Role guide
Member
Every signed-in SafeCircle user is a Member. This is the baseline role. If you do nothing else, do this.
Who this is for
You. Every account. The moment you sign up, you're a Member. You stay a Member even if you also become an Owner (by creating a circle) or a Plan Author (by building a plan). Member responsibilities apply on top.
At a glance
GoalBe reachable and reachable-from in an emergency
TierSame as everyone — SafeCircle is free
PermissionsPost your own status, view circle co-members, accept invites, build plans, view plans shared with your circles
Cannot doPost status on behalf of others, edit a plan you didn't author or weren't added to, see anyone outside your circles
Time commitment60 seconds per day
Success looks likeYour circle always knows where you stand. You always know where they stand.
Core responsibilities
- Keep your status fresh.Post a status whenever your situation changes meaningfully. "Safe at home" / "Stuck in traffic, fine" / "Hospital but okay" / "Need help". Silence is interpreted as Unknown after a while — that worries people.
- Read incoming statuses.Push notifications wake you for Help. Acknowledge them — even just a thumbs-up message — so the sender knows they've been seen.
- Know the plans you're part of.If a plan was shared with one of your circles, open it once. You don't need to memorise it. You do need to know the meeting point and the code word.
- Keep your profile current.Phone number, location. These show up to your circle when they're trying to reach you.
- Keep notifications on. If you mute everything, you're unreachable through the app. If you must mute, pick Emergency onlyinstead — you'll still get woken for Help.
Recurring workflows
Weekly
- Open every plan you're part of and skim it.
- Confirm push notifications are arriving (post a Safe + delete it 30s later as a self-test).
Monthly
- Re-check your profile is accurate.
- Leave any circle that's no longer relevant (Profile → Circle → Leave).
Exception flows
- You see Help from someone: contact them off-app first (call), then acknowledge in-app.
- You can't reach the internet: the installed app caches your latest dashboard + plans. Open the installed app.
- You forgot your password: /login → Forgot? → email link.
Common mistakes
- Posting Help and not adding a message. Your circle gets a notification but doesn't know what kind of help. Always include one line.
- Joining many circles, paying attention to none. Three relevant circles you actively engage with beats ten you ignore.
- Muting all notifications "for now". "For now" usually becomes forever. Pick Emergency only instead.
- Treating SafeCircle as a substitute for 999. It isn't. Call emergency services first; use SafeCircle to coordinate.
What success looks like
- You haven't gone more than 7 days without posting any status, when something interesting was happening.
- You can name the meeting point in your family plan without opening the app.
- Your circle knows you're a reliable signal, not noise.
The point of being a Member
It's not to use the app a lot. It's to be reachable when it matters and know the people who care about you are too. That's the whole job.