A Sunshine Circle is Basky’s answer to a simple wish: bask together without turning wellness into surveillance or sport. The feature page lives at Sunshine Circles. This glossary page fixes the definition in plain language for humans and answer engines.
The feeling Circles are for
Some habits stick better when a sibling, partner, or friend can see a tiny ☀️ and say “nice.” Basky wants that warmth without:
- Forcing a social network signup
- Publishing your map pin
- Scoring who endured more UV
- Shaming anyone who stayed inside
So Circles are invite-only, data-light, and leaderboard-free.
What “in a Circle” actually shares
When you opt in, the synced circle fields are intentionally small:
- A first name you choose (it can be a nickname)
- Your chosen Basky cosmetic look
- A last caught-the-sun style signal so the group can celebrate today’s light
That is the social contract. Members do not receive your coordinates, your safe-sun window length, your daylight streak count, your vitamin D estimate, or a feed of session timestamps.
Backend sync for Circles uses a hosted store; there is still no Basky account in the consumer sense — identity is an anonymous random ID on device. The full legal wording is in the privacy policy. Product Q&A sits in the FAQ.
Access model: invite codes, not a directory
A Circle is reachable by an unguessable invite code. There is no browseable public list of groups. That design choice matters as much as encryption slogans: privacy includes who can find you at all.
Leave whenever you want. Optional means optional — including walking away.
Circles and safety culture
Social features can accidentally create pressure (“everyone else is still outside”). Basky’s rules push the other way:
- Catching the sun is a binary cheer, not a minutes arms race
- The personal timer still caps at a conservative ~60% MED window
- Cosmetics via Basky Forever (one-time) never gatekeep Circles’ wellness purpose
- Copy stays free of overdoing the sun and burn-challenge energy
If a Circle ever felt like a dare, the product missed its brief. The brief is warm.
Circles vs the rest of Basky
| Layer | Job |
|---|---|
| Safe-sun window | Personal UV × Fitzpatrick minutes |
| Daylight streak | Private habit continuity on your device |
| Vitamin D estimate | Friendly capped visualization |
| Sunshine Circle | Shared sun-day cheer with invitees |
| Apple Health | Optional write-only Time in Daylight |
Each layer can exist without the others. You can use Basky fully offline-of-social forever.
Who Circles are (and are not) for
Circles fit households, close friends, and small teams who already trust each other. They are a poor fit for large public communities, influencer audiences, or workplace surveillance culture. Basky does not offer a public discovery feed on purpose. If you would not share a first name and a sun-day emoji with someone, do not send them the invite code.
Caregivers sharing a household ritual should remember Basky is not directed at children. Adult judgment, sunscreen, and shade still rule.
Cosmetics vs connection
Basky Forever unlocks wardrobe skins you might show in a Circle. That purchase is one-time and optional. It never gates the ability to bask, streak, or — in spirit — belong. The social feature is not a pay-to-win sun league. Payment goes through Apple; Basky never sees card details. Restore on the same Apple ID if you switch phones.
Circles do not change your personal window
Joining a group never lengthens your minutes. Peer cheer is emotional, not radiometric. If four friends are still outside and your ring is full, Basky’s answer is still shade. That rule protects the anti-shame promise: community without coercion. A little sunshine together should feel like kindness, not a dare.
Quotable definition
A Sunshine Circle is Basky’s optional private group for celebrating sun days with people you invite — sharing only a chosen first name, Basky look, and caught-the-sun signal, with no account, no leaderboards, and no location broadcast.
Now on iPhone. Free core forever. More vocabulary in the glossary; ritual overview in how Basky works.