Guides · The Philos blog

Setting up a Family Circle

Suhail — Thu, 22 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT

In short

A Circle is a private tag for some of your people, like Family. Only you can see it.
Make one from Circles, or straight from Who sees this? when you share.
People are never told they're in a Circle, and someone can be in more than one.

Some moments are for family: the new baby's first bath, Dad's surgery update, the photos from Nani's birthday. A Family Circle lets you share those with just your family, in a couple of taps, every time.

What a Circle is (and isn't)

A Circle is a private tag for some of the people in your space, like Family or Football friends.

A Circle in Philos

Only you can see your Circles. People are never told they're in one.
It isn't a group. There's no chat, and no one ever sees it.
Someone can be in more than one Circle.

Make your Family Circle

Circles: name it, choose a colour, pick your people.

Go to You and open Circles, then tap New Circle.
Name it Family, and choose a colour so you'll spot it at a glance.
Pick your people: Mum, Dad, your sister, Nani.

You can also make a Circle in the middle of sharing. When you post, open Who sees this? and tap New Circle under your Circles.

Share with just your family

When you post a photo, open Who sees this? and tick Family. Only the people in your Family Circle will see it. They won't see who else it went to, and nobody can pass it on.

Each Circle has its own page: share with it, see what you shared, add people.

Keep it up to date

Families change. From your Circle's page you can add someone, take someone out, or share a post with the whole Circle in one tap. If you take someone out, they aren't told.

Making room: taking someone out of your heart, quietly

Suhail — Wed, 21 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT

In short

Go to You, open Your people, then Make room. People you haven't talked with lately are listed first.
The person isn't told. You stop seeing each other's posts and Moments, and your chats stay.
Nobody else moves in your heart, and you can undo it straight after.

Gardeners have a word for cutting back a plant that's doing fine: pruning. It looks like loss, but it's how the plant puts its strength into what's still growing.

Friendships have seasons too. The colleague you saw every day, the neighbour who moved away, the group from a course you finished. Nobody did anything wrong. Life just moved on. With 49 places, there will be a day you want one back for someone new, and Philos makes that quiet.

Why it's quiet

On most apps, unfriending is a small public event. The other person may notice, wonder and ask. That awkwardness keeps people holding on to connections they've outgrown, and their feeds fill up with people they no longer know.

On Philos, making room tells nobody anything. It's a decision about your own space, and it stays yours.

How to make room

Go to You and open Your people.
Tap Make room. Under it, Philos says what it does: remove people quietly to free a spot.
At the top you'll see Quiet for a while: people you haven't talked with lately, with when you last spoke. Only you see this.
Choose who to remove, then tap Remove quietly.

Your heart fills from the tip. Nobody moves when someone leaves.

A short note confirms how many places you have left, with Undo if you tapped too fast.

What changes for each of you

When you make room

They aren't told.
You stop seeing each other's posts and Moments.
Your chats stay, and so do any groups you're both in.
If they hadn't added you back yet, or hadn't joined Philos, their place is freed.
Nobody else in your heart moves. Their dot empties, and that's all.

Making room for someone new

Sometimes you only find out you're full when you try to add someone. Philos tells you your space is full and offers Make room, so you can choose who to swap without leaving the page. It's all or nothing: if anything goes wrong, nobody is removed and you can try again.

A kind way to think about it

Making room isn't a verdict on a person. It's a note to yourself about who you share your days with now. If a season comes back round, so can they.

Sharing a new baby, privately

Luca Daniel — Sat, 17 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT

In short

Share the first photo with your Family Circle, so only they see it.
Widen it later with Change who sees it. Check who gains access before you save. No one is told.
Delete a post and it's gone for everyone, so the photo stays yours to take back.

A new baby makes you want to tell the world. Then you think about where that first photo will be in five years, and the world starts to look a lot smaller: Mum, Nani, a few friends.

Here's how to share those first photos on Philos, step by step. The screens below are from the app, with an example family.

Start with the people who'd frame it

The first people most of us want to show are family. Put them in a Family Circle, then post the photo, open Who sees this?, tick Family and tap Done.

Shared with Family, and nobody else.

When they respond, you see their names on the post: Mum and Nani responded. Names, not a count.

Widen it when you're ready

A week later you might want your close friends to see the baby too. You don't need to post again. Open the post's menu, choose Change who sees it, and add Close friends.

Check who this affects before you save. No one is told.

Philos shows exactly who will gain access before you save. Nobody gets a notification that they've been added, and Mum and Nani aren't told either.

