# Philos

> Philos is a private space for up to 49 of your people. Share moments, posts and messages with close friends, family and the circles you trust. No influencers, no ads, no algorithm.

Philos is an iPhone app (Android is coming). It has no ads, your data is never sold, and your photos and messages are never used to train AI. Every post goes only to the people you choose, nothing on Philos is public, and Home ends when you have seen what your people shared.

The Philos blog explains why Philos works the way it does and how to set it up for your family and close friends. Every post below links to a plain Markdown version.

## Our thinking

Why Philos works the way it does: the 49 places, a feed that ends, and the things we chose not to build.

- [Why Philos has room for only 49 people](https://getphilos.com/blog/why-philos-has-room-for-only-49-people.md): Every dot in our logo is someone. Here's why we stopped at 49, and why nobody moves when someone leaves.
- [What happens to a photo after you post it publicly](https://getphilos.com/blog/what-happens-to-a-public-photo.md): A photo carries more than the picture, and public photos travel further than you think. Location data, face-search databases, AI training, and how to keep photos close.
- [Why your feed ends](https://getphilos.com/blog/why-your-feed-ends.md): When you've seen your people, Philos says you're all caught up. Here's why we stop there, and what we do instead of keeping you scrolling.
- [Strong ties, weak ties: who belongs in your 49](https://getphilos.com/blog/strong-ties-and-weak-ties.md): The friend of a friend who found you a job, and the sister who'd drive through the night. Why you need both kinds of tie, and why Philos is built for the second.
- [Names, never numbers](https://getphilos.com/blog/names-never-numbers.md): Philos shows who responded to what you shared, not a count of likes. Here's what changes when the number goes away.
- [We now switch screens every 47 seconds](https://getphilos.com/blog/your-attention-span-on-screens.md): A researcher has timed how long we stay on one screen for twenty years. It fell from two and a half minutes to 47 seconds. What breaks our focus, and what helps.
- [Why there's no forward button](https://getphilos.com/blog/why-theres-no-forward-button.md): Only you choose who sees what you share, so nothing on Philos can be passed on. Here's why we left the button out, and what it can't stop.
- [Your photos don't train AI](https://getphilos.com/blog/your-photos-dont-train-ai.md): Philos doesn't use your photos or messages to train AI. Here's why that matters, especially for photos of children.
- [Sharenting: the childhood you post before they can say no](https://getphilos.com/blog/sharenting-the-childhood-you-post.md): British parents posted about 1,500 photos of a child by their fifth birthday, and France has written children's image rights into law. How to share a childhood with care.
- [The moai: Okinawa's circles of friends for life](https://getphilos.com/blog/okinawa-moai-friends-for-life.md): In Okinawa, groups of friends meet for decades, some since primary school. Where the moai came from, Europe's own versions, and how to start one with your people.
- [Path, Circles, Close Friends: the apps that tried to be small](https://getphilos.com/blog/apps-that-tried-to-be-small.md): A friend limit of 50, Circles, a Close Friends list, one photo a day. A short history of social apps that tried to be smaller, and what we learned from them.
- [Why a short message means more than you think](https://getphilos.com/blog/the-surprise-of-reaching-out.md): We put off messaging old friends because it feels awkward. Research with thousands of people found they're far gladder to hear from us than we expect.
- [Lonely, with hundreds of followers](https://getphilos.com/blog/lonely-with-hundreds-of-followers.md): We've never been so connected, and governments now appoint ministers for loneliness. Why a feed full of people can still leave you hungry, and what feeds us instead.
- [The man who designed infinite scroll wishes he hadn't](https://getphilos.com/blog/the-man-who-designed-infinite-scroll.md): In 2006 a young designer made web pages load forever. Today he warns about what it did to our time. Why good things have endings, and why Philos does too.
- [What 88 years of the Harvard happiness study found](https://getphilos.com/blog/the-harvard-study-of-happiness.md): Since 1938, Harvard researchers have followed hundreds of lives from youth to old age. Their clearest finding isn't about money or fame. It's about your people.
- [The Christmas card list behind Dunbar's number](https://getphilos.com/blog/dunbars-number-christmas-cards.md): An anthropologist counted Christmas cards and found the shape of our friendships. What Dunbar's number says, what it doesn't, and where 49 fits in.
- [The living room and the town square](https://getphilos.com/blog/the-living-room-and-the-town-square.md): Social media turned our photo albums into speeches in a public square. Why the room you share in changes what you share, and why Philos is built as a living room.

## Guides

Step-by-step help for setting up Philos for the people you love.

