Getting Started with Secrets AI: Everything a New User Needs to Know

There's nothing to download, no app to install, and no lengthy setup. Secrets AI runs in your browser at secrets.ai, and the first conversation starts within a minute of creating an account. The challenge isn't getting started — it's understanding what you're working with so you don't waste your 200 starting Moments on things that don't show you the platform at its best.

This guide covers account creation, character selection, your first conversation, how media features work, and the decisions that matter most in your first week.

Creating Your Account

Open any browser — Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge — on any device and go to secrets.ai.

On the homepage: click or tap "Sign Up" or "Get Started."

What you need to provide: an email address and a password. That's the complete list. No real name, no phone number, no social media login.

After entering your email and password, check your inbox for a verification email and click the confirmation link. From there, you're in.

Your account starts with:

• 200 Moments — a one-time welcome credit
• Full access to the character library (all ~94 pre-built characters)
• 20 messages per day on the free tier
• Basic short-term memory (last 2-3 exchanges)

The 200 Moments are a testing budget, not a monthly allocation. They won't replenish unless you upgrade to a paid subscription. Use them strategically to evaluate the platform's media features.

Choosing Your First Character

Two options: select from pre-built characters or create a custom one.

Pre-built characters: The library has approximately 94 hyper-realistic characters along with a smaller selection of anime-style options. Each comes with a personality profile and can be launched immediately into any of 100+ pre-configured fantasy scenarios.

Browse the library and look at personality summaries — the visual appeal is obvious, but the personality configuration matters more for long-term engagement. A character whose personality traits match your preferences produces better conversations than one you chose purely on appearance.

Custom creation: The system lets you configure:

• Visual: ethnicity (9 options), skin tone, eye color, hairstyle, body type (6 options)
• Voice: 6 options
• Personality: confidence level, playfulness, dominance tendency, intelligence rating
• Profession, personality type, and hobbies via preset selections
• Free-text field for anything not captured by presets

The first custom character is free. Additional ones cost 1,000-1,500 Moments — don't create multiple on your 200 starting credit. When a character is created, 4 images generate automatically.

Important: the quality of your character configuration directly determines the quality of your conversations. Generic setups produce generic responses. Specific, detailed configurations produce AI that feels more like a distinct personality.

For a detailed feature breakdown including all customization parameters, see the features overview page.

Starting Your First Conversation

Opening a character brings you to the chat interface with conversation starters available. These are pre-written opening messages covering casual and more direct approaches. You can use them or write your own.

The AI adapts to your conversational style within the first few exchanges. Set the tone you want early — if you want casual conversation, start casual. If you want something more direct, start that way. The AI follows rather than leads.

Practical notes for your first session:

Being specific works better than being vague. "I want to talk about what it's like working as a librarian" gives the AI more to work with than "let's talk." The more context you provide, the more tailored the response.

On free tier, you have 20 messages per day. The limit is strict. If you're in the middle of a conversation when you hit 20 messages, you stop until the 24-hour reset. This limit is the primary reason most users find free tier insufficient for meaningful use.

The AI only retains the last 2-3 exchanges on free tier. By message 10 of a session, the AI has no memory of messages 1-7. This is not a bug — it's the free tier memory limitation. Paying for even the Lite tier ($5.99/month) extends this to 14-day recall.

Using Media Features

Images

Image generation is available on all paid tiers but not on free. On your 200 starting Moments, you can generate images — each costs 25-50 Moments depending on model.

To generate an image: look for the image generation option in the chat interface. Write a prompt or use the character's current context. Four presets guide the visual style. Two generation models are available — standard and advanced (premium model).

At 25-50 Moments per image, your 200 starting Moments covers 4-8 images. Use the standard model first to test; save the advanced model for images you want to be highest quality.

Videos

Video generation requires Lite tier or higher — it's not available on free. Even with your 200 starting Moments, you cannot generate video on a free account.

When you're on a paid tier: select an existing companion image, add a text prompt describing desired movement, and wait approximately 2 minutes for the clip to render. Short 3-second clips cost ~50 Moments; longer clips cost up to ~600 Moments.

