Plus and Circle Parental Controls App User Guide
- June 3, 2024
- circle
Table of Contents
Circle Home Plus & Circle Parental
Controls App
User Guide
Plus and Circle Parental Controls App
Meet Circle ®
Thanks for joining the Circle community.
We’re here to help families like yours find balance in today’s digital world.
This guide has been designed to guide you along the way in using Circle to
manage content and time spent online.
If you run into questions or issues, don’t hesitate to reach out.
We’re here to help!
— The Circle team
support.meetcircle.com
help@meetcircle.com
Getting familiar with Circle
Feature Description
Pause the Internet ® ►| Pause the Internet® with the push of a button
Unpause
Resuming Internet access after being paused
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Location►| Keep track of your family and their mobile devices.
See where your family’s mobile devices are at a point in time with the tap of
a button. Kids get notified when you request their location.
Rewards►| Provide extra online time for your family
Usage►| Compare online time for each profile across all devices
Popular Apps & Websites
A popular online service made up of sites and apps
Site
An individual source of online content
Category
Collection of sites/platforms sharing a common purpose
History ►| Detailed breakdown of every site visited by a profile across all
devices
Bedtime►| Schedule overnight offline time for each family member to make late-
night scrolling a thing of the past
Filter ►| Ability to match each family member’s age and interests with age-
appropriate online content
Manage
Based on a set of pre-determined rules, network traffic is controlled
Unmanage
Online content can be freely accessed, and it won’t contribute to daily Time
Limits or appear in Usage & History
Allowed
Content is tracked and managed by Circle
Not Allowed
Content from this source is blocked by Circle
Time Limits►| Limit daily online time for platforms, categories, and total
online time across all devices
Focus Time►| Preset time offline for the important moments like homework or
dinner with the family
Term Description
Device| Any Internet-connected equipment (smartphone, tablet, laptop, gaming
console, etc.); plus smart
home appliances (“IoT” devices): smart TVs, Wi-Fi speakers, and thermostats
Kid device
Any Internet-connected device that you manage with the Circle App, not just
your kids’ devices Unassigned device
Devices not assigned to a profile are automatically unmanaged by Circle
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Profiles| Circle settings are shared across all devices assigned to a family
member profile
Network| Wi-Fi, ethernet, or cellular data source used to access the Internet
Router| Device that distributes Internet to multiple devices, usually over Wi-
Fi
Getting started
The Circle App
Install the Circle Parental Controls App
Apple iOS 12 or newer
Android 6.0 (Marshmallow) or newer
To find the app, search Circle Parental Controls in the App Store (iOS) or
Google Play (Android)
Follow the in-app instructions to continue
- Create your Circle Account
- Set up the App
- Set up Circle Home Plus
Using the Circle App
The Home Screen
Menu
The Menu provides quick access to additional account Settings for your
Circle login and hardware, access to Legal and Help resources, and the
opportunity to tell your friends and family about Circle through our Refer a
Friend program.
Profiles
Create profiles for every family member, so their Circle settings are shared across all devices.
To view a profile
Tap on a profile from the home screen.
From here you can see their name, photo, and a summary of their Circle
settings.
Tap edit in the top right corner of the screen to change the name or picture.
You can also delete the profile from here.
Tap done to save changes or cancel to go back without saving your changes.
Profile features
To view or makes changes to the profile settings, tap any of the features
displayed in the profile.
To learn about the features listed on the profile screen, continue to the next
section.
To add a mobile device to the profile, tap on Devices and then add a mobile
device.
Devices
From the home screen, you can find a list of all Circle devices by tapping the
devices icon in the top right portion of the screen.
From the profile screen, you can find a list of all assigned devices by
selecting devices.
Tap on any device from the device list to see the device settings, where
you’ll find:
The assigned profile (edit by tapping the text)
The device name (edit by tapping the text)
The manufacturer and device ID — which can help you identify the device if you
can’t figure out which is which
If it’s a kid device (with the Circle App installed and configured), you’ll
see the VPN status.
The option to remove device, which deletes this device from Circle
If you don’t want to manage this device with Circle, set it to unmanaged.
A pause button, just for this single device
Dashboard
The dashboard is where your family can check their online time for the day, and find other helpful information.
