Your check-ins and your privacy
The weekly check-in is on your side. It is a few seconds, once a week, to notice how you are actually travelling — and, if you want, to put a hand up. It is never a grade, never a watchlist, and answering honestly does not put you on anyone's radar. This guide explains what the check-in is, exactly what staff can and cannot see, and the control you have over your data and how the app feels to use.
That last part matters: privacy you understand is privacy you can actually rely on. This is belonging without surveillance, spelled out.
Staff see the cohort, not your individual answer. They look at how a whole group is travelling, with small groups hidden so no one can be picked out. The one time a person sees something specifically about you is when you ask them to, by raising a help request.
Walk through it
- See what the check-in is for
Once a week, tap the face that fits your week and add a word if you want. It takes under a minute, there are no wrong answers, and "maybe later" skips the week cleanly. The point is simply to notice your own pattern — and your history shows as a little row of faces only you can see. See the weekly check-in.
- Understand what staff can see
Your individual answer feeds a cohort-level total — for example, the share of students finding a week hard — which is the default staff view, and small groups stay hidden until enough students sit behind them. The support staff responsible for your cohort can also see individual responses, including yours, to follow up if you're struggling, and that access is logged. See what staff see.
- Understand what staff cannot see
Your tasks, notes, focus sessions, and the wellbeing articles you open are visible only to you — none of it is part of anything staff can open. A help request you send goes straight to a staff member, because you asked. See who sees my check-ins.
- Make the app comfortable to use
Settings let you set a preferred name, choose light or dark mode, adjust text size, turn on high contrast, and reduce motion. Preferences follow you to any device you sign in on. See settings and accessibility.
- Know your control over your data
You can have your First Six data deleted, and First Six carries that out — ask through your university or contact First Six directly. It is a hard delete, so it cannot be undone; if you only want to stop being signed in on a shared or lost device, just sign out. See deleting your data.
Everything in your private workspace stays with you. The only path that turns into something with your name attached is a help request you deliberately send — and that is by your choice, because the whole point is that you wanted someone to know.
Quick checklist
- Do a weekly check-in (or tap "maybe later" — both are fine)
- Read what staff can and cannot see
- Set your preferred name and theme
- Adjust text size, contrast, or motion if it helps
- Know how to have your data deleted, and that First Six actions it
Common questions
Will a bad week get me in trouble?
Never. A check-in is not a grade or a flag. If you select that you're struggling, the support staff who look after your cohort may see it and reach out — that's the point — but it's support, not a mark against you.
Can a staff member look up my weekly answers one by one?
Yes — the support staff responsible for your cohort can see your individual check-in responses, so they can follow up if you might need support. The view they work from by default is the cohort's combined totals; opening an individual's record is logged.
If I delete my data, do the group statistics still hold my answers?
No. What remains is anonymous group counts that carry no identifier and cannot be traced back to you. There is no per-person record left to read.
Related
The fastest answer is usually one question away.