The short version
SH:24 does not automatically send your STI result to your GP. It keeps its own record, separate from your GP file, and doesn't send it to your GP without your permission, unless legally required.
It's private, but it isn't anonymous. SH:24 knows who you are, and it keeps a health record of your test. That's normal for any medical service — but it's worth knowing before you order, so nothing surprises you later.
Will this show up on my GP record?
Normally, no.
SH:24 keeps its own medical record of your test. It's kept separate from your usual GP record. Your GP isn't automatically sent your results, and shouldn't be able to see that you used the service just by looking at your file.
SH:24 says it won't share anything with your GP without your permission — unless there's a legal reason it has to.
Can HSE clinics see my results?
They can, yes.
SH:24 works alongside HSE sexual health clinics. Those clinics may be able to see your SH:24 information and results — mainly so they can help you if you need follow-up testing or treatment. That's not the same as it going on your GP record.
If that bothers you, SH:24 says to get in touch with them about it before you order.
Is it anonymous?
No — and be wary of anyone who tells you otherwise.
SH:24 is confidential, which means the people handling your care are limited in what they can do with your information. Anonymous would mean no record links the test to you, and that isn't how it works.
Your sample does travel to the lab under a reference code rather than your name. But SH:24 itself knows who you are and keeps a record connected to you.
STI.ie can't change any of this. We don't run the testing, we never see your results, and we can't keep an order off a medical record. Nobody can.
What information does SH:24 hold?
More than just your name. Depending on how you use it, that can include:
- Your name, date of birth and contact details
- Your address or Eircode, phone number and email
- Your answers to the health questions, including sexual and medical history
- Which tests you ordered, and your results
- Any diagnosis, medication or treatment through the service
- Messages between you and SH:24
- Technical bits like your IP address and browser
Once you place an order, some of that becomes part of your SH:24 medical record.
Who else gets to see it?
SH:24 uses other companies to actually run the service — an accredited lab to test your samples, a packing and postal service, IT and hosting, and pharmacy services where treatment is involved. Each should only get what it needs to do its part, and each is bound by data protection rules.
Your employer or insurer
No. There's no arrangement where SH:24 sends your results to an employer or an insurance company. As with any medical information, that could only change if the law required it or you authorised it yourself.
Advertisers
No. SH:24's privacy notice says it does not collect, use or share your personal data for marketing.
Gardaí or the courts
Only in limited circumstances. Like any healthcare provider, SH:24 may have to hand over information if it's legally required to — a valid court order, for example. That's not the same as routine Garda access to its records.
Research
SH:24's privacy notice allows health information to be used for clinical research and development, subject to ethical and data protection rules. Where possible, research data is anonymised so individuals aren't identifiable.
How long is it kept?
A long time. SH:24's privacy notice says clinical records — including STI and pathology results — are kept in line with the HSE Record Retention Policy (2023), which is the lifetime of the patient plus 8 years after death.
So don't assume your test history quietly disappears after a year or two.
Can I have it deleted?
Partly. You have the usual GDPR rights over your personal information, but the right to erasure isn't absolute.
Once SH:24 has processed a test or provided care, it's legally required to keep parts of that record. Asking it to close your account doesn't necessarily wipe your test history.
So — how private is it, really?
It's a confidential health service, not an anonymous one.
Your results don't normally land on your GP record. They're not sold to advertisers, sent to your employer, or shared with your insurer. But SH:24 keeps an identifiable health record, HSE sexual health clinics may see it where they need to, and the lab and postal service handle some of your details to do their jobs.
For most people the point that matters is this: using SH:24 doesn't normally put an STI test or result on your regular GP record — but SH:24 will keep its own confidential record of it.
If that's fine by you, and for most people it is, testing is the easy part.
You order directly from SH:24, which runs this service with the HSE. Free if you're 17 or over and live in the Republic of Ireland. In Northern Ireland?
Where do you live?
Free home testing works differently on each side of the border. Pick yours.
Republic of Ireland
Free kits from SH:24, run with the HSE. You need to be 17 or over.
Northern Ireland
Free kits from SH:24 UK. You need to be 16 or over and have no symptoms. With symptoms, Sexual Health NI says to contact your GUM clinic or GP instead.
Sources: HSE for the Republic, Sexual Health NI for the North. Checked 10 September 2026.
What actually arrives at the door?
SH:24 says kits come in plain packaging, through An Post, with no mention of SH:24 or the HSE on the outside, and no signature needed. The packaging inside may identify the kit.
Results and updates usually come by text. If a clinician needs to ring you, SH:24 says it normally texts first to arrange it. It may also email. In rare cases, if it can't reach you about your results, it may send a letter asking you to get in touch.
If there's a reason you can't be contacted a particular way, tell SH:24 before you order rather than after.
And if I go to a clinic instead?
Public HSE sexual health clinics are free and confidential, and you don't need a GP referral. The clinic keeps its own record of your visit, in the same way any health service does.
If you'd rather your GP wasn't involved at all, a sexual health clinic or the free home service are both routes that don't go through them. Find your county's clinic.
See also: how we check what we publish.
Junk Checker and optional STI.ie updates
The Junk Checker guide keeps your choices in your browser tab. Its separate adult photo beta lets you take or choose a photo and compare reference examples on your device. Photos, crops and results are not uploaded to STI.ie or used for training. Both checker pages contain no third-party tracking. Optional adult email signups use a separate private register with explicit consent, a withdrawal link and a 90-day limit for unverified signups.
Read the Junk Checker privacy notice. Other STI.ie pages and testing providers have their own tracking and privacy arrangements.
Sources
- SH:24 — Privacy and security FAQs
- SH:24 — Privacy notice (retention, research, marketing, data categories)
- SH:24 — Your results FAQs
- SH:24 — Care charter (how they contact you)
- HSE — Sexual health
- Sexual Health NI — Getting tested at home
Checked 10 September 2026. Opening hours and contact details change — ring ahead before you travel.
We describe what SH:24 publishes about its own service. We can't verify how any provider handles information in practice, and we do not receive your test orders or laboratory results. STI.ie email signups are a separate processing activity.