [email protected].
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