Text About It

What Text About It does

Text About It is a free, anonymous, 24/7 text-based emotional support service operated by spunout CLG (formerly Community Creations CLG), a registered Irish charity (Charity No. 20057923) headquartered at 48 Fleet Street, Dublin. The service was launched in 2021 under the name 50808 and rebranded to Text About It in 2024, integrating under the spunout youth information brand that has operated since 2005. Users access the service via SMS to the ComReg-designated free shortcode 50808, via WhatsApp Business (end-to-end encrypted), or via an alternative 086 number for users on smaller Irish networks. Trained volunteers — approximately 300 across Ireland — respond to texters through a secure online platform from personal laptops, with neither party seeing the other's phone number; qualified clinical staff provide supervision. The service explicitly uses no AI or chatbots, prioritizing human active listening and non-judgmental support for issues including anxiety, depression, suicidal thoughts, self-harm, loneliness, grief, abuse, and substance misuse.

The underlying technology stack consists of the SMS gateway integrated with the 50808 shortcode (free across all major Irish networks), the WhatsApp Business API for end-to-end encrypted messaging, a secure volunteer platform that anonymizes phone numbers, and crisis prioritization technology provided by US-based Crisis Text Line that triages incoming messages by risk level. The organization maintains GDPR compliance, Children First Act 2015 compliance, and Tusla child safeguarding protocols, with a dedicated Designated Liaison Person and two Deputy DLPs in place.

The business model is a non-profit charity funded primarily by an annual Section 39 grant from Ireland's Health Service Executive (HSE), supplemented by grants from the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, the Department of Community and Rural Development, the City of Dublin Youth Services Board, and Pobal, plus public donations processed via Donorbox. The service is structurally free to end users, with all distribution via self-serve digital channels (SMS and WhatsApp) and growth dependent on government grant renewals and public fundraising rather than user fees.

Name

Text About It

Legal name

spunout CLG

Website

https://textaboutit.ie

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Text About It is a free, anonymous, 24/7 text-based emotional support service operated by Irish charity spunout CLG, where approximately 300 trained volunteers provide active listening to people in crisis across Ireland via SMS shortcode 50808 and WhatsApp, funded primarily by the HSE.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Mental Health Crisis Support

NAICS

Emergency and Other Relief Services (624230), Other Individual and Family Services (624190), Child and Youth Services (62411)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Mental Health & Crisis Support Services (BPAGAEAH)

akta.pro secondary industry

Student Support Hotlines & Digital Wellbeing Tools (EDAJAIAL)

Keywords

• Crisis text support
• Mental health helpline
• Anonymous text counseling
• Volunteer support service
• Emotional support charity

Headquarters

HQ city

Dublin

HQ country

Ireland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. HSE Government Funding: Primary funding source through an annual Section 39 grant from the Health Service Executive (HSE), the Irish national health service. This constitutes the core operational funding for the service.
2. Public Donations: Donations from the public are accepted to supplement government funding and help ensure the service remains available 24/7 to anyone who needs support.
3. State Department Funding: Additional financial support from Irish state bodies including the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, the Department of Community and Rural Development, City of Dublin Youth Services Board, and Pobal.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Text About It is a free, anonymous, 24/7 text-based emotional support service available across Ireland via SMS shortcode 50808 and WhatsApp. Trained volunteers provide active, non-judgmental listening to texters experiencing mental health challenges, emotional distress, or crisis (anxiety, depression, loneliness, suicidal thoughts, self-harm, grief, relationships, substance misuse, abuse). The service is funded by the HSE and donations, and is operated by spunout CLG (Charity No. 20057923). All support is human-to-human; no AI or chatbots are involved.

Product overview

Text About It is a single, unified text-based support service providing free, anonymous, 24/7 emotional support via SMS (shortcode 50808) and WhatsApp. The service is operated by spunout CLG (trading name of Community Creations CLG), which also offers the Youth Information Chat service as part of its broader youth information ecosystem. All support is delivered human-to-human through trained volunteers with professional supervision—no AI or automated systems are used. The service is primarily funded by the HSE.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Text About It Free, anonymous, 24/7 text-based emotional support service for anyone in Ireland experiencing mental health challenges or crisis, delivered via SMS shortcode 50808 and WhatsApp by approximately 300 trained volunteers supervised by qualified staff.
• Youth Information Chat (spunout) Youth information and active listening service operated by spunout alongside Text About It, providing information and support to young people in Ireland.

Quantifiable outcome

• Response within 5 minutes (aim)
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Crisis Text LinecoreTechnology or IntegrationProvides certain IT services including technology that allows prioritization of incoming messages based on risk assessment. Technical staff based in the United States support the service.
• Academic/Research PartnersminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerText About It shares anonymised data with carefully selected academic partners (researchers at universities and other institutions) for research purposes to help understand mental health needs of texters and improve services.
• spunoutcoreStrategic or Co-development Partnerspunout is the parent organization/brand. Text About It is a sister service to spunout.ie, Ireland's youth information website. Community Creations CLG (the legal entity) is rebranding to spunout. Text About It operates under the spunout umbrella.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Market position

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/textaboutit
• Facebookfacebook.com/TextAboutIt
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/textaboutit

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Text About It