CircleSfera: a social network that keeps people in control
Posts, stories, short video, private messages and live broadcasts under one account, with creator payments and a product that explains why you see what you see.
- Client
- CircleSfera
- Technologies
The product
CircleSfera is a social network built around one idea: the person using it stays in control. Posts and stories, short vertical video (Frames), private messages (Direct) and live broadcasts all live under a single account, and the product is explicit about why you see what you see and who can reach you.
Five principles guide its design: user control, transparent recommendations, no hidden limits on reach, public moderation rules with a way to appeal, and responsible handling of data, including export and deletion from Settings.
What we build
- Feed and stories. Two ways to see Home, a recommended feed and one with only the people you follow, plus stories and highlights.
- Frames. Full-screen vertical video with the same account and the same relationships, not a separate app.
- Direct. Private messaging with the people you choose.
- Live. Real-time broadcasts with chat, audience tools and gifts for the person broadcasting.
- Creator tools. Tips, paid content and live gifts through Stripe. The platform fee is 20% and prices are shown before you pay.
- Operations. A separate admin panel for the team, with its own sign-in, for moderation and support.
How it is built
The API is written in NestJS on PostgreSQL with Prisma, and Redis handles queues and real-time fan-out. The web app is a React single-page application. Real-time features run on Socket.IO, live broadcasts on LiveKit, and payments on Stripe, including Stripe Connect for creator payouts.
Sign-in uses HTTP-only cookies with CSRF protection and supports passkeys. Staff accounts are a different identity from user accounts, so access to the admin panel never depends on a regular user session.
Every significant architecture decision is written down as a decision record in the repository, from how the feed is distributed to how media moves through its lifecycle. New work starts by reading them, which keeps a growing codebase consistent.
How it runs
Releases go through automated checks and end-to-end tests before being deployed with Docker. Database and media backups run every night.
CircleSfera is in active development, and we keep designing, building and operating it.