Stories of people being burned by Kickstarter campaigns are not new.
There’s a situation brewing that shows that even after all these years, and no matter how much money is raised, you have to go into backing a product on the crowdfunding site with your eyes wide open and expectations low.
It concerns the Circular Ring 2, a smart ring campaign which has reached $3.8 million in funding, and backers are not happy with a new development regarding possible subscription fees related to certain features.
Worse still, the problem is not new, and Circular has been obfuscating the truth around ownership costs for a while.
Millions raised
Then, backers raise concerns
Concerns have been raised over the sudden inclusion of a subscription, or gamification package, for two key features on the Circular Ring 2, despite the campaign promising the smart ring would not have a subscription or any hidden fees attached to it at all.
The following text was added to the campaign page in July 2025:
Since the campaign exceeded our expectations, we were excited to announce stretch goal features like blood pressure estimate and blood glucose trend tracking through future Over-The-Air updates.
However, please note that these were not part of the originally planned core features and are optional for users. These advanced and optional features require significant R&D and ongoing resources to maintain.
As such, they may be made available either through the use of your earned Circular coins as part of your journey or as optional micro-transactions.
Backers immediately questioned the change in the comments section, asking why features which had been stretch goals — unlocked after £1.5 million and £2 million over goal were reached — were being hidden behind some kind of paywall, either through coin collection or small payments.
In a response, the Circular team clarified that 13 “core features” would be included as promised, but blood pressure and blood glucose monitoring would fall into a different category.
No subscription promised
Apart from these two features
It states these features will be unlocked using Circular coins, which can be earned by using the ring and meeting goals, like a higher wellness score and achieving performance streaks.
While it says this is not gamifying health, backers feel differently.
Circular also didn’t elaborate on how many coins would be required to unlock and maintain access to these features or the cost of the micropayments, should someone decide to pay real money.
Backers were not pleased with the change and the lack of transparency around costs, and many wonder why they would not be given lifetime access to all features, particularly when the stretch goals have been met, and they were early supporters of the project.
Others were displeased with the change being announced after there was no chance of requesting a refund.
Many feel deceived by the alteration, and the company’s inability to sufficiently explain the coin system makes matters worse, as does the repeated promise of “no subscriptions” on the campaign page and social media pages promoting the Circular Ring 2.
Unfortunately, this is not an unexpected turn of events, and Circular’s inability to explain its coins or plans for subscription and payment packages is long-standing.
A lack of transparency
An ongoing issue
Just over a year ago, I spent some time with the Circular Ring Slim and ran into essentially the same situation as backers have now discovered with the Circular Ring 2.
Circular heavily promoted the ring as not requiring a subscription, but in the app at the time, it stated features like the medication reminder would only be free for a limited time, and have a cost involved in the future.
When questioned about it, the team could not provide any indication of how much the feature would cost or when the charge would come into play. The Circular coins were also a mystery.
It said a premium model was being considered for the advanced analysis feature, in addition to features like the medication reminder, but they had no timeline for pricing to share.
This will likely sound familiar to disgruntled backers of the Circular Ring 2. Revisiting the Circular Ring’s app today, it’s interesting to note that any mention of a cost being involved in advanced analysis or the medication reminder has been removed.
The coins still remain, but there’s no in-app explanation of how they work, how much each one is “worth,” or what they fund.
The company’s continued inability to explain its coin system, plans for subscriptions, and micropayment costs does nothing but hurt its brand and muddy what was otherwise a successful crowdfunding campaign.
Backing Kickstarter campaigns is still a risk
Circular needs to respond
Circular hired crowdfunding and brand management firm TCF to get the Ring 2 off the ground, and the team recently shared some of what went into its efforts to get Circular to its massive total.
This includes how it spun the fact that it had no working samples for the media to try (itself something of a concern), or for influencers to promote. Instead, TCF focused on building trust in the brand, which is unfortunately now being eroded by recent decisions.
Transparency around costs and clear pricing structures should be standard on all products we buy.
While Circular pokes fun at Oura for charging a subscription for the Oura Ring 4, at least buyers know exactly how much it will cost long-term, before purchasing.
This has never been the case with the Circular Ring. Removing mention of possible costs from the current app doesn’t make it better either, just more confusing, and further evidence that it’s unwilling or unable to share firm plans around future costs.
For backers, products launched remain a risky pre-order.
Android Police has contacted Circular for comment, and asked for clarity on the potential costs, how much coins will be worth, and how likely people will be able to use the features without paying real money.
Additionally, we asked if it would offer backers unsatisfied with the current situation the option of a refund. At the time of publication, we have not received a response, and will update here when we do.
Crowdfunding can be an excellent way for new companies to launch a product. However, Kickstarter’s stats show just four in ten campaigns reach their goal.
For backers, products launched remain a risky pre-order, with all aspects of a project from delivery dates to the details of the product all liable to change, even when the campaign ranks among the highest-funded projects the site has seen.
