How to use SafePhrase

1. Create your circle

A circle is a small group of people you trust, like your parents, kids, or closest friends. On the Circles tab, tap Start a circle and name it after the people in it (e.g. "Mum & Dad"). You're the admin.

2. Invite the people you trust

Open the circle and tap Invite. You'll be offered to record a personal invite: a few seconds of your face and voice, ending with three check words, sealed inside the link so only the person you send it to can watch it. They see it's really you asking before they're asked to do anything. Then share the private link by message or email.

Receiving an invite? Only join circles you were expecting, from people you know. The app shows the sender's video and its check words before you join; if an invite surprises you, call the sender on a number you already have first.

3. Verify a new member

A new member stays pending until you confirm it's really them. The new member chooses how to prove it, and you approve. The easiest way is a short video: they tap Join instantly with a video and record themselves saying the phrase, which you review. In person is the strongest check of all: you both see the same live phrase on your screens at the same moment. A quick phone call works too (less secure).

4. Check a suspicious call or message

The thing you're really checking is the conversation: is the person on this call, or behind these texts, really who they claim to be?

• On a call: just ask, "What's our phrase?" Your live phrase is on your home screen, widget, and Apple Watch. If they can't say the matching words, it isn't them.
• In a message thread: tap Send a SafePhrase Challenge, choose who they're claiming to be, and send the challenge into that same conversation. Only that person's phone can answer it, so a real answer proves who's on the other end. No answer? Treat the conversation as suspect and call them on a number you already have.

If a phone is lost or acting strangely

A circle admin can freeze a member from that member's page: their circle actions stop working while you check on them, without alerting whoever holds the phone. Once you're sure, unfreeze them, or rotate the circle's security key from the circle screen so a lost device stops showing valid phrases at all.

5. Always at a glance

Add the SafePhrase widget to your home or lock screen, and the app or complication to your Apple Watch, so the live phrase is there the moment a suspicious call comes in, without reaching for your phone.

Your privacy

The phrase is created on your own device from a shared secret and is never sent to or stored on our servers. No passwords, no personal data to leak, just three words only your circle can see.

Want the details?

This page is the five-minute version. The SafePhrase Manual covers everything in depth: challenges, the checks inbox, lost phones, the Apple Watch, and exactly what each check proves.