Finding the dashboard
If you’ve assigned a family member’s device to a profile, they can use the
dashboard from the Circle App or a web browser by visiting
dashboard.meetcircle.com.
What’s on the dashboard
On the dashboard, you’ll see information for the various Circle features
you’ve enabled for that family member. There’s also a general profile card,
where you can see the device name associated with Circle. Finding the device
name can be helpful for identifying devices if you’re not sure which is which.
Dashboard push notifications
Push notifications let your family members know about changes to their
Internet access throughout the day from Circle. They’ll be notified about
Circle features like Pause, Time Limits, Focus Times, Bedtimes, and more.
Features
Parental controls, right at your fingertips
Simplify how you manage your family’s online screen time. Circle’s features
let you set limits, filter content, and keep tabs on every connected device.
Filter
Set online content filters that match each family member’s age and interests.
When setting a filter, you first must select a filter level as a starting
place, which you can always customize to be the right fit for each family
member.
To edit a family member’s filter, tap on their profile, then select filter.
Filter levels
Kid
Grants access to kid-safe experiences, like the education category, but
filters out content not appropriate for children (most restrictive level)
Teen
Grants access to most general-use platforms and categories, without mature or
adult-oriented content
Adult
Grants access to nearly all platforms, categories, and apps, though explicit
content is filtered out by default
None
Means that Circle won’t filter content, track usage or history, or limit time
online for any assigned devices
Filter settings
After you select a filter level, you can customize it by setting content to
allowed, not allowed, or unmanaged by tapping the text-box across from the
platform or category name.
Allowed | Content from this source is available and tracked by Circle |
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Not allowed | Content is restricted by the filter |
Unmanaged | Internet traffic is allowed to freely come and go from this site, |
even if Circle is set on Pause, Bedtime, or Focus Time. Traffic to any
unmanaged site does not count toward Time Limits.
Custom Sites| Tapping the Custom Sites section on the right lets you create a
filter setting for an individual site. Follow the steps to type in the name of
the site and pick a filter setting for it.
Privacy & safety
Safe search| Filters sexually-explicit content from search results in Google,
Bing and DuckDuckGo.
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YouTube restricted| When enabled, enforces an optional YouTube setting to
filter out potentially mature videos and livestreaming.
Categories
Category descriptions are intended to describe the types of content Circle
will filter.
Entertainment| Arts & Entertainment
Visual arts, literature, humor, film, arts venues, and more
Music
Audio streaming and downloading, artist sites, and more
Online Games
Video games and board game sites
Sports & Recreation
Sports media, professional teams, and recreation
Video
Video streaming and downloading
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School & work| Business
Employment, job postings, finance, and industry services
Education
Instructional content, teaching, educational institutions, and career prep
Science & Technology
Physical and social sciences as well as computers and artificial intelligence
Social| Chat & Forums
Messaging services, online chat, bulletin boards, and forums
Social Media
Personal and professional networking communities
Services| App Stores & Downloads
Digital software distribution for apps, programs, and more
Email
Electronic mail providers
Lifestyle| Blogs & Personal Sites
Blogging platforms and sites with personal content
Government & Politics
Government services, politics, lobbying, and military
Health
Personal health and fitness
Home & Family
Cooking, parenting, home-decorating, and more
Issues & Lifestyles
Social issues, philosophy, religion, and more
News
Journalism, commentary, and other reporting
Online Shopping
Ecommerce retailers and classified ads
Travel
Maps, travel, and tourism
Photo
Photography information and sharing
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Adult| Dating
Online dating and match-making
Explicit Content
Graphic and explicit adult content
Gambling
Betting sites, lotteries, casinos, racetracks and more
Mature
Adult-specific content (age 18+ or 21+)
VPNs & Proxies
Internet privacy and network routing services
Certain categories are not allowed by default based on the filter level set.
For a full list of apps and sites that Circle covers, please read more.
View Full List
Time Limits
Limit online time for individual apps, sites, or categories. You can set limits by day, category of content or for individual apps and sites.
To set Time Limits
Tap on a profile from the home screen, then select Time Limits from the
feature list.
Turn Time Limits on by tapping the enable switch in the top right.
Set an all-day cap by tapping Daily Time Limit at the top of the list.
Set an all-day cap by tapping the selector beneath the profile picture.
