At Circle, we’ve been hard at work over the past couple of months to add improvements to our device and the Circle Home app on iOS. Today, we’re pleased to announce the launch of 1.2 and share the benefits of our new software update.
New Pause
We’ve listened to your feedback. Now when a profile or the entire household is paused, the experience is much more noticeable and intuitive.
It’s easy with a glance at the Home screen or a profile that Pause is in effect. We’ve improved the ring around the avatar to “fill-in” and make the state much more obvious.
Also new badge overlays with a tiny Pause icon inform users that a given profile or the entire home has been paused.
We’re hoping that this takes the guesswork out of trying to figure out if Pause is in effect. This means you can move on to focus on other things! 😉
New Icons
One of the primary ways we communicate our brand and product features is through the use of icons: Pause; Filter; Time Limits; BedTime; Insights and Devices.
We rely heavily on these icons to guide and support users through Circle’s features. It wasn’t until we began work on Android (coming late Spring) that we realized the need to revamp the way we use these icons all across our brand. The result of these conversations helped us produce a more clear yet simple, unified look that will work well on iOS, Android, web and print.
New Platforms
Circle now allows filtering of Snapchat, Hulu, and FaceTime.
Snapchat is a massively growing platform among teenagers and Millennials. As of 1.2 we now support the ability for parents to Filter and set Time Limits for Snapchat. This has been requested many times over and we’re excited to offer this as a tool to parents.
In addition to Snapchat, we have added Hulu and FaceTime to our platform line-up. All of those late-night FaceTime calls with that friend from New Zealand can now be reigned in. Or maybe you want to impose some constraints on your own Hulu binges. Either way, we have you covered.
Various Updates
- Improved Netflix time tracking. 📺 (Netflix also now counts in total time for the Video category.)
- Improved game tracking now uses a smart algorithm to detect time spent for online gaming. 🎮
- Platform time now also counts under its category. ⏰ (For example, setting a Time Limit for Social Media will also now limit Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat or any others that can have individual limits.)
- Improved Google Safe search enforcement. 🔎
- Improved Lock Code setup. 🔒
- Online shopping defaults to ON for teen Filter Level. 👜
- Numerous small bug fixes. 🐛
More to Come
That’s right, 1.2 is just the beginning! As more families use Circle and share their experiences with us we will continue to take notes, apply their suggestions and insights into future experiences. We love hearing the ways Circle is working for families as well as the ways we can improve upon the experience. Your feedback is critical to our success and we welcome the conversation.
