Your privacy on the Internet is of the utmost importance to us at WHO/Europe, the WHO Regional Office for Europe. Because WHO/Europe collects certain types of information in connection with the Alcohol Screening and Brief Intervention Hub (the “SBI Hub” or the “Hub”) and its related digital services, we want to ensure that users understand what information may be collected, how it is used, and how it is protected.

This Privacy Statement explains what information is collected and how it is used. It applies to the SBI Hub and its associated digital features, including the website, Search (the AI-assisted search function), the SBI Assistant (the AI-powered chatbot), and interactive tools made available through the Hub, such as the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), its short version AUDIT-C, the standard drink calculator and the alcohol attitudes check. WHO/Europe provides the SBI Hub as a public service.

Information collected and stored automatically

WHO/Europe may use authorized service providers, under contract, to collect limited technical information about visits to the SBI Hub on WHO’s behalf, including through cookies and similar technologies. Although such providers may log information originating from the Website, WHO controls how that information may be used.
The type of information we may collect includes: a truncated Internet protocol (IP) address used for security and technical monitoring, the date and time, the Internet address of the website from which you linked directly to our site, the name of the file or the words that you searched, the browser used to access our site, and general device or operating system information. We use this information to measure the number of visitors to the various sections of our site and system performance, and to identify problem areas. It helps us learn about the geographical distribution of our visitors and the technology they use to access our site. We also use this information to help us expand the coverage of the site, improve its usefulness, and support cybersecurity and technical monitoring. This information is never connected with personal information.
For AI-assisted features of the Hub, including Search and the SBI Assistant, WHO/Europe may also process limited technical and usage information, such as session duration, browser or device type, language used, and de-identified interaction data, in order to monitor quality, safety, and system performance.
Where such technical or de-identified interaction data are retained for quality assurance, safety review, or cybersecurity purposes, they may be kept for up to 12 months, after which they are deleted or further aggregated in an irreversible manner to prevent re-identification, unless longer retention is required for the investigation of a security incident or another legitimate operational purpose under WHO oversight.

Personally provided information

f you choose to provide WHO with personal information by sending an e-mail, WHO may use that information to respond to your message and help provide the information or materials requested.
WHO does not intentionally seek personal data through the SBI Assistant, Search, or similar free-text features, and users should not submit personal, identifiable, confidential or health-related information through those tools.
If a user voluntarily includes such information in a prompt, message or query, that information may be processed to provide the requested service. WHO does not use these tools to identify users and does not require names, contact details or health data in order to use them.
WHO does not give, share, sell or transfer personal information to third parties for marketing or commercial purposes.

AI-assisted tools on the Hub

Some features of the Hub use artificial intelligence to support access to information and resources.

SBI assistant

The SBI Assistant is an AI-powered chatbot that provides general information and guidance on alcohol-related screening, brief interventions, and health-promotion practices. When using the SBI Assistant, users should be aware that:

• they are communicating with an AI system, not a human expert;
• responses are generated automatically using WHO publications and other selected authoritative materials made available through the Hub;
• no real-time human supervision or personalised clinical interpretation is provided;
• selected conversations may be reviewed in anonymised or de-identified form by authorized personnel for safety, quality assurance and system improvement.
  The SBI Assistant does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.

Search

Search is an AI-assisted search function that helps users locate WHO and other selected authoritative resources relevant to alcohol-related prevention, policy, and care within the platform.
When using AI-assisted search, users should be aware that:

• search results are generated automatically using AI-based indexing, semantic matching and relevance ranking;
• results are not reviewed in real time by WHO experts;
• results may occasionally be incomplete, imperfect or outdated, and users are encouraged to verify content against the original source materials and, where relevant, official WHO publications or national guidance;
• selected search queries or logs may be reviewed in aggregated, anonymised or de-identified form for safety, quality assurance and system improvement; and
• the system does not create personalised user profiles or recommendations.
  Search is intended for informational and professional reference only.

