Charles Wright Presents Circles - An Encrypted Photo Sharing and Social Media App

This was recorded during our Don't Be Evil Summit during SXSW.
Download Circles here: circles.futo.org/
Our website: futo.org/

[@Trenjeska]

Famous last words... "you don't really need an app to stay in touch with people who live in the same house"

[@l0gic23]

Wonder if they will leverage Immich code... Dont think it should be built into Immich but seems there should be some opportunity to accelerate and benefit from the mutual Futo relationship

[@gravelrhoads]

That would be nice. Unlike Adobe where the Premiere Pro and After Effects teams will not share code with each other unless ordered to. At which point they still do it their own way which means it will work differently for the user.

[@eric_eagle]

First thing I thought as well.

[@ArmageddonAfterparty]

Problem is, people who are interested in privacy have learned not to put *any* photos on the internet if they can help it. But I'll download it on general principle.

Anyone remember circles in google+?

[@l0gic23]

I remember trying to avoid that garbage and big G trying to force it AND real name exposure

[@ArnaudMEURET]

I expected so much from G+ Circles! 😢

[@elhugo13]

yes came here to say this ↑

[@JaapZeldenrust]

The circles system was very clever, and almost nobody understood how to use it. Like so many smart things from Google. I really loved (the idea of) Wave.

[@ArnaudMEURET]

The killer feature is the multi circle ability. It’s what I wanted from G+Circles back then, to shield my cosplay followers from French politics rants, etc. 😅

[@muizzsiddique]

You used to be able to share posts to specific circles and add people to multiple circles.

[@ArnaudMEURET]

@@muizzsiddique Exactly

[@tjalve1]

Sadly, I’ll never be able to get all of family and friends on here with $2 per month for 10Gb. We need cheaper options, family plans, and self hosting storage .

[@waynemorellini2110]

There is somebody going around and removing good posts Louis from normal view Louis.

[@ironsquid9724]

The idea to use Rooms to create a Timeline is amazing

[@635574]

20:13 QR codes for the apps, btw searching "circes" didn't find it cause its arpund 1k installs on android.

[@ConciseCabbage]

I don’t know how I would ever explain the concept of circles and timelines to my grandma.

[@haydensimpson02]

Love iiiiiit! Ya know, im sure that bereal could transition to use this kinda model without many negative impacts

[@sproid]

It would be neat if the photos/gallery tab implementation can be more like Misskey. Like having an automatic created album of all the user uploaded pictures in one place. The option to create shared albums that can be attached or linked with a group or a circle.

[@LabiaLicker]

Very cool. I think having a unified feed is a must if this is to be used for anything other than a private friends group chat. Even better if the unified feed allowed choosing what circles to include and their weighting. So basically a open, transparent and customizable feed "algorithm". Without this, having to many circles is quickly going to become totally unmanageable.

[@hacotell]

beautiful, the software we NEED

[@waynemorellini2110]

18:29 scrubbing through a video? Live feeds?

[@moussaadem7933]

Yeah that should still work, the design looks transparent enough that everything should just work like it does on KZbin

[@waynemorellini2110]

@@moussaadem7933 KZbin shouldn't be held up as a gold standard, believe it or not. It doesn't work on KZbin properly. I end up with blank screen while KZbin drags in chunks of data, you have to stop and wait, unless you drag to the end then drag backwards and it picks up the little thumb nails just loaded from the original drag through. It's so low quality, even you just want to find a place you remember or look for something in particular or something interesting, or if it has the sort of content you want to watch. KZbin auto inserts ads, at least on a device I commonly use, you can't search the transcript text which I had requested from them, which used to be nearly 100% correct transcript then AI'd its way down to miserable levels of mistranslation. It will auto start ads obliterating all control as you scrub or skip, when you just watched ads and see watching like a second or two of film (making the ads ...). Yet, on another device search transcript is there to find a previously seen place in a video by searching the dialogue. We get the point is, people do not care enough about others in the community, and it comes through the work flow interactions in apps. I have been fighting this for decades, for better user interactions with people. Clowns ignore you, good developers go, 'good point', and try to investigate something better, unlike with some development teams. Unfortunately KZbin refuses to mirror all the functionality between their the apps on different types of platform yet alone use a common codebase engine across all of them , to deliver the same functions and just customise the display. All examples of why we need better than KZbin, and Facebook etc. Most software on the free ad..aware front-end consumer platforms, is not what I described as great. This is yet another area where we are sold short and need better options.