Keep it yours

What stays in your hands

Only the people you choose see the photo, and they can't pass it on.
You can change who sees it at any time. No one is told.
Delete the post and it's gone for everyone.
You can download everything you've shared from Settings, to keep for them.

Why not post it publicly?

A photo posted publicly can be copied, saved and scraped by people and tools you'll never meet. Human Rights Watch has found real children's photos in data used to train AI tools, and it warns that once a model has learned from a photo, it can't forget it. Your child can decide what to share about themselves one day. Until then, their photos can stay with the people who love them.

Tagging someone in a post: how tag requests work

Suhail — Sat, 10 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT

In short

You can only tag people who can already see the post, and each of them is asked first.
The request arrives privately in their Chats, with Accept and Reject. Only the two of you see the tag until they accept.
A rejected tag is gone for good, and the person who posted only sees that it was removed.

Every family has one. The graduation photo where you're mid-blink, mid-sneeze, mid-sentence, and someone has already tagged you in it for everyone to see.

On most apps, a tag is something done to you. On Philos, it's a question. Nobody is tagged in anything until they say yes.

Tag someone in your post

Share a post as usual, and choose Who sees this? first.
Tap Tag your people. Philos only lists people who can see this post, so a tag can never show a photo to someone it wasn't meant for.
Pick who's in it, and share.

Each person you tag is asked to accept first. Until they do, you'll see Waiting for their name, and on your post their name shows as waiting. Only you see that.

When someone tags you

The request arrives privately in your Chats, as a message from the person who posted: Tagged you in this post, with the post under it. Only the two of you can see it until you answer.

Accept, and the tag shows on the post for everyone who can see it.
Reject, and nobody sees the tag. The person who posted sees only that it was removed, never that you said no, and you won't be asked again for that post.

Tags are one of the few things that always reach you, even if you've muted that person's posts. Being tagged is someone asking for you, so Philos lets you know.

Changed your mind later?

Open the request in your chat and tap Remove tag. Nobody will see you tagged in that post, and you won't be asked again.

When a post's audience changes

If the person who posted later changes who sees it, and someone tagged can no longer see the post, Philos takes that tag off and tells the poster before they save. A tag never outlives your right to see the photo.

Tags on Philos, in short

Only people who can see a post can be tagged in it.
Nobody is tagged until they accept.
Rejected tags show to nobody, and the poster never sees the word "rejected".
You can remove an accepted tag at any time.

What a stranger sees on your Philos link

Suhail — Mon, 05 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT

In short

Your link shows your name, your photo and your username. Nothing you share is behind it.
You see each other only once you've both added each other.
Your number is never shown to someone you haven't added.

Your Philos link is how you invite people who aren't in your contacts: the friend you met on holiday, the cousin who changed numbers. It's safe to share, because there's almost nothing on it.

What the page shows

A stranger sees your name. Nothing else.

Someone who opens your link sees:

Your name, your photo and your username.
One line: that you use Philos to share everyday life with the few people closest to you.
A note that you'll see each other only once you've both added each other.
A button to get Philos and add you.

What it never shows

Never shown to someone you haven't added

Your phone number.
Your posts and your Moments.
Your people, and your Circles.

Seeing each other takes two

Opening your link doesn't put anyone in your space. You each have to add the other. Until you both have, neither of you sees anything the other shares. Contacts only help you find your people, and Philos never messages anyone for you.

Choosing who sees each post

Suhail — Thu, 01 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT

In short

Every post and Moment goes only to the people you choose.
Pick everyone in your space, a Circle like Family or Close friends, or one person.
Change who sees it later from the post's menu. No one is told.

On most apps, a post goes to everyone who follows you. On Philos, nothing goes anywhere until you decide who it's for. That choice is the most important thing you'll do in the app, so here's how it works.

Open Who sees this?

When you share a post or a Moment, tap Who sees this?. You'll see three kinds of choice.

Only the people you choose. They won't see who else it went to.

Everyone in your space: all the people you've added. On Philos that's never more than 49.
A Circle: a private tag for some of your people, like Family or Close friends. You can tick more than one.
One person: only they will see it.

Tap Done, and that's who sees it. Nobody else can, and nobody can pass it on.

Change your mind later

You can widen or narrow who sees a post after you've shared it. Open the post's menu and choose Change who sees it. Philos lists who gains access and who loses it before you save.

Check who this affects before you save. No one is told.

Good to know

Nothing on Philos is public.
People you share with won't see who else it went to.
Changing who sees a post doesn't notify anyone.
Someone you haven't added sees only your name and photo.