Create an alternate schedule for certain days of the week by tapping the add
weekend icon at the top of the screen.
Manage time as a reward instead of giving a set limit every day by selecting
by reward only for a Time Limit.
Bedtime
Make late-night scrolling a thing of the past. Bedtime shuts off Internet
access for every device assigned to a profile through the night, so everybody
in your family can get the sleep they need without distraction. You can even
set a separate weekend Bedtime!
When setting Bedtime, the day of the week represents the night a Bedtime
begins. Typical weekday Bedtime spans Sunday to Thursday, with weekend nights
on Friday and Saturday.
To set a Bedtime
Tap on a profile from the home screen, then select Bedtime from the feature
list.
Turn Bedtime on by tapping the enable switch in the top right.
Set the Bedtime by tapping on the days to toggle them on or off, and tap
Bedtime and Awake times to set the clock.
Tap add weekend to set an alternate
Bedtime for certain days of the week.
Press save to finish.
Focus Time
Create a customized screen time schedule that benefits everyone in your family. Preset time offline for the important moments like practicing piano or dinner with the family.
To set an Focus Time
Tap on a profile from the home screen, then select Focus Time from the feature
list.
Tap the “+” or select from your existing Focus Time below.
Set the Focus Time by typing in a name for the Focus Time, selecting which
days you’d like to activate, and scroll through the start and end times to set
the clock.
Press done to finish, then save to keep all your changes for this profile.
Pause the Internet ®
Pause the Internet ® with the tap of a button for individual family members or the whole house. Tapping again will unpause to resume Internet. Unmanaged devices will always maintain Internet access.
Home Pause
To pause all Circle devices at once, press the pause button on the home
screen, then confirm. Press the same button again to unpause.
Profile Pause
To pause a family member, tap on their profile from the home screen, then tap
the pause button in the top-left corner of the screen. Press the same button
again to unpause.
Device Pause
To pause a single device, tap the devices icon in the top-right of the home
screen, then tap on a device from the list, then press the pause button on the
bottom of the screen. Press the same button again to unpause.
Location
Find the current location for a family member’s mobile devices. To use Location, the devices you want to locate must have the Circle App and VPN installed with location services enabled. Notification services must also be enabled on the parents’ and kids’ devices. Additionally, Location will only work once the mobile device is assigned to the kid’s profile that you wish to location.
To locate a family member’s device
Tap on a profile from the home screen, then select location from the feature
list.
You might have to pick from a list of devices to locate.
Wait for Circle to locate the device (this may take a minute or two).
When the device has been found, you’ll see a marker on the map.
At the bottom of the screen, you’ll see the time when the location was
received.
Tap refresh to see their location again.
Locating a device will only work if location services are enabled on the
device you are locating, and Circle will notify you if this is the reason a
device cannot be located.
Circle does not store a history of previous locations.
History
History displays a chronological list of sites viewed by a profile.
Toggle between Filtered and Visited to see which sites were prevented or
accessed.
To see a family member’s History
Tap on a profile from the home screen, then select History in the feature
list.
Select visited to see sites that a family member accessed.
Toggle over to filtered to see sites that Circle blocked because of a family
member’s filter settings.
To take action on a History entry, tap on it and select from the following
options
Visit website, which opens your web browser and takes you to the home page of
the site (not all sites support this feature).
Set as allowed
Set as not allowed
Set as unmanaged
You can edit any of these custom filters by selecting Filter from the profile features list, then tapping custom filter on the bottom of the screen.
Usage
Compare time online today, last week, or months past while viewing the total
time spent online per category and platform.
See a list of sites and platforms by tapping on a category.
A pop-up menu will allow you to take action on a particular category that
contributed total online time.
You may notice total online time does not always match the sum of usage from
visible categories. This is because each platform’s algorithm is unique and
may contribute differently to active screen time versus background traffic.
To see a family member’s Usage
To see a family member’s Usage, Select Usage in the feature list.
At the top of the screen, you can select between usage by day, week, or month.
Next, you’ll see a summary of total time.
Below that, you can scroll from the current period and into past usage.
Take action on a Usage entry by following the same steps outlined above for
History.
In addition to the popular apps and websites visible by default, Circle can
help you manage 100s more through Usage.
Learn more about hidden apps and websites.
