Your confidentiality

Ask Brook offers an anonymous and confidential service.

• The helpline does not use caller display and calls are not traced.
• The online enquiry service is run via a secure server, which means that enquiries cannot be read by other people on the internet. A password is needed to access a reply.
• We will not pass on email addresses or mobile numbers supplied to any other organisation unless for exceptional circumstances.
• We will not ask callers or online enquirers for their name or address unless for exceptional circumstances.

Exceptional circumstances

If someone gives us information over the phone or online, which suggests that they or another young person is at serious risk of immediate harm, we would try to put them in touch with services that can help. In the most exceptional circumstances, if they have provided personal details such as a name, address, email address or telephone number, we may need to make a decision to breach confidentiality, in order to protect them or another young person.

How to prevent people finding out you’ve visited this website

If you're using a computer that other people could have access to, you may want to make sure that no one can find out which websites you have visited. There are several steps you can take:

How to clear browser history in Internet Explorer

Your browser will store links to all the sites you've visited in your browser history. In order to protect your privacy and make sure other people cannot see your history you need to clear it within your browser.

• Click on the Tools menu
• Select Internet options in the dropdown and a box will appear offering you several choices, you will already be in the General section and that's where you want to be.
• In the section marked History click on the Clear History button.
• A box will pop up, asking you if you want to delete all items in your history, click Yes
• Click OK to close the Internet Options box.

How to clear cookies

A cookie is a small text file stored on your browser and hard drive that uniquely identifies your browser. Brook uses cookies to record certain statistical information about the way the site is used. None of this information is matched to particular users or individual IP addresses.

To clear your cookies in Windows Explorer:

• Open your start menu and select search/find files
• Type 'cookie' into the search box and make sure you are searching in folders and files.
• Select 'My Computer' in the 'Look In' box
• Activate the search by clicking on the search button
• Open each of the folders found by double clicking on them
• Select the cookie files (text files) you want to delete
• Hit the delete button on your keyboard

Or to clear your cookies in Internet Explorer

• Click on the Tools menu
• Select Internet options in the dropdown and a box will appear offering you several choices, you will already be in the General section and that's where you want to be.
• In the section marked Temporary Internet Files click on the Delete files button.
• A box will pop up, tick the Delete all offline content option and then click OK
• Click OK to close the Internet Options box.

You should exit your browser and restart your computer after completing either of these procedures.