# What is SafeCircle? (/en/docs)



SafeCircle is a family safety platform that helps parents stay informed about possible risks in their child's online chats, without reading their messages.

It has three parts you use today: a **parent dashboard** (a web app at `app.safecircle.tech`), a **parent app** for Android, and a **child app** for Android. The child app reads the text visible on screen in a few messaging apps and analyses it **on the child's phone**. When it sees a possible risk, you get an alert with the risk level, the categories, a confidence score and a short note. The message text itself is never sent to SafeCircle's servers.

<Callout type="info" title="An assistant, not a verdict">
  The detection can be wrong in both directions: it can flag harmless chats and miss real ones. Treat an alert as a prompt to talk with your child, not as proof. See [AI limitations](/en/docs/ai/limitations).
</Callout>

## How it works [#how-it-works]

<Steps>
  <Step>
    ### Set up the dashboard and pair the phone [#set-up-the-dashboard-and-pair-the-phone]

    You create a child profile in the dashboard (or the parent app) and generate a pairing code. On the child's Android phone you install the child app from the Google Play internal testing track (see [Join the beta](/en/docs/platform/private-beta/join)), scan the **QR code** or type the **6-digit code**, and grant the Accessibility permission.
  </Step>

  <Step>
    ### The child app reads on-screen text [#the-child-app-reads-on-screen-text]

    Using Android's Accessibility Service, the app reads the text that is visible in the [supported apps](/en/docs/platform/android/supported-apps) (WhatsApp, Instagram, Telegram, Snapchat and TikTok), and nothing else. It starts in **Basic** mode, which scans for keywords and needs no download. You can switch it to an on-device AI model for more accurate detection. See [How the child app works](/en/docs/platform/android/how-it-works).
  </Step>

  <Step>
    ### Only a short summary is sent [#only-a-short-summary-is-sent]

    When the result is medium or high risk, the app sends an alert with the category, confidence, timestamp, source app and a short note. Weaker results are discarded on the phone. The app analyses each monitored app at most once every 5 minutes.
  </Step>

  <Step>
    ### You review the alert [#you-review-the-alert]

    The alert appears in the dashboard and as a push notification in the parent app, with a **risk level** (`medium` or `high`), the categories, a confidence score and the **AI Reasoning** note. For now that note is a plain summary of the detected categories, not a quote from the conversation. See [Understanding alerts](/en/docs/platform/dashboard/alerts).
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Supported apps and devices [#supported-apps-and-devices]

* **Messaging apps the child app reads:** WhatsApp, Instagram, Telegram, Snapchat and TikTok. Other apps are not monitored. See [Supported apps](/en/docs/platform/android/supported-apps).
* **Child's phone:** Android 11 or later. There is no iOS app. See [iOS](/en/docs/platform/ios/overview).
* **Parents:** the dashboard works in any browser, and the parent app runs on Android 11 or later.

## Privacy overview [#privacy-overview]

| What SafeCircle stores                                               | What it does NOT receive                     |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------- |
| Risk level, categories and confidence score                          | The text of messages, in any form            |
| Timestamp, source app and a short note (a summary of the categories) | Screenshots or screen recordings             |
| Your account, children, devices and pairing status                   | Contacts, location, photos or the microphone |
| Alert read state                                                     | Browsing history                             |

Traffic between the apps and SafeCircle's servers uses HTTPS. The recent chat text the app analyses stays on the phone, in memory only. Read [AI privacy](/en/docs/ai/privacy) and [Data and privacy](/en/docs/developers/data-and-privacy) for the full detail.

<Callout title="Beta">
  SafeCircle is in beta, and anyone can create an account.
</Callout>

## Get started [#get-started]

<Cards>
  <Card title="Join the beta" href="/en/docs/platform/private-beta/join" description="From a new account to a paired device: sign-up, Google Play testing and the beta agreement." />

  <Card title="Set up the parent dashboard" href="/en/docs/platform/dashboard/setup" description="Add a child profile and generate a pairing code." />

  <Card title="Set up the child app" href="/en/docs/platform/android/setup" description="Install, pair, and grant permissions on the Android app." />

  <Card title="Get the parent app" href="/en/docs/platform/parent-app/overview" description="Alerts, insights and push notifications on your Android phone." />
</Cards>

## Explore the docs [#explore-the-docs]

<Cards>
  <Card title="Platform" href="/en/docs/platform" description="The dashboard, the Android apps, search, iOS status and Canopy OS." />

  <Card title="How the AI works" href="/en/docs/ai/overview" description="On-device detection, risk categories, privacy and limitations." />

  <Card title="SafeCircle Search" href="/en/docs/platform/search/overview" description="A private search engine with safe search. A separate site, not connected to the apps yet." />

  <Card title="Developers" href="/en/docs/developers/overview" description="Architecture, API reference, authentication and data handling." />

  <Card title="Support" href="/en/docs/support/faq" description="FAQ, troubleshooting and known limitations." />
</Cards>