Ask Sam letter

Hi there,

ChildLine is anonymous and confidential – this means you don’t need to tell anyone that you're signing up for an account or that you’re talking to us. ChildLine is a private space where you can talk about things you don’t feel able to say to anyone else – and this can include your parents if you wish.

There are a couple of times when we need to find out who you are. If someone talks to a counsellor, posts on the message boards or sends me a letter through Ask Sam we think very carefully about whether that person’s life is in danger and whether we need to do something to help. Most of the time we don’t need to, but sometimes we do. You can read about our confidentiality promise if you want to know more about that.

If we’re going to keep what you say private, then you can also keep it private if you want. It’s your decision whether you tell your parents or not, and that’s absolutely fine.

There are steps you should take if you want to keep your visit or call to ChildLine hidden. If you’re talking on the phone then your call is free and won’t show up in your phone bill on most networks. You do need to still remember to remove it from the “recently dialled” phone numbers on the handset itself though.

If you’re talking to us online then using things like private browsing tabs and clearing your history is important. Nothing you say to ChildLine online is ever stored on your phone or computer – there are no logs that are saved on your end. We have a cover your tracks section which has more detail about this.

I hope that answers your questions, Our counsellors are ready and waiting to hear from you when you’re ready.

Take care,
Sam