Planning a family get-together in a group chat

Suhail — Wed, 30 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT

In short

Start a group from Chats and add people from your space, or pick a Circle to add its people in one go.
Ask a poll to find the day. People pick every choice that works, and you see names, not counts.
Make a plan with what, when and where. Everyone can add it to their calendar, in their own time zone.

You know the thread. "Sunday?" "Can't do Sunday." "What about the 14th?" "Which month?" Forty messages later, half the family has muted it and nobody is sure where lunch is.

Here's how to plan the same lunch on Philos in four moves, with fewer messages and nothing lost.

1. Start the group

In Chats, tap + and choose New group.
Give it a name everyone will recognise, like Sunday lunch, and add a photo if you like. There's room for what it's for, too: "Saturdays, trips and everything in between."
Add people from your space. Tip: pick a Circle, such as Family, and Philos adds its people for you. The Circle stays private: nobody in the group sees it.

Each person joins when they say yes. If they choose Not now, nobody is told.

Who brings what, settled in a few messages.

2. Find the day with a poll

In the group, tap + next to the message field and choose Poll. Philos calls it Decide together.

Write the question: "Which Sunday works?"
Add the choices: three dates is plenty.
Tap Ask.

Everyone picks all that work for them, so the best day shows itself. There are no counts, just names: tap See who picked what to see that Grandma can do the 14th but not the 21st.

3. Make it a plan

Once the day is clear, turn it into a plan: tap +, choose Plan, and fill in What ("Grandma's 80th lunch"), When, and Where if you know it.

The plan sits in the chat where everyone can find it later in Search. Anyone can tap Add to Calendar. If your brother lives in Lisbon, an hour behind, he sees the time where you set it as well as his own, so he knows exactly when to call in.

4. Keep the side chats in threads

Someone wants to argue about the cake. Fine, but not in the main chat. Hold their message and tap Reply in thread. Replies there stay in the thread and don't appear in the main chat, so the plan stays easy to find.

Two more tools worth knowing

Pin the essentials. Hold the plan or the address and tap Pin. Up to three pins, and everyone in the group sees them.
Mention someone who's gone quiet. Type @ and their name. A mention reaches them even if they've muted the group.

Groups on Philos

Up to 25 people: you and 24 others.
In a group, people see each other's names and messages, nothing else.
Joining a group doesn't add anyone to your space.
Nothing sent in a group can be forwarded.

Voice messages: when typing won't do

Suhail — Wed, 23 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT

In short

Hold the mic to record and let go to send. Slide up to keep recording hands-free, or left to cancel.
Once locked, you can pause, listen back and decide before anything is sent.
Research suggests a voice builds a closer connection than text, without the awkwardness people expect.

Your hands are covered in flour. The pasta dough is finally right, and you want to tell your sister, who taught you, before it dries. You're not typing that out.

That's what voice messages are for. On Philos you hold one button, talk and let go.

Why a voice lands differently

In a 2021 study, the psychologists Amit Kumar and Nicholas Epley asked people to reconnect with an old friend, either by phone or by email. Before the call, people expected talking to be more awkward than writing. Afterwards, it wasn't. Across their studies, conversations that included a voice created stronger bonds than text did, with no extra awkwardness.

A voice carries what text loses: the laugh halfway through a sentence, the pause before the hard part. When your mum hears you say "I'm fine", she can tell whether you are.

Send one in three moves

In any chat, hold the mic next to the message field and talk.
Let go to send.
Changed your mind? Slide left to cancel before you let go.

While you record, the other person sees that you're recording a voice note, so they know something is on its way.

Hands-free: lock, pause, listen back

For anything longer, slide up to lock. Now you can put the phone down and keep talking.

Locked, you can pause, and paused, you can listen back before you decide. Philos reminds you who will hear it: only the person you're talking to, or only the group. Then send it, keep recording, or delete it.

Groups work the same way: only the people in the group can hear it.

Listening

Tap a voice message to play it. Change the speed if someone talks the way they drive, and keep moving around the app: it plays on, with a small bar to pause or stop it, and you'll see it on your Lock Screen too.

Good to know

A voice message can be up to 15 minutes long.
Nothing on Philos can be forwarded, voice messages included.
If the microphone is off for Philos, you can still type, and allow it later in Settings.

When to send a voice instead of text

When it's longer than three lines.
When the tone matters more than the words: an apology, a congratulations, a "how did it go?"
When the person on the other end finds typing hard.

Notifications that let you sleep: how quiet hours work

Suhail — Fri, 18 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT

In short

Only people talking to you, or answering you, make a sound. Posts and Moments never notify you, unless someone tags you.
Quiet hours start on, from 22:00 to 07:00. Messages wait for one gentle note when they end.
Let a Circle, like Close friends, through quiet hours, so the people who matter can always reach you.

