LiveChat is not HIPAA compliant by product label, but it can be used in a HIPAA-compliant manner when it is configured and governed to meet HIPAA Security Rule safeguards for access control, audit controls, integrity, person or entity authentication, and transmission security, and when LiveChat will sign a HIPAA Business Associate agreement for the deployment that involves creating, receiving, maintaining, or transmitting electronic protected health information.
HIPAA compliance for live chat depends on whether protected health information is created or exposed during chat interactions and how the chat data is transmitted, stored, accessed, and disclosed. A website chat widget can capture protected health information through free text, attachments, transcripts, and follow-up workflows, including email notifications and integrations with scheduling, customer relationship management, or ticketing systems. If protected health information is collected or accessible through the service, the vendor providing the live chat service functions as a Business Associate for that activity and a HIPAA Business Associate agreement is required.
LiveChat states that it is willing to sign a HIPAA Business Associate agreement for customers on its Enterprise plan and provides configuration guidance for customers operating under a signed agreement. A regulated entity should confirm the current plan requirement and execute the HIPAA Business Associate agreement before enabling any workflow in which protected health information could be submitted or viewed through the chat tool, including transcripts, archives, exports, and third-party integrations.
A HIPAA-aligned LiveChat deployment requires controls that limit who can access chat sessions and stored transcripts. Workforce members with access to LiveChat should have unique user accounts, role-based permissions, and multi-factor authentication where available. Administrative access should be restricted to authorized personnel and protected with strong authentication, and security settings should prevent unauthorized exports, uncontrolled transcript sharing, and unmanaged retention. Session handling should address inactivity timeouts and access termination when workforce members change roles or separate from the organization.
Audit controls need to support information system activity review. The implementation should generate logs for authentication activity, access to transcripts, administrative changes, and data exports, and the organization should define review and escalation procedures that align with its security incident response process. Transmission protections should be enabled for the chat widget and administrative console so chat content and session data are encrypted in transit.
Live chat creates additional exposure through embedded website components and connected services. If the chat widget or the webpage hosting it includes tracking technologies or third-party scripts that disclose protected health information to entities that are not authorized under the HIPAA Privacy Rule, the result can be an impermissible disclosure. Configuration and privacy review should control data collection on pages where individuals may submit health-related information and should restrict or remove integrations that transmit chat content to non-covered destinations.
LiveChat can support HIPAA compliance when a HIPAA Business Associate agreement is executed for the applicable service and the implementation enforces access restrictions, logging, transmission protections, retention controls, and integration governance for all protected health information handled through the chat channel.