Círculo (En Círculo)
Guardian Project (developer) with ARTICLE 19 (partner) · iOS / Android · Free & open-source (gitlab.com/circuloapp) · Active (©2021–)
Summary
Círculo is the privacy-hardened successor to Circle of 6, built for journalists, activists and human rights defenders — and grounded in the experience and concerns of the women who occupy central roles in journalism, social movements and human-rights defence. It keeps Circle of 6’s core idea — a self-chosen network of six trusted peers — but rebuilds it for high-risk work: members agree on safety protocols, form a social agreement about what they need from each other, then use the app to ask for help, share status, and send encrypted location updates that go only to their circle.
Its design centre is wellbeing and digital safety: encrypted conversations, no email or phone number required to sign up, lock and disguise features, no histories stored, and location that is encrypted and never tracked or exposed by the app. The makers are explicit that the app does not provide emergency response — it helps a person inform their community and signal what they need, and it requires an internet connection. By reducing isolation it aims to mitigate the burnout, trauma and self-censorship common in these fields.
Lineage
- SucceedsCircle of 6
- Same six-peer “circle” model, re-engineered for journalists and human-rights defenders with strong privacy guarantees.
Safety features
- ImplementsTrusted Network
- Six trusted peers with agreed protocols and a social agreement.
- ImplementsPanic Button
- Send alerts “big and small” to the circle.
- ImplementsLocation Sharing
- Encrypted, circle-only location; the app does not track or expose it.