How can we help?

🚀 Getting Started

1. Download & Install: Get Inner Circle from the Google Play Store (Android 6.0+). Open the app and complete the quick onboarding tutorial.
2. Add Your First Person: Tap the + button on the home screen. Enter their name, optionally add a photo, and assign them to a relationship tier.
3. Log Your First Interaction: Open a person's profile and tap Log Interaction. Select the type (☕ Coffee, 📱 Call, 🍽️ Meal, 🎉 Hangout, 💬 Message, 📹 Video, 📝 Note) and add optional notes about what you discussed.
4. Explore the Dashboard: Your home screen shows:
   • Needs Attention: People you haven't connected with recently
   • Upcoming Birthdays: Don't miss important dates
   • Health Overview: Visual rings show relationship status at a glance
5. Configure Settings: Tap the gear icon to set up notifications, app security, and customize your experience.

💡 Tip: Start small! Add your 5-10 most important people first, then gradually expand as logging becomes a habit.

🎯 Understanding Relationship Tiers

Inner Circle uses Robin Dunbar's research on cognitive limits to help you organize relationships naturally:

1. 💜 Inner Circle (~5 people)
   • Your closest relationships—best friends, partner, immediate family
   • Goal: Connect at least weekly
   • These are the people you'd call in a crisis at 2 AM
2. 💚 Close Friends (~50 people)
   • Good friends and extended family you genuinely care about
   • Goal: Connect every 2-3 weeks
   • People you'd invite to a birthday party or important life event
3. 💛 Good Friends (~100 people) PRO
   • Meaningful connections—colleagues, neighbors, hobby friends
   • Goal: Connect monthly
   • People you enjoy spending time with but don't see as often
4. 🤝 Wider Network (150+ people) PRO
   • Extended network and acquaintances you want to maintain
   • Goal: Check in quarterly
   • Professional contacts, old classmates, distant relatives

💡 Tip: Don't overthink tier placement! If someone feels like a Close Friend, put them there. You can always move people between tiers as relationships evolve.

⚡ Quick 3-Tap Logging

The fastest way to log interactions—designed so you'll actually use it:

1. Tap 1 - Select Person: From the home screen or people list, tap on the person you connected with.
2. Tap 2 - Choose Interaction Type: Hit the + button and select the interaction type:
   • ☕ Coffee — Grabbed coffee or a drink together
   • 📱 Call — Phone or video call
   • 🍽️ Meal — Lunch, dinner, or any shared meal
   • 🎉 Hangout — Spent time together in person
   • 💬 Message — Meaningful text conversation
   • 📹 Video — Video chat or FaceTime
   • 🎈 Life Event — Wedding, graduation, new job, etc.
   • 📝 Note — Just a note or reminder to yourself
3. Tap 3 - Save: Optionally add notes, then tap save. Done!

💡 Tip: Get in the habit of logging right after you hang up or leave. It takes 3 seconds and prevents "I'll do it later" forgetting.

🎤 AI Voice Capture

Log interactions hands-free with AI-powered voice transcription:

1. Enable Voice Features: Go to Settings → Voice Capture and toggle it on. The app will download a small AI model for transcription.
2. Find the Microphone: Look for the 🎤 microphone icon on the home screen or any person's profile page.
3. Speak Naturally: Tap and hold, then describe what happened:
   • "Had coffee with Sarah today. Talked about her new job at Google and her upcoming trip to Japan."
   • "Just got off a call with Mom. She's feeling better after her surgery."
   • "Dinner with Mike and Lisa. They announced they're expecting!"
4. Review & Confirm: The AI parses your speech, identifies the person and interaction type, and extracts key details. Review and tap save.

💡 Tip: Voice logging is perfect for the drive home after meeting someone. Safe, hands-free, and you won't forget details while they're fresh.

📊 Understanding Your Dashboard

Your dashboard is mission control for relationship health:

1. Health Rings: Each person has a colored ring around their avatar:
   • ● Green: Healthy — You're on track with this relationship
   • ● Yellow: Warning — Time to reach out soon
   • ● Red: Needs Attention — This relationship is fading
2. Needs Attention Section: People whose health is declining appear here. Tap to see them and take action.
3. Upcoming Birthdays: Never miss a birthday again. Tap to send a message or log a celebration.
4. Recent Activity: Your logged interactions appear here as a timeline of your social life.