Interactive self-assessment and educational tools on the Hub

The Hub may include self-assessment, reflection or educational tools, including the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), its shorter version AUDIT-C, the standard drink calculator, the alcohol attitudes check, and similar tools. These tools are provided for informational and educational purposes only. They are not diagnostic instruments and do not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.

AUDIT and AUDIT-C tools

The AUDIT and AUDIT-C tools are intended to support reflection on alcohol use and possible health risks. They are designed for educational and self-awareness purposes only and do not diagnose alcohol-use disorders or replace consultation with a qualified health-care professional.

For statistical and operational purposes, the SBI Hub may process AUDIT and AUDIT-C tool logs, including sex/gender responses, question answers and results. These logs are stored in fully anonymized form and are not linked to IP addresses, user identifiers or session tokens at application level.
Where relevant, these tools may ask users to provide limited contextual information, such as age group or sex/gender, in order to generate tailored feedback and, where applicable, allow comparison with aggregated results from other users or relevant reference groups. Such information is not used to identify individuals and is not combined with other datasets for identification purposes.
Where specific eligibility conditions apply, such as age restrictions, these will be indicated at the point of use.
Other interactive tools made available through the Hub may also request limited contextual information, such as age group, sex/gender, professional role or similar information, in order to provide tailored feedback or support aggregated benchmarking and service improvement. Such information is not used to identify individuals and, where retained, is retained only in anonymized, de-identified and/or aggregated form.

If you don't want to share your information

Use of the Hub does not generally require registration or the creation of a user account. Users can access most areas of the Hub without providing personal information.
Users may choose not to use AI-assisted tools or interactive features if they do not wish to enter text, responses or other information into them.
WHO views the information it processes as a valued asset and takes appropriate care in its protection. WHO does not share, sell, distribute or rent user information for commercial purposes.

Links to other sites

Some WHO/Europe subsites and Hub pages provide links to other Internet sites that offer health information or related resources. Once users link to another site, they are subject to the privacy statement and security policies of that external site. WHO/Europe does not control and does not endorse external sites to which it links.

Security

WHO/Europe maintains this site and employs a range of technology to protect the information maintained on its systems from loss, misuse, unauthorized access or disclosure, alteration or destruction.
WHO/Europe also applies administrative, technical and physical safeguards to protect anonymised technical data and any information submitted through the Hub. No personal data from Hub interactions are used for marketing, commercial or surveillance purposes.

How to contact us

If you have any questions or concerns about the WHO/Europe privacy statement, please contact us at EVID-ACTION@who.int.

Notification of changes

If there are any changes to this Privacy Statement, WHO/Europe will post the updated version on the relevant page of the SBI Hub, so that users are aware of how the changes may affect them.

Glossary

Cookie

A cookie is a small amount of data (which often includes an anonymous unique identifier) that is sent to your browser from a website’s computers and stored on your computer’s hard drive. Each website can send its own cookie to your browser if your browser’s preferences allow it, but, to protect your privacy, your browser only permits a website to access the cookies it has already sent to you, not the cookies sent to you by other sites. Once the user has closed the browser, the cookie will no longer be accessed during that session.
Many sites do this whenever a user visits, to track online traffic flows or support site functionality.
Cookies record information about your online preferences. Users can set their computers to accept all cookies, to notify them when a cookie is issued, or not to receive cookies at any time. You can still use the WHO European SBI Resource Hub to its fullest advantage even if your browser’s preference is set to reject cookies, although some features may not function as intended.

Internet protocol address

When your web browser or e-mail application requests a web page or e-mail from another computer on the Internet, it automatically gives that computer the address to which it should send the information. This is called your computer’s Internet protocol (IP) address. IP address information helps us to gauge the geographical distribution of our visitors, support cybersecurity monitoring and measure system performance. It does not provide personal information about the owner of the address.