Hallune · the paperwork
Crisis protocol
What Hallune does when somebody tells a companion they are thinking about suicide or self-harm. Every companion is an AI, not a counsellor or an emergency service. If you are in danger right now, call 000 in Australia, or your local emergency number.
If you need help now (Australia)
In danger right now? Call 000. Outside Australia, call your local emergency number.
- Emergency (police, ambulance, fire)
24/7 · free call000 - Lifeline
24/7 · free call13 11 14 - Beyond Blue
24/7 · free call1300 22 4636 - Suicide Call Back Service
24/7 · free call1300 659 467 - Kids Helpline (ages 5 to 25)
24/7 · free call1800 55 1800
Lifeline also offers text (0477 13 11 14) and online chat at lifeline.org.au.
Draft: under legal review. This is a draft written so the final wording has somewhere to go. Nothing in it is in force yet, and it is not something anybody has agreed to. Lines marked [JEREMY TO CONFIRM] or [Placeholder] are still to be filled in.
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If you need help now (Australia)
Emergency: 000. Lifeline: 13 11 14. Beyond Blue: 1300 22 4636. Suicide Call Back Service: 1300 659 467. Kids Helpline (ages 5 to 25): 1800 55 1800. All are free and available 24/7. Outside Australia, the app shows the lines it holds for your country, and the common emergency numbers when it is not sure where you are.
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How a hard moment is noticed
Every message you send is checked automatically, on our own servers, against a list of phrasings that suggest suicidal thoughts, self-harm or not wanting to go on, including softened and indirect ones. The check leans towards catching too much rather than too little: being gentle with somebody who was only having a bad day is far better than missing somebody who is not okay. No person reads your chat to make this check.
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What happens next
The companion is told it is handling a hard moment. It answers with care first: it acknowledges what you said plainly, stays calm and warm, does not joke, lecture or diagnose, and encourages one small, real step towards a person who can be with you. Under that reply the app shows a support card with the crisis lines for your country, emergency numbers first, each one tap to call. The companion is told never to encourage or describe self-harm or suicide.
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A hard moment is never limited
A crisis reply is never refused for running out of messages or credits and is not counted against your daily allowance, and a message that reads as a crisis skips the per-minute message limit. Crisis replies are written by the most capable model the app uses; only after an exceptionally high number in a single day does the app switch to a shorter reply on a lighter model, and it still answers with the support card. If an unusually large number of hard moments come up in one day, the people who run the app are shown a safety note so they can check the app is responding properly.
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What the app does not do
Hallune does not contact emergency services, family or anybody else on your behalf, and it does not know your exact location: it works out your country from your settings, time zone and connection only to show the right lines. A companion is not a counsellor, and the support card is there so you can reach real people quickly.
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Records and reporting
A crisis reply is marked as one in your own chat so the support card stays with it, and the app counts how many crisis replies it gives. Any reporting we do about this, including the annual report California’s law asks for from July 2027, uses counts only and never your name, account or words.
[JEREMY TO CONFIRM: who reviews this protocol, how often, and the contact email for questions about it.]
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Not a substitute for help
This page explains how the app behaves. It is not medical advice. If you are worried about yourself or somebody else, please call one of the lines above.