Rewards
Rewards are an easy way to send family members extra online time for an individual day. Rewards expire at midnight, so original time limits are reset the following day.
To send a Reward
Tap on a profile from the home screen, then tap the star in the top right
corner, or select Rewards from the feature list.
Pick from three types of rewards: Extend Time Limit, Late Bedtime, or Disable
Focus Time.
Set the Reward based on the existing settings, and press send to finish.
Types of Rewards
Extend Time Limit to add additional time to an existing Time Limit
Late Bedtime to set a new start time for that night’s Bedtime
Disable Focus Time to remove a regularly scheduled Focus Time
To edit or cancel a Reward
Tap on a profile from the home screen and select Rewards from the feature
list.
To edit a Reward, tap the edit existing rewards button to make the appropriate
changes.
To cancel a Reward, tap the edit existing rewards button and swipe to delete
it from the list.
Circle Home Plus device
Wi-Fi devices & Circle Home Plus
Circle Home Plus pairs directly with your router and inspects all the non-
encrypted Internet traffic coming through your home network.
You won’t need to install software or adjust settings on your devices to
manage them.
LED| Solid light
On & paired
Solid off
Off
Double blink
Not paired correctly, usually needs a reboot| Slowly blinking
On, but not paired
Quickly blinking
Resetting, low battery or other internal error
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Power Button| To power on
Press once| To power off
Hold for ten seconds, or until LED turns off
Battery| Internal battery keeps Home Plus online when USB power is unavailable
When you set up Circle Home Plus, you’ll have access to a whole new group of connected devices to manage with Circle: your family’s Wi-Fi devices.
New devices joining Wi-Fi
Circle Home Plus will discover new Wi-Fi devices when they join your network.
You can choose if these devices are set to the Home profile or left
as Unmanaged.
The home profile
The home profile is where all shared family devices live. You set a baseline
filter, plus any Focus Times of Bedtimes to apply to all these devices. You
can use this home profile any way you’d like by assigning the devices that
make sense for your home.
Network gear & smart home devices
Leave all network gear and smart home devices unmanaged. Any interference with
Circle Hone Plus may cause unexpected issues with these utilities and
services. Make sure mesh Wi-Fi extenders and network fabric as well as
Internet of Things (“loT”) devices, like smart appliances, are never assigned
to a profile.
Troubleshooting Circle Home Plus
If you don’t have a Circle Home Plus, open the Circle App and press get Circle
Home Plus from the home screen menu.
If Circle Home Plus isn’t pairing with your network via ethernet, make sure
the mobile device with the Circle App (most likely your smartphone) is
connected to the network created by your router. This way, Circle can verify
that the Circle Home Plus you’ve plugged in is associated with your Circle
account.
If you don’t have a spare ethernet port in your router, just skip ethernet
pairing by tapping pair with Wi-Fi instead during setup.
If you skip ethernet pairing, you’ll have to connect your phone to the Circle
Home Plus hotspot. Follow the instructions in the app, and make sure that you
stay connected to the Circle Home Plus hotspot, even though you won’t have an
Internet connection on your phone for the moment.
If Circle Home Plus isn’t pairing with your network via Wi-Fi, make sure that
you’ve connected to the Circle Home Plus hotspot (if the app required you to
do so) before continuing, or that you’ve correctly entered your Wi-Fi password
credentials into the Circle App.
If you paired Circle Home Plus over ethernet but don’t use Wi-Fi, or you’re
unable to pair wirelessly, just tap skip Wi-Fi pairing during setup.
If your Circle Home Plus seems to be creating problems for your home network,
try temporarily disabling it from the settings screen (found by
tapping the menu button in the top-left corner of the home screen, then
settings, then disable Circle Home Plus).
If Circle Home Plus is offline or not working, try rebooting your router and
Circle. Set up again by opening the menu and select Remove Circle Home Plus
then Resetting Circle.
If the problem goes away after you’ve disabled Circle Home Plus, check to make
sure that all networking equipment (like a mesh network extender or other
network fabric) and smart home devices (like smart thermostats and light
bulbs) are set to unmanaged.
Helpful resources to get the most from Circle:
FAQs
Feature Guides
Networking & Compatibility
Troubleshooting Resources
Support | support.meetcircle.com
Press | press@meetcircle.com