You control membership
Circlus has no public people search. Members enter through invitations created by someone who is allowed to invite them.
Practical guide
Manage your Circle with confidence.
For the person who creates a Circle, invites people, and keeps track of who has access.
What it means to be the Circle owner
The owner decides who is in the Circle and under which rules. The server administrator is responsible for the server itself. These can be different people.
You watch the entry points
From time to time, review active invitations, participant roles, their connections, and guest links.
You need not administer the VPS
Someone else may handle updates and backups. Agree in advance who does what when something fails.
If the Circle runs on someone else’s server, its administrator decides whether the server is available, updated, and backed up. They cannot read messages or files — those are encrypted.
Create your first Circle
The first Circle is created once the server is installed. If you are joining an existing Circle, you need an invitation instead.
Open the official client
Use web.circlus.org or the Android app. Later the same profile can be connected on other devices too.
Connect the server
Enter the server address and the one-time key from the installation guide.
Create the owner profile
This profile confirms the owner’s decisions. Protect the device it is stored on.
Name and verify the Circle
Choose a clear name and check the Circle address before inviting people.
Add a recovery path
Connect the profile on a second device and save the recovery package before inviting everyone else.
If the owner’s only device is lost without a recovery package, nobody will be able to manage the Circle. That is why recovery comes before invitations.
Invite members
An invitation is the normal way to add a full member. Send it only to the intended person and revoke unused links.
Regular invitation
Use it for family, colleagues, or friends who should participate in the full trusted space.
Limited lifetime
Prefer short validity and the minimum necessary number of uses. Create a fresh invite when needed.
Re-invitation
If someone lost access, first check whether their previous profile can be restored — otherwise the Circle gets a duplicate of them.
Use guest links deliberately
A guest link is for a person who should contact you or a team without seeing all members or joining the whole Circle.
Choose the right scenario
Use separate links for support, clients, or public contact so each entry point has a clear purpose.
Limit what guests see
A guest enters the configured contact flow rather than receiving general Circle membership.
Review public links
Revoke links that are no longer needed and avoid mixing public incoming contacts with a private family Circle.
Members and connections
Every approved app and browser of a participant has access to the Circle. That is why connections need watching too.
A member loses a phone or computer
Revoke the lost connection. On a new device, the participant restores the profile from the recovery package or connects it from another of their devices.
A person leaves
Remove or disable future access. Data already stored locally in their apps or browsers cannot be remotely erased.
A member adds another app or browser
Add it through the app and check which profile and which Circle the new connection will receive.
Something looks suspicious
Pause new invitations, inspect active connections and roles, and contact the server administrator if infrastructure may be involved.
Daily operation and migration
The owner need not be a system administrator, but should understand the decisions that affect availability and long-term access.
Review active entry points
Periodically inspect invitations, guest links, roles, and trusted connections.
Keep an external contact path
Have another way to reach participants if the Circle, device, server, or domain becomes unavailable.
Coordinate server maintenance
Decide who is responsible for updates, backups, domain renewal, and what to do when something fails.
Move through the dedicated procedure
If the Circle needs another server or domain, prepare the destination first and follow the Circle migration guide.
For a long-lived Circle, at least two trusted people should know how to restore access or reach the server administrator.