- [Setting up a Family Circle](https://getphilos.com/blog/setting-up-a-family-circle.md): Mum and Dad at home, your sister abroad, Nani on her tablet. Here's how to make a Family Circle in Philos and share with just them.
- [Making room: taking someone out of your heart, quietly](https://getphilos.com/blog/making-room-quietly.md): Friendships have seasons. Here's how to free a place in Philos without a scene, what changes for each of you, and how to undo it if you change your mind.
- [Sharing a new baby, privately](https://getphilos.com/blog/sharing-a-new-baby-privately.md): Share every first with the people who'd frame it, not with the internet. A step-by-step guide to posting baby photos on Philos.
- [Tagging someone in a post: how tag requests work](https://getphilos.com/blog/how-tag-requests-work.md): On Philos, nobody is tagged in a photo until they say yes. Here's how to tag someone, what they see, and how to accept, reject or remove a tag later.
- [What a stranger sees on your Philos link](https://getphilos.com/blog/what-a-stranger-sees-on-your-link.md): Your name and photo. Nothing else. Here's the page someone sees when they open your link before you've added each other.
- [Choosing who sees each post](https://getphilos.com/blog/choosing-who-sees-each-post.md): Everyone in your space, a Circle, or just one person. Here's how to pick who sees every post on Philos, and how to change your mind later.
- [Planning a family get-together in a group chat](https://getphilos.com/blog/plan-a-get-together-in-chats.md): Pick a day without forty messages, keep the side chats out of the way, and put the plan in everyone's calendar. Polls, plans and threads on Philos.
- [Voice messages: when typing won't do](https://getphilos.com/blog/voice-messages-on-philos.md): Hold the mic, talk, let go. How voice messages work on Philos, how to lock, pause and listen back before sending, and why a voice lands differently.
- [Notifications that let you sleep: how quiet hours work](https://getphilos.com/blog/quiet-hours-and-notifications.md): Philos only makes a sound when one of your people talks to you. Here's what notifies you, what never does, and how quiet hours hold messages until morning.
- [Moments: share the small stuff for 24 hours](https://getphilos.com/blog/moments-on-philos.md): A first loaf, a sunset, a line of words. How to share a Moment on Philos, choose who sees it, and see who loved it, all gone after a day.
- [How to bring your parents and grandparents to Philos](https://getphilos.com/blog/bring-your-parents-to-philos.md): A step-by-step guide to inviting Mum, Dad and the grandparents, with a note in your own words, and the three things to show them on day one.
- [Who to add first: your first five places](https://getphilos.com/blog/who-to-add-first.md): Your heart has room for 49, but the first five matter most. Who to add first, how to invite them, and why there's no rush to fill the rest.

## Topics

- [Privacy](https://getphilos.com/blog/topic/privacy): What Philos shows, to whom, and what it never does with your photos and messages. (12 posts)
- [Your people](https://getphilos.com/blog/topic/your-people): The 49 places in your heart, who to give them to, and what happens when people come and go. (12 posts)
- [Friendship](https://getphilos.com/blog/topic/friendship): What research says about close friends, loneliness and the small acts that keep people close. (9 posts)
- [Attention](https://getphilos.com/blog/topic/attention): A feed that ends, names instead of numbers, and other ways Philos gives your time back. (6 posts)
- [Family](https://getphilos.com/blog/topic/family): Sharing with parents, grandparents and the cousins you're close to, wherever they live. (6 posts)
- [Kids online](https://getphilos.com/blog/topic/kids-online): Sharing your children's lives without handing their childhood to the internet. (3 posts)
- [AI](https://getphilos.com/blog/topic/ai): What happens to photos online once AI tools learn from them, and why Philos keeps yours out. (2 posts)

## Site

- [Home](https://getphilos.com/): what Philos is, with an interactive demo of the app.
- [The Philos blog](https://getphilos.com/blog): every post, newest first.
- [Our thinking](https://getphilos.com/blog/section/our-thinking): Why Philos works the way it does: the 49 places, a feed that ends, and the things we chose not to build.
- [Guides](https://getphilos.com/blog/section/guides): Step-by-step help for setting up Philos for the people you love.
- [All posts A–Z](https://getphilos.com/blog/all): one flat list of every post.

## Optional

- [Every post in full](https://getphilos.com/llms-full.txt): all posts as one Markdown file.
- [RSS](https://getphilos.com/blog/rss.xml) and [JSON Feed](https://getphilos.com/blog/feed.json): full-text feeds.
- [Sitemap](https://getphilos.com/sitemap-index.xml)