Joining: free, paid & trials
Your role in a circle decides what you can see and do. This page helps you tell the roles apart and shows how to move up to the one you want.
The four roles
Section titled “The four roles”- Visitor — not in the circle yet; you can only see public content.
- Follower — follow a circle for free: read public posts and announcements, and receive the circle owner’s broadcasts.
- Member — a full part of the circle: read membership content, chat in the circle, and join red packets, lotteries, and other activities.
- Expired member — what you become when a membership runs out. Your profile and history stay intact, and a renewal restores everything instantly.
Joining a free circle
Section titled “Joining a free circle”A free circle’s home page has a Join — it’s free button. Tap it and you’re a member — no payment at any point.
Joining a paid circle
Section titled “Joining a paid circle”- Open the circle’s unlock hint or plan page and pick a plan.
- Complete the payment as prompted (see Buying & renewing membership).
- Membership takes effect within seconds, and all membership content opens up.
What is a trial?
Section titled “What is a trial?”Some paid circles offer a trial: tap the trial button on the plan page and try the circle free for a set number of days, with membership content open the whole time. A trial never charges you automatically — when it ends, membership content locks again, and you buy a plan manually to keep access. Circles with a trial show the number of trial days on their plan page.
If something goes wrong
Section titled “If something goes wrong”- You paid but you’re still a follower — wait a few seconds and refresh. If it still hasn’t kicked in, look up the payment with its Trace on the order page, or contact the circle admin.
- Content locked again after the trial? — that’s expected: a trial never auto-charges. Buy a plan to continue.