Counsel
A private council of historical mentors
When the question is real — a decision, a doubt, a conflict — bring it to a real council. Stoic emperors, ancient strategists, philosophers, and Renaissance political minds respond in their distinct voices. Three to five legendary mentors. Genuinely disagreeing. You pick whose move fits.
Download on the App StoreHow it works
Describe
Type the situation as you'd tell a friend. A decision, a conflict, a doubt, a drift.
Convene
Three to five mentors from your council respond in their distinct voices. They disagree where their philosophies diverge.
Choose
Pick whose move fits. The synthesis points you to one concrete thing to do in the next 24 hours.
When to consult the council
Counsel works best for the questions that don't have a clean answer. A career fork. A relationship crossroad. A boundary you can't decide whether to hold or cross. A drift you're noticing in yourself. A conflict you keep replaying.
The voices you'll meet — Marcus Aurelius for steady acceptance, Sun Tzu for terrain and timing, Machiavelli for the politics underneath, Buddha for what you might be carrying that you don't need to, Cleopatra for the strategic side of charisma — won't tell you what to do. They'll tell you how they'd think about it, and they'll disagree honestly. The synthesis at the end points to one concrete move for the next twenty-four hours.
The Council
Sixteen historical voices. You pick three to five for each consultation.
Questions
What is Counsel?
Counsel is an iOS app that convenes three to five historical mentors — Marcus Aurelius, Sun Tzu, Cleopatra, Machiavelli, Buddha, and others — to respond to your real-life situations in their distinct voices. They genuinely disagree where their philosophies diverge. You pick whose move fits.
How does the AI work?
Each mentor is built on a detailed persona — their core philosophy, characteristic rhetoric, and the disagreements they would have with the rest of the council. Responses are generated by large language models routed through a secure proxy. Counsel does not invent quotes; mentors stay close to their documented worldview.
Which mentors are in the council?
Sixteen historical voices: Marcus Aurelius, Seneca, Sun Tzu, Machiavelli, Cleopatra, Lao Tzu, Confucius, Buddha, Sappho, Mary Wollstonecraft, Eleanor Roosevelt, Virginia Woolf, Frederick Douglass, Lincoln, Benjamin Franklin, and Talleyrand. You choose three to five for each consultation.
Is my conversation private?
Yes. Your messages are sent to AI providers only to generate responses — they are not used for training and not shared with third parties. You can delete any consultation from your history at any time. See the Privacy section below for full details.
How much does Counsel cost?
Counsel starts with a 7-day free trial. After the trial, the app uses an Apple-managed subscription — current pricing is shown on the App Store listing. Subscriptions are managed in iOS Settings → Apple ID → Subscriptions and can be cancelled anytime.
Is Counsel a replacement for therapy?
No. Counsel is a thinking tool, not a clinical service or a substitute for professional mental-health support. If you are in crisis, please reach out to trained help: 988 (US), 116 123 (UK Samaritans), 13 11 14 (Australia Lifeline), or findahelpline.com. The Support section below has the full list.
What devices does Counsel run on?
Counsel is iOS-only and requires iOS 15.1 or later. Android and web versions are not currently on the roadmap.
✦
Privacy
Last updated: May 16, 2026
1. Identifiers
On first launch, Counsel generates a random device id and stores it locally on your device. This id is the only identifier we tie to your data. We never ask for your name, your email, or your Apple ID.
2. AI processing and consent
Counsel works by sending what you write to an AI service that generates the council's response. When you tap "Convene the Council", your situation text is sent to Anthropic. If you'd rather not, simply don't submit — the mentor library, settings, and your existing history all work without sending anything new.
3. Data sent to Anthropic
Your situation text is sent to Anthropic, which generates the council's response. By default, Anthropic does not use your input or its response to train their models, and Counsel does not opt in to any training. Anthropic may retain logs for safety and abuse review under their terms. Full policies: https://www.anthropic.com/legal.
4. Server-side data
After each consultation, we save the following to our database, keyed to your device id: your situation text, the mentors you selected, and the council's full response. Our database is hosted on Supabase. We separately log usage metadata (timing, model, cost) for monitoring — this metadata contains no situation text. Outcome marks are stored only on your device.
5. On-device data
Your default council, drafts, consultation results, and outcome marks are stored locally on your device using iOS's encrypted file storage. The app works fully offline once a consultation is fetched. Deleting the app clears all local data.
6. Retention
Server-side data is retained until you request deletion. Local data is kept until you delete the app. Anthropic retains their logs under their own terms. Usage metadata (timing, model, cost — no situation text) is retained indefinitely for cost monitoring.