In 2019, a team of researchers did something few of us dare to: they changed when 237 people's phone notifications arrived. Some got them as usual. Some got none at all. Some got them bundled, three times a day.

The people who got them three times a day felt more attentive, less stressed and more in control of their phones. The people who got none weren't calmer: they felt more anxious about what they were missing.

That's the balance we aimed for on Philos. Not silence. Just fewer, kinder interruptions, from the right people.

What makes a sound, and what never does

Philos tells you about people, never about the app. On the sheet that asks to turn notifications on, we put it plainly: no streaks, no suggestions, no reminders to scroll.

What notifies you

A message from someone you've added, or in a group you're in.
A mention, or a reply to your message. These reach you even in a group you've muted.
Someone tagging you in a post, or adding you back.

What never does

A friend sharing a post or a Moment. It waits in your Feed.
"You have new posts", "you haven't opened Philos in a while", or anything like it.
Reactions to your messages don't make a sound. They arrive quietly.

If one chat sends several messages in a row, you hear one sound, and the rest arrive quietly beneath it.

Quiet hours: on from the start

Quiet hours start on, from 22:00 to 07:00. During them, nothing makes a sound. Messages wait, and when quiet hours end you get one gentle note, titled While you were resting, with what came in.

Requests, like someone adding you back or tagging you, still land in your notification list overnight, silently.

To change the times:

Go to You, then Settings, then Notifications.
Under Quiet hours, set From and Until, or turn them off.

Let the right people through

Some people should always be able to reach you: a partner on a night shift, a parent who's unwell, a sister due any day.

In Settings, then Notifications, tap Let Circles through.
Choose a Circle, such as Close friends or Family.

Messages from the people in that Circle arrive right away, even overnight. Nobody is told who's on the list. If you don't have a Circle yet, make one first.

Mute a chat without a fuss

Hold a chat in your list and mute it. Messages still arrive, just without sound or notifications, and no one is told.

Moments: share the small stuff for 24 hours

Suhail — Mon, 14 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT

In short

A Moment is a photo, a video, a few words on a colour or a layout of photos. Each one disappears 24 hours after you share it.
You choose who sees every Moment, and replies go to you privately, in your chat.
Only you see who saw, loved and replied. You can hide your Moments from someone without them being told.

Some things aren't worth a post, but they're worth sharing. The first loaf that looks like bread. The light on the way home. A gelato that's mostly melted by the time you take the photo.

That's what Moments are for. Think of a post as the photo album and a Moment as the postcard: quick to send, nice to get, and not meant to be kept forever.

Share a Moment

On Home, tap the camera.
Tap for a photo, or hold for a video. Or choose from your gallery: photos and videos together, newest first.
Add a line if you like, and check who it's for.
Tap the button that says who it's for, such as Share with Family.

Every Moment tells you before you share it: Disappears in 24 hours.

A Moment of words, with a private reply underneath.

Three kinds of Moment

Photo or video. Videos longer than 15 seconds let you choose which part to keep.
Words. A few lines on a colour, in one of five typefaces, from Handwritten to Typewriter.
Layout. Two to four photos in one: side by side, one above the other, one and two, or four.

Choose who sees it

Each Moment goes only to the people you choose: everyone in your space, a Circle, or one person. Philos remembers your last choice, so the next Moment goes to the same people unless you change it.

Replies are private

Under a friend's Moment there's a field to reply to them privately. Your reply goes to your chat with them, quoting their Moment, and nobody else sees it. Love a Moment and only they know you did.

When Mum replies, it lands in your chat with her.

See who saw it, privately

Tap the summary under your own Moment to open its Activity: who saw it, who loved it, who replied, and who hasn't opened it yet. The top of the page says it plainly: only you can see this.

Hide your Moments from someone

Hold someone's face in the Moments row and choose Hide your Moments from them. None of your Moments reach them from then on, and they're never told. You can also mute someone's Moments, quietly, from the same menu.

Moments, in short

Each one disappears 24 hours after you share it.
Moments never send a notification.
Delete one sooner and it disappears for everyone right away. Replies stay in your chats.
Only you see who saw your Moment.

How to bring your parents and grandparents to Philos

Suhail — Wed, 09 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT

In short

Invite them from your contacts with a personal note. It goes as a message from your phone, so it comes from you.
If you're together, scan each other's code. It's the quickest way.
On day one, show them three things: Home, replying to a Moment, and holding the mic to talk.

Every family has a group chat that does too much. The birthday photos sit between forwarded jokes, and Grandpa's reply arrives three days late, to a message nobody remembers.