[@waynemorellini2110]

@@moussaadem7933 @moussaadem7933 KZbin shouldn't be held up as a gold standard, believe it or not. It doesn't work on KZbin properly. I end up with blank screen while KZbin drags in chunks of data, you have to stop and wait, unless you drag to the end then drag backwards and it picks up the little thumb nails just loaded from the original drag through. It's so low quality, even you just want to find a place you remember or look for something in particular or something interesting, or if it has the sort of content you want to watch. KZbin auto inserts ads, at least on a device I commonly use, you can't search the transcript text which I had requested from them, which used to be nearly 100% correct transcript then AI'd its way down to miserable levels of mistranslation. It will auto start ads obliterating all control as you scrub or skip, when you just watched ads and see watching like a second or two of film (making the ads ...). Yet, on another device search transcript is there to find a previously seen place in a video by searching the dialogue. We get the point is, people do not care enough about others in the community, and it comes through the work flow interactions in apps. I have been fighting this for decades, for better user interactions with people. Clowns ignore you, good developers go, 'good point', and try to investigate something better, unlike with some development teams. Unfortunately KZbin refuses to mirror all the functionality between their the apps on different types of platform yet alone use a common codebase engine across all of them , to deliver the same functions and just customise the display. All examples of why we need better than KZbin, and Facebook etc. Most software on the free ad..aware front-end consumer platforms, is not what I described as great. This is yet another area where we are sold short and need better options.

[@viviansutherland2169]

Promising

[@SenpaiCodes]

I cant download the app from Tunisia App store?

[@backpackvacuum9520]

I'm interested in the self-hosting option. Will there be documentation released on how to roll a server for this? Is there any other way to get more than 5GB of storage?

[@brainstormsurge154]

Curious on how groups can be managed. Things like permissions and edge cases like what if the creator died or something. Could they create a time event that gives the master key to a successor? Just some thoughts.

[@ArgzeroYT]

Is HIPAA compliance part of the plan?

[@vPeteWalker]

What's the best way to find other people I may know who is using Circles? Like a discover method? Thanks a ton. I'm very much looking forward to hearing more!

[@Ethanthecrazy]

A Circles T-Shirt.

[@STONE69_]

I believe you need to know them to be invited into their circle. I don't think you will be able to look people, since most people that use privacy Apps use handles instead of real names. Its not like facebook, privacy will be key, otherwise whats the point.

[@AdricM]

This seems like something that might be useful for journalists and dissidents.

[@KaledTV]

Could you guys please make an alternative to Reddit, so we don't have to deal with that shitty site and the few power tripping moderators controlling half the site?

[@jonahbranch5625]

Lemmy

[@byteptr]

Lemmy's network has a... particular crowd that I might not want to associate with, I'm much more in line with FUTO. I don't mind reusing their software, but linking with that network might not be ideal.

[@jonahbranch5625]

@@byteptr oh I'm not on Lemmy, didn't know the community was bad

[@monochromeart7311]

@@jonahbranch5625 the huge majority of people on lemmy are left-wing. That's not bad by itself, but any right-wing person is nearly always attacked. FUTO can simply host their own instance, but that costs money.

[@jonahbranch5625]

@@monochromeart7311 ah I see. I guess if they could defend their beliefs then being attacked wouldn't really be a problem.

[@nebulous962]

any plans to add a feature where i can message 1 person? don't wanna fill the feed with some stuff that only needs to be seen by 1 person. also it's easier to convince friends to get 1 app instead of 2 apps.

[@Crftbt]

Will there be an option to use Circles without Apple or Google?

