Layers is a private coordination app for families and close friends. Beyond messaging, Layers brings shared calendars, location sharing, group polls, real-time chat translation and maps - all within your trusted circle.
Mutual contact verification means only people who already have your number can reach you - no strangers, no spam, by design.
Now free to use. No ads. No algorithm. Just the people you trust.
Hey PH 👋 — I'm Gerard, the founder of Layers.
The idea came from a simple frustration: every "private" app I used still let strangers reach me if they tried hard enough. Privacy was always a setting, never a guarantee.
Layers flips that. Mutual contact verification happens entirely on-device — your contacts are never uploaded to our servers. If someone doesn't already have your number, and you don't have theirs, the connection is blocked before it ever reaches the network.
Would love honest feedback from this community, especially on the positioning. Happy to answer any questions about the architecture or the thinking behind it.
Report
This is for people who value privacy so I wouldn’t lean so heavily into location sharing, which I assume is optional?
@apcarpl Yes, location sharing is optional and disabled by default. All location features — including geofencing and places sharing — are only activated by the user's choice, and only shared within your trusted circle of mutual contacts. Strangers can never see your location on Layers.
I think this will get more and more important in the AI Era. So many people trying to reach you and get your attention with automated flows and outbound.
@talwesingh Exactly — and this is only the beginning. AI-generated outreach, automated scam calls, and deepfake messages are going to make open networks increasingly unsafe. Layers was built on the premise that the solution can't be a filter or a setting — it has to be architectural. Random contact is structurally impossible by design — and that's a fundamentally harder problem for bad actors to solve than bypassing an algorithm or a spam filter.
Update: We've just added a 3-month free trial — no payment needed. A great opportunity to try Layers and invite your trusted contacts to join your private network.
Layers - Chat & Plan Together
Layers - Chat & Plan Together
@apcarpl Yes, location sharing is optional and disabled by default. All location features — including geofencing and places sharing — are only activated by the user's choice, and only shared within your trusted circle of mutual contacts. Strangers can never see your location on Layers.
Clera
I think this will get more and more important in the AI Era. So many people trying to reach you and get your attention with automated flows and outbound.
Layers - Chat & Plan Together
@talwesingh Exactly — and this is only the beginning. AI-generated outreach, automated scam calls, and deepfake messages are going to make open networks increasingly unsafe. Layers was built on the premise that the solution can't be a filter or a setting — it has to be architectural. Random contact is structurally impossible by design — and that's a fundamentally harder problem for bad actors to solve than bypassing an algorithm or a spam filter.
Layers - Chat & Plan Together
Big updates since we last posted here!
Layers is now completely free for core messaging features - no trial period, no subscription needed to get started.
We've also simplified login to phone number only and streamlined the onboarding process so you can get connected with your trusted circle faster.
Premium features like voice/video calls, geofencing and real-time translation remain available via subscription.
Layers - Chat & Plan Together
Update: We've just added a 3-month free trial — no payment needed. A great opportunity to try Layers and invite your trusted contacts to join your private network.