Video is the most Moments-intensive feature on the platform. Don't start with video generation when testing the platform — save it for after you're on a paid tier with a monthly Moments allocation.

For detailed guidance on video generation including tips for better results, see the video generator guide.

Voice Calls

Voice is available on paid tiers. Six voice options are available; the companion responds to your messages in audio. Cost: 100 Moments per minute. Voice quality is rated 4.3/5 — one of the stronger features.

On the free tier's 200 Moments, you have about 2 minutes of voice available. That's a brief test, not a meaningful session. Treat voice on free as a preview of the feature, not a full test.

Managing Your Moments

This is where new users most often make avoidable mistakes:

Text messages cost 1-2 Moments. Text conversation is extremely Moments-efficient. You can have extensive conversations without significant Moments drain.

Images cost 25-50 Moments. Moderate cost. Your 200 starting Moments covers 4-8 images.

Videos cost 50-600 Moments. High cost. One long video clip equals 600 Moments — your entire starting allocation, three times over. Don't attempt video generation on your free starting Moments.

Voice calls cost 100 Moments per minute. Moderate-to-high cost depending on session length.

Memory saves cost 10 Moments each. Low cost. Worth using for important context.

Check your Moments balance in account settings or at the top of the chat interface. Once your starting 200 are spent, media generation stops on the free tier. Top-up bundles are available from 1,980 Moments ($5.99) if you want to add Moments without upgrading.

For the most practical next step after exhausting your free Moments: upgrade to Plus ($9.99/month). Unlimited messaging, 3,000 Moments monthly, and 30-day memory transform the experience. That's the plan most users should start with. For detailed plan comparison, see the choose a plan guide.

Privacy Setup

Two settings worth configuring before you have conversations you want kept private:

Private Mode: Found in conversation settings. Enable it at the start of a conversation to apply end-to-end encryption. This prevents Secrets AI from reading the conversation and excludes it from AI training. Must be activated at conversation start — it cannot be applied retroactively. Not a global account setting — you set it per conversation.

Billing verification: Check your account's billing settings to confirm the billing descriptor. Charges appear as "Sun Clinical Laboratories" by default — no reference to Secrets AI or adult content. If this matters to you, verify it appears correctly for your payment method.

What to Do in Your First Week

A practical sequence for new users:

Day 1: Create account. Browse the character library. Start a conversation on free tier to evaluate how the AI writes and whether the personality style appeals to you. Use a few of your 200 Moments on images to see visual quality.

Days 2-3: If you're enjoying the conversations, you'll notice the free tier's memory limitation. The AI resets after 2-3 exchanges, which breaks the continuity you might be building. This is normal free-tier behavior.

Decision point: Do you like what you're experiencing? Upgrade to Plus ($9.99/month) for unlimited messaging and 30-day memory. This is the minimum tier for a meaningful ongoing experience.

After upgrading: Create a more detailed character if your existing one feels generic. Use the free-text configuration fields. Build the character profile you actually want rather than settling for defaults.

For common issues and troubleshooting, the sections below cover the most frequently encountered problems. For the full platform assessment, see the complete review.

Common Issues for New Users

"My messages stopped sending" — You've hit the 20-message daily limit on the free tier. Wait for the 24-hour reset or upgrade.

"The AI seems to have forgotten what I said earlier" — Free tier memory covers only 2-3 exchanges. Everything before that is gone. Upgrade to Lite ($5.99) for 14-day recall or Plus ($9.99) for 30-day recall.

"Responses are slow" — Peak hour server load. Try again during off-peak hours. No settings change addresses this.

"I can't generate video" — Video requires Lite tier or higher. Not available on free. Check you're on a paid plan if this continues.

"I forgot my password" — Use the password reset link on the login page. A reset email goes to your registered address.

"I want the platform to feel like an app on my phone" — Add secrets.ai to your home screen: on iPhone, use Safari's Share button → "Add to Home Screen"; on Android, use Chrome's menu → "Add to Home Screen."

FAQ