7. Data security
Network requests use TLS in transit. The database is encrypted at rest. On-device data uses iOS's encrypted file storage.
8. Children
Counsel is intended for adult users (18+) and we do not knowingly collect data from anyone under 18.
9. Tracking and analytics
Counsel does not track you across other apps or websites. We don't use the advertising identifier (IDFA) and don't include any advertising, social-media, or cross-app analytics SDKs. We don't access your location, contacts, photos, or microphone. We never sell your personal information.
10. Third-party services
Counsel uses RevenueCat to manage in-app subscriptions. RevenueCat receives an anonymous user id (separate from the Counsel device id), the products you've purchased, and Apple's transaction receipts to verify your subscription status. See RevenueCat's privacy policy at https://www.revenuecat.com/privacy. Counsel does not currently use any analytics or crash-reporting services. If we add any in a future version, this policy will be updated.
11. Your rights and data requests
To delete all your data, open Settings → Delete my data. This removes your server-side data immediately and clears all local data on your device.
For other privacy requests — access, rectification, erasure, restriction, portability, or objection to processing — email support@getcounsel.space. We respond within 30 days. You may also lodge a complaint with your local data-protection supervisory authority where applicable.
12. Changes to this policy
We may update this Privacy Policy. Material changes will be flagged in-app on next launch. The "Last updated" date at the top reflects the most recent revision.
13. Public copy
A copy of this policy is hosted at https://getcounsel.space.
Terms
Last updated: May 16, 2026
1. Acceptance of terms
By downloading, installing, or using Counsel, you agree to be bound by these Terms. If you do not agree, do not use the App.
2. What Counsel is
Counsel is a reflection tool. It generates perspectives from AI-rendered voices of historical figures using a large language model (Claude from Anthropic). The mentors are AI-generated characters inspired by historical figures, not the people themselves.
3. Not professional advice
Nothing Counsel produces is legal, medical, financial, or therapeutic advice. The app is for personal reflection. If your situation involves legal exposure, medical decisions, money you cannot afford to lose, or a mental-health crisis, talk to a qualified professional — Counsel is not a substitute.
4. Not a crisis service
If you are in immediate danger, contact your local emergency services. If you are in a mental-health crisis, contact a crisis hotline. Counsel is for thoughtful reflection, not for emergencies — don't use it when you need help right now.
5. AI accuracy disclaimer
Outputs are AI-generated and may contain errors or misattributions. Quotes are drawn from public-domain works or widely-attributed sayings, with citation. We cannot guarantee perfect accuracy across every translation, edition, or attribution. Counsel is for reflection only.
6. Ownership
You retain ownership of the situations you submit. You may share your consultation results in any form, for any purpose. The mentor characterizations, prompt design, and the app itself remain Counsel's intellectual property.
7. Subscription
Counsel uses an auto-renewing subscription managed by Apple. Pricing, trial length, and renewal terms are shown on the paywall before checkout. You can cancel at any time in your Apple subscription settings; cancellation takes effect at the end of the current billing period. Apple's standard refund policy applies — Counsel does not issue refunds directly.
8. Termination
We reserve the right to suspend or terminate access for users who violate these Terms or abuse the service. We will make reasonable efforts to notify you before doing so unless legally prevented.
9. Indemnification
You agree to hold Counsel harmless from any claims arising out of your use of the app, including any decisions you make based on consultation outputs.
10. Governing law
These Terms are governed by the laws of the Republic of Georgia. Any disputes will be resolved in the courts of Tbilisi, Georgia. Nothing in these Terms limits any non-waivable rights you have as a consumer under the mandatory consumer-protection law of your country of residence.
11. Changes to terms
We may update these Terms. Material changes are flagged in-app on next launch. Continued use after a change constitutes acceptance.
About
Counsel
Version 1.0.0
A private council of historical mentors for the questions you actually have. Pick three to five voices, describe a situation in plain words, and read perspectives drawn from each mentor's distinct register.
The mentors are AI-rendered using Claude from Anthropic, framed by careful prompt design and grounded in each mentor's actual writings. They are not the historical figures themselves.
Support: support@getcounsel.space
Support
For help with Counsel — questions, account or subscription issues, bug reports, or feedback — email support@getcounsel.space. We read every message and reply within two business days.
For subscription management (upgrade, cancel, refund), open the iOS Settings app, tap your Apple ID at the top, then Subscriptions, and select Counsel. Apple handles billing directly — we cannot view or modify your subscription on our end.
If you are in crisis, please reach out to people trained to help: call or text 988 (US Suicide & Crisis Lifeline), 116 123 (UK Samaritans), 13 11 14 (Australia Lifeline), or visit findahelpline.com for your country.
✦