💡 Tip: Make it a habit to check your dashboard daily. It takes 30 seconds and keeps your relationships on track.

📋 Weekly Review PRO

Set aside time each week to reflect on and plan your relationships:

1. Set Your Review Time: Go to Settings → Weekly Review. Choose a day and time that works for you (Sunday evening is popular).
2. When Review Time Arrives: You'll get a notification. Open the app to see your personalized review.
3. Review Your Week: The review shows:
   • How many people you connected with
   • Which tiers got the most attention
   • People you meant to reach out to but didn't
4. Plan Ahead: See suggested catch-up cards for the week ahead. Mark who you intend to reach out to.
5. Celebrate Wins: Acknowledge the connections you made. Maintaining relationships is worth celebrating!

💡 Tip: Treat your Weekly Review like a gym session for your social life. 10 minutes of reflection leads to better relationships all week.

🧠 Smart Moments & Life Events PRO

Never forget to follow up on important life events:

1. Automatic Detection: When you log an interaction with notes like "Sarah got a new job" or "Mike's mom is having surgery next week," Inner Circle automatically detects life events.
2. Life Events Tracked:
   • 💼 Job changes & career moves
   • 🏥 Medical events & health updates
   • ✈️ Travel & trips
   • 🏠 Moving & new homes
   • 💒 Weddings & engagements
   • 👶 New babies & family growth
   • 🎓 Graduations & achievements
   • 📅 Exams, deadlines, and waiting-for-news moments
3. Follow-Up Reminders: The app reminds you to check in. "It's been a week since Sarah started her new job. Ask how it's going!"
4. Context When You Need It: On each person's profile, you'll see their active moments so you always have something meaningful to talk about.

💡 Tip: The best relationships are built on remembering the small things. Moments help you be the friend who actually follows up.

💛 Holding Close PRO

For when someone needs extra support during difficult times:

1. Mark Someone as Holding Close: On a person's profile, tap the heart icon or find "Hold Close" in their options menu.
2. Add Context: Note why you're holding them close (going through a divorce, lost a parent, health scare, etc.).
3. Set Duration: Choose how long to hold them close—a week, a month, or indefinitely until you turn it off.
4. Get Reminders: You'll receive gentle nudges to check in more frequently than their tier would normally require.
5. Extend or Release: When the time comes, you can extend the holding close period or release them back to normal tracking.

💡 Tip: Being there for someone during hard times is what transforms acquaintances into lifelong friends. Holding Close helps you show up when it matters most.

🎂 Birthday Reminders

Never miss an important birthday again:

1. Add Birthdays: When creating or editing a person, tap "Add Birthday" and enter the date.
2. Configure Reminders: Go to Settings → Birthday Settings to customize:
   • Advance Notice: Get reminded days before (1 day, 3 days, 1 week)
   • Day-Of Reminder: Set the time you want to be notified on their birthday
   • Tier Settings: Choose which tiers get birthday reminders (maybe skip Wider Network?)
3. Act on Reminders: When you get a notification, tap to open their profile and log a birthday message or celebration.
4. Missed Birthday Nudge: If you miss someone's birthday, the app gently reminds you—it's never too late to reach out!

💡 Tip: A personalized birthday message means so much more than a generic "HBD" on social media. Use your notes and moments to make it personal!

📸 Photos & Memories

Build a visual history of your relationships:

1. Add Photos to a Person: Open their profile, scroll to the Photos section, and tap Add Photo.
2. Choose Your Source: Take a new photo with your camera or select from your gallery.
3. Add Context: Write a caption describing the memory—where you were, what you were doing, why it mattered.
4. Browse the Gallery: Tap any photo to view your beautiful Polaroid-style memory gallery. Swipe through your shared history.
5. "On This Day" Memories: The app surfaces memories from past years, helping you reminisce and reconnect.

💡 Tip: Photos trigger memories and emotions that text alone can't. Even one photo per person creates a meaningful visual timeline over time.

