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circles

Desktop app

Circles for your computer

Upload videos and files of any size, including the ones over 1 GB that the browser can't take. The app converts videos with your computer's video encoder, encrypts everything on your computer before it's uploaded, and keeps going in the background and after a restart.
On this page

Download

Version 0.1.3, published 2026-10-30.

  • macOS, Apple silicon (M1 and later)

    Circles-0.1.3-mac-arm64.zip, 129 MB

    Download

    SHA-256

    f891ccda9dd1119a115ec2f33e320c43f5796c975557931b9fdc3891a9827713

  • macOS, Intel

    Circles-0.1.3-mac-x64.zip, 134 MB

    Download

    SHA-256

    94fb5754fe57e49057df649819da7cb51d681ec1279b0db8f84c78ea28e4715d

  • Windows 10 and 11 (64-bit)

    Circles-Setup-0.1.3.exe, 152 MB

    Download

    SHA-256

    755c5f64d347a54a1a11b40fe9eec8c0fe449facf7ec141d8d8431018732c401

  • Linux (x86-64 AppImage)

    Circles-0.1.3-x86_64.AppImage, 186 MB

    Download

    SHA-256

    c36bb674785850cdd961bd5b94a25cd77e07679e6c00a7b17548242377b873c7

Why you see a warning

The app isn't signed with an Apple or Microsoft developer certificate yet, so macOS and Windows warn you the first time you open it. The warning says that Apple or Microsoft can't confirm who published the app. It doesn't mean anything was found in it. The steps below get you past it, and the SHA-256 next to each download lets you check that your file is the one published here.

macOS

For macOS 13 (Ventura) or later. Pick Apple silicon if Apple menu, About This Mac shows a chip named Apple M1 or later, and Intel if it shows an Intel processor.

  1. Open the downloaded zip (Safari opens it for you) and drag Circles to your Applications folder.
  2. Open Circles. macOS says it can't verify that Circles is free of malware. Click Done.
  3. Open System Settings, then Privacy & Security. Scroll down to the message about Circles and click Open Anyway, then confirm with your password or Touch ID. On macOS 14 or earlier you can instead Control-click Circles in Applications, choose Open, then Open again.
  4. If macOS says Circles "is damaged and can't be opened", it is refusing a downloaded app it can't verify. Open Terminal, run the line below, then open Circles again:
    xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/Circles.app

You only do this once. macOS remembers your choice for this version.

Windows

For Windows 10 and 11, 64-bit.

  1. Run Circles-Setup-0.1.3.exe. If your browser says the file isn't commonly downloaded, keep it: in Edge, open the menu next to the download, choose Keep, then Show more and Keep anyway.
  2. Windows shows "Windows protected your PC". Click More info, then Run anyway.
  3. Circles installs for your Windows account only, without administrator rights, and opens. You can remove it in Settings, Apps.

Linux

For 64-bit Intel and AMD computers. The AppImage runs without installing:

chmod +x Circles-0.1.3-x86_64.AppImage
./Circles-0.1.3-x86_64.AppImage

If it doesn't start, install FUSE 2: libfuse2 on Ubuntu 22.04, libfuse2t64 on Ubuntu 24.04 and later. The app keeps your keys in your desktop's keyring (GNOME Keyring or KWallet). Without one it tells you that they're stored without the system's protection.

Check your download

Compare the SHA-256 printed by your computer with the one listed next to the download. They should be the same, character for character.

  • macOS (Terminal): shasum -a 256 ~/Downloads/Circles-0.1.3-mac-arm64.zip
  • Windows (PowerShell): Get-FileHash $env:USERPROFILE\Downloads\Circles-Setup-0.1.3.exe
  • Linux: sha256sum Circles-0.1.3-x86_64.AppImage

A matching checksum shows that your file is the one published on this page. This page and the files come from the same servers, so it isn't a substitute for code signing, which we plan to add.

Signing in

Sign in with your browser: the app shows a code, you enter it at circl.so/pair where you're already signed in, check that the key fingerprint matches, and approve. Your browser hands the app your encryption key, sealed so only that computer can open it. This works for accounts that sign in with Google too. Or sign in with your Circles password.

Updates

The app doesn't update itself yet. When it starts, it asks circl.so for the latest version and, when there's a newer one, says so at the bottom of its window. Download it here and install it over the old one. Your sign-in and unfinished uploads are kept.

Uninstall

Installing a new version over the old one keeps your sign-in and your unfinished uploads, so you don't need to uninstall first. (On a Mac, a new version may ask once to use its keychain entry: choose Always Allow.) To remove Circles from a computer:

Windows

Open Settings, then Apps, Installed apps (on Windows 10, Apps & features), find Circles and choose Uninstall. From version 0.1.1, this also removes what Circles kept on this computer: its sign-in and encryption keys, unfinished uploads, converted copies and its log, in the folder %APPDATA%\Circles. Version 0.1.0 leaves that folder behind: after uninstalling it, paste %APPDATA%\Circles into the address bar of File Explorer and delete the folder.

macOS

Quit Circles (it keeps running in the menu bar while it uploads), then drag Circles from Applications to the Trash. That leaves its data: to remove it too, choose Go, Go to Folder in Finder, enter ~/Library/Application Support/Circles and move that folder to the Trash (its log is in ~/Library/Logs/Circles). Then open Keychain Access, search for Circles Safe Storage and delete that entry: it's the key that protected the folder you just removed.

Linux

Quit Circles from its tray icon, delete the AppImage, then delete the folder ~/.config/Circles (its data, keys and log). If your desktop keeps a keyring (GNOME Keyring or KWallet), Circles left one entry there named after the app; deleting it is optional, since it only unlocks the folder you just removed.

Uninstalling doesn't touch what you posted: it stays on Circles, and you can still sign in on the web.

What it does with your files

  • Videos are stored once, as one 720p version (smaller videos keep their size) and a poster frame, converted on your computer.
  • Photos and files are uploaded as they are, only encrypted. A photo's GPS location is removed first.
  • Everything is encrypted on your computer before it's uploaded, the same way the browser does it. Circles can't see what you post to an encrypted circle.
  • Uploads continue when you close the window. After a restart they pick up where they stopped (a video that was still converting starts converting again), and when the connection drops, the app keeps trying for about a day.
  • The app talks only to circl.so and its storage. It has no analytics or tracking.