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While you wait.

Privacy, safety & offline guide

A little support. A lot of care.

While You Wait is a private, offline companion for people waiting for therapy or counselling. It supplements, and does not replace, professional care.

When you need someone now

In the United States, call or text 988 for free crisis support. You do not need to wait for an appointment to reach out. Crisis contact details are stored with the app so they remain visible offline. If you are in immediate danger or need urgent medical help, call 911.

Calls and texts require cellular or supported phone service. They cannot be sent by this app without a connection. Outside the US, use your local crisis line or emergency service; these US numbers may not work. Official 988 information (internet needed).

You are in control

There is no diagnosis, assessment score, treatment advice, or automated risk judgement here. Mood notes are not monitored, and no one is notified when you write them. This app cannot provide emergency care.

Activities are optional wellbeing suggestions. You can adapt, skip, or stop them. Grounding is adapted from NHS inform guidance; sleep and routine ideas are informed by NHS wellbeing guidance, not a treatment plan. Each activity includes its source.

Grounding guidance from NHS inform (internet needed)

Sensitive information stays here

Private records are encrypted at rest with AES-256-GCM, a fresh random IV for every write, and a non-extractable key stored by the browser in IndexedDB. The key is not derived from a password.

There is no account, personal-data upload, advertising code, analytics added by this app, or cross-device sync. An app function checks public Portland resource websites when online; it receives no mood notes, wait-lists, or location. Hosting platforms and third-party websites may have their own logs. Your approximate area is entered by you; no GPS permission is requested.

Use a device screen lock. Encryption cannot protect against an unlocked session, malicious same-origin scripts, a compromised device, or browser-profile access. Exports are readable JSON and are not encrypted. Deleting local data replaces the snapshot and its encryption key; downloaded exports and device backups are not removed. For native distribution, use an encrypted SQLite store and an OS-keystore key; this web build does not provide that native guarantee.

What “fully offline” means

Framework: React + TypeScript as an installable progressive web app. After one successful online load on the published site, a service worker caches all app screens, styles, icons, and activity content. Then the plan, tracker, directory snapshots, and saved resources work without internet.

It cannot install itself for the first time without a connection, fetch current wait times while offline, open outside websites offline, or make a call without phone service. Private browsing and clearing site data can remove offline storage.

Check offline readiness

How updates and conflicts work

Personal entries are written directly to encrypted local storage, even offline. Reconnecting reloads the latest local snapshot, checks for app-shell updates, and retries public-source refresh if the last successful check is over 6 hours old. Personal data has no cloud queue and never leaves this device.

Browser Web Locks serialize reads and writes between tabs where supported. Each action applies to the newest stored snapshot. Edits to the same entry use the last completed write. On browsers without Web Locks, use one tab to avoid conflicts.

Directory imports merge by stable id and newest last-updated date. Equal timestamps keep the existing entry. Older-than-7-days details show a warning; saved snapshots update only when you choose to refresh them. Official Portland support sources refresh online. These sources do not supply a numerical wait-time feed, and the app never infers an estimate.

A few useful answers

Can this app tell me which care I need?

No. Matching uses only your selected need, entered area, cost, and support type. It does not assess symptoms or recommend a treatment. A professional can help you work out the right support.

Are the local waits current?

The bundled local examples are demo data, not real providers or verified current waits. Imported records display their source and last-updated date. Confirm availability directly with a provider. Official Portland support pages can refresh online, but they do not provide a numerical wait-time feed. Import dated estimates from a trusted local provider; do not treat illustrative waits as current availability.

What happens if I lose my phone or clear my browser?

There is no cloud backup, so entries may be lost. You can request persistent browser storage and export your record in Preferences. Exports contain sensitive information, are not encrypted, and cannot be imported as an app backup.

Will someone see a worrying mood note and contact me?

No. Notes remain on your device and are not watched. Crisis contact options stay visible, but the app does not send alerts or contact services for you.

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