🔍 Universal Search

Find anyone or anything instantly:

1. Access Search: Tap the search icon on the home screen or use the search bar at the top.
2. Search by Name: Type a person's name to find them quickly, even with partial matches.
3. Search by Context: Search your notes! Looking for who got that new job? Search "new job" to find relevant interactions.
4. Search by Date: Find interactions from specific time periods.
5. Quick Actions: From search results, take immediate action—log an interaction, view their profile, or start a message.

💡 Tip: Can't remember who recommended that restaurant? Search your notes! Your logged interactions become a searchable memory bank.

📱 Home Screen Widget

Stay on top of relationships without opening the app:

1. Add the Widget: Long-press your home screen → Widgets → Find "Inner Circle" → Drag to your home screen.
2. See Who Needs Attention: The widget displays people who need a check-in, right on your home screen.
3. Quick Log: Tap a person on the widget to quickly log an interaction without fully opening the app.
4. Quick Search: Access search directly from the widget for fast lookups.
5. Widget Sizes: Choose from small (2-3 people) or large (more people + actions) widget sizes.

💡 Tip: Put the widget on your main home screen. Seeing who needs attention every time you unlock your phone builds the habit naturally.

🔒 Security & Privacy

Your relationship data is sensitive. Here's how to keep it safe:

1. Enable App Lock: Go to Settings → Security and enable biometric lock (fingerprint or face).
2. Set Lock Timeout: Choose how quickly the app locks when you leave (immediately, 1 minute, 5 minutes).
3. Local Encryption: All your data is encrypted on your device by default. No one can access it without your device PIN/biometric.
4. Cloud Backup Security: If you enable cloud backup, your data is encrypted with your passphrase before leaving your device. Not even we can read it.
5. No Tracking: We don't track you, sell your data, or show ads. Your relationships are yours alone.

💡 Tip: Store your backup passphrase in a password manager. If you forget it, your backup cannot be recovered—that's how secure it is.

☁️ Cloud Backup PRO

Keep your data safe across devices with encrypted Google Drive backup:

1. Go to Settings: Tap Settings → Cloud Backup.
2. Sign In with Google: Authenticate with your Google account. The app will access only its own folder in your Drive.
3. Create a Passphrase: Choose a strong, memorable passphrase. This encrypts your backup end-to-end.
   ⚠️ Important: Store this passphrase safely. We cannot recover it if lost!
4. Enable Auto Backup: Toggle on automatic backups. Your data syncs securely whenever you make changes.
5. Manual Backup: Tap "Backup Now" anytime to force an immediate backup.
6. Restore on New Device: Install Inner Circle on a new phone, sign in with the same Google account, enter your passphrase, and restore.

💡 Tip: Enable auto-backup and forget about it. If you ever lose your phone, your years of relationship data will be safe and restorable.

📦 Archiving People

Not every relationship stays active. Archive instead of delete:

1. Why Archive? When someone moves away, you lose touch, or the relationship naturally fades, archiving removes them from your active dashboard without losing history.
2. How to Archive: Open a person's profile → Tap the menu (⋮) → Select "Archive." They'll disappear from your main lists.
3. View Archived People: Go to Settings → Archived People to see everyone you've archived.
4. Restore Anytime: Life changes! If you reconnect, simply unarchive them and their full history returns to your active list.
5. Archived Data: All notes, interactions, photos, and moments are preserved. Nothing is lost.

💡 Tip: Archive keeps your active list focused on current relationships. It's not goodbye—it's "see you later" with all your memories intact.

📝 Context Notes & Conversation Starters

Remember the details that make conversations meaningful:

1. Add Context Notes: On each person's profile, add context like their interests, their kids' names, their favorite restaurant, or what they're working on.
2. Log Interaction Notes: When logging interactions, add notes about what you discussed. "Talked about her marathon training. She's running Boston in April."
3. Conversation Starters: Before reaching out, check their profile. Your notes remind you what to ask about: "How was Boston? Did you PR?"
4. Searchable History: All your notes are searchable. Can't remember who mentioned moving to Austin? Search and find it.

💡 Tip: The best networkers aren't those with the best memory—they're the ones who write things down. Your future self will thank you.