5 Whys Bot · Beta

Privacy, in plain language.

What happens to your reflection, what you choose to save, and how to remove it.

Effective September 25, 2026. This policy covers the 5 Whys Discord bot operated by Phénix Reborn. For questions or privacy requests, contact [email protected].

5 Whys is an English-language self-reflection tool for adults aged 18 or older. It is not therapy, diagnosis, or emergency support. No one monitors reflections for emergencies.

Basic and Premium

Your reflection takes place in Discord DMs with the bot, rather than in your server's public channels. A DM is not a promise that only you can access its contents: Discord processes messages, the bot processes them, and the operator can access saved records.

Basic: questions are generated on the bot server. Reflection text is not sent to an external AI provider for question generation.

Premium AI: after you agree, your starting point and accumulated reflection questions and answers are sent to OpenAI to generate each question. Choose Basic if you do not want this transfer. We request no API response storage, but this does not guarantee zero provider retention. See OpenAI's data controls. Premium can fall back to Basic when unavailable or when a usage limit is reached.

What the bot processes and keeps

Active reflections: starting points, answers, generated questions, and session choices stay in bot memory while the conversation runs. Sessions expire after 30 minutes of inactivity or 120 minutes total. Completed sessions remain for 15 minutes to support downloads. Restarting the bot loses unsaved sessions.
Optional saved takeaways: choosing Save Takeaway stores your starting point, named takeaway, optional next step, and session metadata such as date, mode, server ID, and layer count. It does not save the full question-and-answer transcript. Saved takeaways expire after 30 days, with up to 100 per user.
Downloads: requested summaries and full-reflection TXT exports are assembled from the session and sent as Discord attachments. Copies in Discord or downloaded to your device remain outside the bot's session-expiration controls.
Service operation: Discord user and server IDs, membership checks, server configuration, and Premium access records support access and bot operation. Server configuration and access grants are kept while needed to provide the service. Unused credits remain until used or removed by the operator.
Premium accounting: user/server IDs, token counts, cost estimates, and quota records support usage limits. They contain no reflection text. Usage history is retained for the current and two prior calendar months.
Feedback and diagnostics: anonymous outcome/error counts and submitted feedback are kept for 30 days. Full diagnostic transcripts, parser-learning text logs, and automatic publication of reflection test artifacts are disabled. Do not include sensitive reflection details in feedback.

The operator can access local saved records and protected backups. Backups of saved takeaways may retain deleted copies for up to seven days; deletion requests must be reapplied if a backup is restored.

Your choices and deletion

Type stop to end or restart to begin a new session. You can leave a reflection uncertain and skip an optional next step.
Use /reflections to manage or delete saved takeaways. Type forget to clear app-held saved takeaways and session text.
Clearing bot messages does not delete your own Discord messages, saved takeaways, or downloaded copies. Manage Discord messages separately in Discord.
For access, correction, or deletion requests that the bot's controls do not cover, email the contact below and identify the product and relevant Discord account or server. We may need to verify account ownership. Do not send passwords or reflection transcripts.

Deleting a takeaway or ending a session does not automatically remove Premium accounting, access records, provider-held records, Discord history, or exports. These follow the retention rules above and the applicable provider's controls.

Providers and protection

Discord delivers messages and attachments under its privacy policy. OpenAI processes reflection context only in Premium after the mode-specific choice. Bot hosting and restricted operator access support operation and maintenance. We may disclose data where required by law or to address service security. No system can guarantee perfect security; share only what you are comfortable processing through these services.

Contact and changes

Email [email protected] with “5 Whys privacy” in the subject. This page will be updated when data practices change. Material changes to Premium sharing will be explained before requesting the relevant choice.