Philos is calmer than that: your parents see what you share with them, reply to you privately, and never have to scroll past anyone they don't know. Here's how to get them there.

Before you start

An iPhone. Philos is on the iPhone today. An Android app is coming.
Their number in your contacts. That's how Philos finds them, or invites them if they're not here yet.
Ten minutes together, if you can. It's not required, but it helps.

Step 1: Invite them with a note that sounds like you

In Chats, tap + and choose Invite someone.
Find Mum under From your contacts. If she's not on Philos yet, tap Invite. Her place in your heart is saved straight away.
Write the note. Philos suggests one, but your own words work better:

Mum, this is where I'll post the kids' photos from now on. Just us, no strangers. Tap the link and I'll show you the rest on Sunday.

The invite goes out as a message from your phone, so it reads like it's from you, because it is. Philos never messages anyone automatically, and if you invite several people, Send one at a time opens a separate message for each, so they don't see each other.

Their place is saved, so send them a personal note.

When Mum opens the invite, Philos tells her she matters to you, and that it's just for the people closest to you.

Step 2: Together? Scan instead

If you're at the same table, skip the message. In Invite someone, tap Show your code, and have Dad tap Scan their code once he's set up. You're added to each other in seconds.

Step 3: Show them three things

People new to an app learn by doing one thing at a time. Don't tour every screen. Show them these three:

Home. What you share appears here, and when they've seen it all, Philos says they're all caught up. Nothing endless to get lost in.
Replying to a Moment. Tap someone's Moment, then reply. It goes to that person privately, in your chat.
Holding the mic. If typing on a phone is a chore, they can hold the mic, talk and let go to send. More on voice messages.

A reply to a Moment lands in your chat, between the two of you.

Step 4: Make a Family Circle

Once your family is in, put them in a Circle so you can share with just them in one tap. Setting up a Family Circle walks you through it.

A tip for the long run

The first week matters most. Share something small the day they join: the dog, dinner, the view from the bus. A reply from Grandma on day one is how she learns that this is where the family is now.

Who to add first: your first five places

Suhail — Fri, 04 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT

In short

Start with the four or five people you'd call first with good news or bad. Everyone else can come later.
Add people who are already on Philos, invite the rest with a note in your own words, or scan each other's code in person.
You see each other's posts and Moments only once both of you have added each other. Philos never nudges anyone.

Picture moving house. You don't email the whole street to help carry the sofa. You call the four or five people who will turn up, bring snacks and stay to eat them.

Your first places on Philos work the same way. Your heart has room for 49, and it's tempting to fill it fast. Don't. Start with the people who'd turn up.

The sofa test

Ask yourself one question: who would I call first, with good news or bad?

For most of us the answer is a short list. A partner, a parent, a sibling, one or two friends who've known us forever. Researchers who study friendship keep finding this same small inner circle: about five people we lean on most, inside a wider ring of close friends. We wrote about where those numbers come from.

Those are your first five. Add them first, and Philos feels like home from the first day, because the first things you see are from the people you care about most.

Save each place for someone who'd save you one in theirs.

Add the people who are already here

In Chats, tap + and choose Invite someone.
Under From your contacts, anyone already on Philos shows On Philos. Tap Add.
You'll see Added · waiting for them. Once they add you back, you're in each other's space.

Philos checks coded versions of phone numbers to find who's here, never names, and doesn't keep them. Only the people you add are saved.

Invite the people who aren't here yet

For someone who isn't on Philos yet, tap Invite. Their place is saved, and you send them a personal note. Philos starts you with this one:

Hey! I'm moving the people I'm closest to somewhere private. No ads, no followers, just us. I'd love you to be there.

Change it to sound like you. "Mum, this is where the kids' photos will go from now on" lands better than any note we could write. Invites go out as a message from your phone, so they come from you, not from an app. Nobody is messaged automatically.

Sent means it left your phone, not that they've seen it. Nothing is sent again by itself.

Together right now? Scan each other

If you're at the same table, it's quicker in person. In Invite someone, one of you taps Show your code and the other taps Scan their code. Nothing you share is seen until you've both added each other.

You can also send your link from Share your link. Anyone with it can find you on Philos, and a stranger who opens it sees only your name and photo.

Then let it grow

After the first five, add the people you talk to every week or two. The rest of your places can wait for the friend you reconnect with next summer, or the cousin who finally gets an iPhone.

Good to know

You see each other's posts and Moments only when you've both added each other.
If someone doesn't add you back, nothing happens. Philos never nudges anyone.
Places aren't forever. You can make room later, and nobody is told.