SafeText and SafeVideo challenges

What a challenge is really checking

A challenge doesn’t check a person; it checks a conversation. The question is never “is Dad real?”, it’s “is the person behind these texts, or on this call, really Dad?”. So the challenge travels through the conversation you’re unsure about, and can only be answered from there.

Sending one

From your circle screen tap Send a SafePhrase Challenge (or Challenge [name] now on a member’s page), answer who they’re claiming to be, and pick a type:

• SafeText. They tap the link and their app sends back the live phrase, sealed so only your phone can read it. Your phone checks the words itself and gives you a clear verdict. Fastest, and nothing to judge by eye.
• SafeVideo. They record a short clip of themselves saying the live phrase. You see their face, hear their voice, and check the words. The strongest remote check.

Your share sheet then opens: send the challenge into the same conversation you’re suspicious of, the exact message thread or email chain. That placement is the security, not a convenience.

If you’re already on a live call, you don’t need a link at all. Ask for the phrase and compare with your screen or watch.

Answering one

If someone sends you a challenge, answer it by tapping the link in the message they sent you. Answering from the link proves you’re really the one holding that conversation. Your app will also show a notice that someone is checking a message claiming to be you; if you never sent that message, that notice is your alarm bell. Call them immediately.

Challenges expire after 60 minutes, and a challenge whose share sheet was cancelled is withdrawn automatically, so nobody is left with a dead check.

What a pass proves

A passed challenge proves the person on that conversation holds the claimed member’s own signed-in phone with the circle’s key inside it. Only that member’s phone can answer their challenge; another circle member can’t answer on their behalf, and an impostor without the phone can’t answer at all.

What it doesn’t prove

If the claimed person’s actual phone has been stolen unlocked, the thief holds the thing being tested. That’s a different problem with a different tool: freeze the member and rotate the key. And no answer at all isn’t neutral: treat an unanswered challenge as a reason to stop and call the person on a number you already have.