[@sproid]

They have their own f-droid repository.

[@635574]

Maybe this will be a feature on X sometime soon.

[@ArnaudMEURET]

Been asking for this for 10y. Or at the very list to filter by “native language vs. English”… 😒

First!

[@TymexComputing]

Congratulations :D - no i dont remember google+ circles app / android app - now i am thinking how could i install this app on some old iphone 5 i own that has its ios profiles service discontinued :D

[@waynemorellini2110]

It's not that much social media. Where are propper blogging support with commenting blogs, proper groups with forums, home web page and site creation, and commerce payments and anonymised page topic only advertising stream?

[@l0gic23]

??

[@saniancreations]

That's very clearly not what they're going for. Most of what you're listing there is inherently not privacy-focused, and way more far reaching than your friends and family who they specifically say it is meant for.

[@waynemorellini2110]

​@saniancreations Sorry, that's obviously not true, and whoever up voted that is obviously biased. This was marketed as an alternative to Facebook. It obviously is not, an part alternative to whatsapp, more social communications platform. All of what I said is able to be provided privately to those registered in the group, or a circle, who can comment and reply, therefore, who have the group encrypted access under the existing structure, and message encrypted access. You need not try to make out that generic open source structured functionality is so complex, and mind that you can probably charge a group owner $100 a year for such an account, and they would likely be very happy. Facebook already provided such in closed groups and closed blog/info pages, in a not so usable inflexible form. Where all is seen by the unseen people in the background. Geocities, or was that tripod, provided a more usable form for content, some beautiful pages possible, but not enough safeguards and limitations. However, ability to layout group information pages where members can go to for old and new information, sponsor, pay membership buy group mechanise, is highly desirable. A safe privacy orientated advertising and sponsorship is desirable (I had wanted to see such set up years ago). As Louis has been agreeing with what I have said for many years, open source free is undernourished. What I predicted in the 1990's is what we see after the withdrawal of IBM and other sponsors paid development money. Employment increases productivity. I am willing to reasonably pay for what is good and more complete. Internet forums are one of the worst for serious people, as you get 'want other people not to be's' coming in, giving bad replies against progression and gumming up the works discouraging anything they find a threat to themselves (their feeling of self significance that only allows who they deem acceptable to progress). There are a while group of professionals that figure things out and make things work who keep away from most options, with these stalking, prowling harrassing and trolling people. Who have so little in their lives they have to do this to others, rather than do anything really productive. The serious people get into private groups but there is so little out there, on the more open to any serious person to apply type of space. Circles is more a social communications device than a social "media" device. Media implies more than communications, media is about different media content. Now, imagine if you incorporated a small open source web engine, and set open source forum and blogging software, such as they are the only ones allowed to be used, closed to only access the data in the group circle domain they are in. And as well as images that can be uploaded, pages that use one of those can. Only allowing external links with user approval after click. Even if the quality open source option is not free and the group owner pays a yearly license through you, and so much per gigabyte. It doesn't take a genius to see this is a big gapping privacy and functionality hole in this mega brand dominated market. How many people have relied on bad forms of these products from the big companies, only to find they got worse and then taken away. The day of open slather public correspondence dominance is waning. Get the pitch forks out and the sliver stake (pass that one onto Louis to use 🙂).

[@More_Row]

Obviously they don’t want to be a regular social media lmao

[@waynemorellini2110]

@@More_Row funny way to twist it! It's obvious, this is about being better than a regular social media company. So, what are you dragning up here? Doesn't make sense what you wrote or laughing at it). Anyway, we don't need this, they need us. A strange ship. What guarantees they have that all messages aren't intercepted on the network, then cracked over in that big data center, like other apps? I knew a guy who was designing a chip based on existing hidden optical computing technology over 20 years ago. And I knew about it before him, without a clearance, through my connections before it was picked up. Sorry to burst your bubble. This is only really useful for encryption privacy against low end actors. But, I know the government it doesn't matter to me so much, I'm not interested in the stuff they are interested in publicly. What we really need, is something more functionally useful for our lives.