PHILOSOPHY

What Is the Riya Shield?

1What does the shield protect?

The person who creates the circle is the Ser-refik; those who join are called Refik. The riya shield keeps a dhikr circle as a circle, not a scoreboard. In a pool khatm (La Ilaha Illallah, Salawat, Surah Al-Ikhlas) the number you recited belongs only to you; no one else can read that record. Shared progress on screen is the total the server adds up. The app says: "Your contribution is for Allah alone • No one else sees it." The invite preview adds: "Individual counts are private — only the shared total is visible."

La Ilaha Illallah circle — Shared Progress, 70,000 round target and Your contribution is for Allah alone — Shared Progress — no one else sees it

Circle Invitation — La Ilaha Illallah preview, shared total 1,000 / 70,000, Individual counts are private — Invite — shared total only

2What is visible, and what is not?

Visible: the shared total, the percentage, which round you are on, milestone notices (for example when the circle is halfway), the intention, and members' usernames. Hidden: who recited how much, individual shares, "so-and-so recited this many today," and a leaderboard. This is not only copy: a contribution document is closed to everyone but its owner.

3Public or Private does not turn the shield off

Visibility on Create Circle does not turn the shield on or off; it sets whether a non-member can see the circle. Public: someone who opens the invite link can see the circle name and shared progress. Private: a non-member sees a lock screen. In both cases joining still needs a request that the Ser-refik approves. Individual pool counts stay hidden in both settings.

Circle Invitation — Private Circle lock screen, Sign in to view details — Private — lock screen

4Why do usernames appear on a Quran khatm?

In dhikr such as La Ilaha Illallah, who recited how much stays hidden; the shared total on screen is enough. In a Quran khatm the 30 Juz are shared. The Hatim List shows with a username who holds which Juz; otherwise two people could claim the same Juz. That is not the shield being off — it is so Juz do not overlap. The shield hides individual pool counts; it does not make the Juz list nameless.

Hatim List — claimed Juz rows with username, empty rows with Claim — Username on the Juz list

5Encouragement Mode

The Ser-refik can turn on Encouragement Mode in a dhikr circle's settings. While it is on, ranking and recent activity appear on the circle page — so who contributed how much becomes visible for a while. That is why it is an exception to the shield; it is off by default. If turned on it lasts seven days, the end date is shown on the circle page, and you can turn it off anytime. This mode is not available on Quran and Yasin khatms.

La Ilaha Illallah circle — Encouragement Mode on, ranking shows guest username and 1,000 — Encouragement — ranking visible

6Home-screen dhikr does not go to a circle

The riya shield is for shared counts inside a circle. Individual dhikr and groups on the home screen stay in your account; they are not shown to other Refiks and are not published on a ranking. No one else can see those counts.