User Manual Circle Home Plus User Manual 1
Welcome Welcome to Circle. We’re excited to share this paradigm-shifting product with a global community of families who are seeking better balance and management of their time online. We look forward to having you discover how easy it is for families to use Circle to manage their content and time online. We welcome any questions or feedback you may have as you get started. We’re here to assist you throughout your experience. Visit support.meetcircle.com for help.
Table of contents 01 Getting familiar with Circle 4 02 Getting started 7 03 Using the Circle App 8 The Home Screen 9 Devices 11 Profiles 10 Dashboard 12 04 05 Features 13 Filter 14 Location 22 Time Limits 18 History 23 Bedtime 19 Usage 24 Off Time 20 Rewards 25 Pause 21 Circle Home Plus device 26 Wi-Fi devices & Circle Home Plus 27 Troubleshooting 29 Circle Home Plus User Manual 3
01 Getting familiar with Circle Here are some helpful definitions as you get started Circle Home Plus User Manual 4
Feature Description Pause the Internet® Pause the Internet® with the push of a button Unpause Resuming internet access after being paused 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.
Feature Description 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, even during use of Circle’s premium and basic features, and it won’t contribute to daily Time Limits or appear in Usage & History.
02 Getting started The Circle App Install the Circle Parental Controls App Apple iOS 11 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).
03 Using the Circle App Circle Home Plus User Manual 8
The Home Screen Home Menu Device List Navigation The Home Screen lets you see the family member Profiles you have set up, the Devices that have been added to Circle, and provides a Menu with more options for your Circle account. Family Profile 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.
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.
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.
04 Features Circle Home Plus User Manual 13
Parental controls, right at your fingertips Begin simplifying 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 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 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 Off Time.
Filter Categories Category descriptions are intended to describe the types of content Circle will filter.
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. Tap the name of a platform or category to set an individual 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.
Off Time Schedule offline time in advance to get homework done, enjoy family dinners, and more. Off Time provides recurring breaks from the internet that are fully customizable. To set an Off Time Tap on a profile from the home screen, then select Off Time from the feature list. Tap add Off Time, or select from your existing Off Time below. Set the Off Time by typing in a name for the Off Time, selecting which days you’d like to activate, and scroll through the start and end times to set the clock.
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.
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 installed with location services enabled. Notification services must also be enabled on the parents' and kids' devices. 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).
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.
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.
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 Off Time. Set the Reward based on the existing settings, and press send to finish.
05 Circle Home Plus device Circle Home Plus User Manual 26
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.
Wi-Fi devices & Circle Home Plus When you set up Circle Home Plus, you'll have access to a whole new group of connected devices to mange with Circle: your family's Wi-Fi devices. Wi-Fi devices are Unmanaged by default Wi-Fi devices discovered by Circle Home Plus will be set to unmanaged when they join, meaning Circle won't interact with their internet connection at any point. If you assign one to a profile, it'll be managed just like your mobile devices on your home network.
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.
Thank you for choosing Circle Home Plus. We hope Circle makes a positive impact on managing screen time for your family. If you encounter questions or issues please reach out to us. We're here to help! support@meetcircle.
