For helpers
Before you become a helper
This page explains what you’ll see and send as a helper, and what happens to it. It takes about five minutes to read. At the end, you can say whether you agree.
What a helper does
The person you’re helping has Check First saved in their WhatsApp. When something worries them, they send it to Check First and get a second opinion. As their helper, you’re told, so they don’t have to decide on their own.
What they send
They can send anything they’re unsure about, such as:
- a WhatsApp message, forwarded to Check First
- a screenshot of a text message, an email or a Facebook Messenger message
- a link, sent using the Share button on the phone
- a photo of a letter
- after a phone call that felt wrong: hang up, then send Check First a voice note saying what the caller wanted
What you’ll see
Each time they check something, you get a WhatsApp message from Check First with what they sent and the answer they got.
Every check gets one of three answers, with a short explanation:
A check is a second opinion, not a guarantee. No check can catch every scam. If something still feels wrong, stop and speak to someone you trust.
What you send
You can reply with one tap. The reply goes to them through Check First:
- “Don’t do anything, I’ll contact you”
- “Check it through the official app, website or number”
- “I’ve confirmed it directly with them”
You can also call or message them yourself, as you normally would. If you can’t reply straight away, they still get their answer.
Who sees it
- Check With Me sees what they send, the answer and your reply.
- The person you’re helping sees your reply. If they have other helpers, those helpers get the same alerts.
Nobody else at Check With Me sees it. We never sell it or use it for advertising. Messages reach us through WhatsApp, which is run by Meta.
The alerts can include private details about the person you’re helping. Please don’t share them with anyone else.
How AI helps
Check With Me uses AI to help assess each message. The AI is called Claude, and it’s made by a company called Anthropic.
- Anthropic doesn’t use the messages we send it to train its AI.
- Anthropic keeps them for up to 30 days, to run its service and keep it secure, then deletes them. It keeps one longer only if it breaks Anthropic’s rules on misuse or the law requires it.
- Check With Me checks the answer before it’s sent. The AI never replies on its own.
How long we keep messages
We delete what was sent to Check First, and the explanation that went with the answer, 30 days after it was sent.
After that we keep only the answer (for example “High risk”), the date and your family reference. This helps us see how well Check First is working. It doesn’t include the message.
How messages are deleted
Once a week, Check With Me deletes everything older than 30 days from the Check First phone and from our records.
If you want something deleted sooner, tell Check First or email privacy@checkwme.co.uk. We’ll delete it within 7 days and tell you when it’s done.
Alerts that a helper has received stay on their own phone until they delete them.
Other people in messages
A message might include someone else’s name, number or details. We only use them to check the message, and we delete them along with it.
If you’re removed, or want to stop
The person you’re helping can remove you at any time, without giving a reason. If they do, we won’t tell you, and you’ll stop getting alerts.
You can stop being a helper at any time by telling Check With Me. We’ll let the person you’re helping know, so they aren’t relying on you.
Do you agree?
Your answer is saved with the date and time, so we have a record of what you agreed to. You can change your mind at any time.