How to Use Secrets AI: Complete Beginner's Guide (2026)

Account setup takes under 60 seconds. Character creation takes 2–5 minutes. Your first meaningful conversation can happen within 10 minutes of finding this page. Secrets AI has a low technical barrier — it runs in any browser, requires no downloads, and provides conversation starters so you do not need to figure out how to begin. This guide walks through each step from signup to first chat, with tips on managing Moments and avoiding the common mistakes new users make.

Step 1 — Create Your Account

Open any browser on any device and go to secrets.ai. No app download or installation is required.

Click "Sign Up" on the homepage. The required information is minimal:

• Email address
• Password

That is it. No real name. No phone number. No social media login. Account creation completes in under 60 seconds, and you are taken directly into the platform.

Your account starts with 200 free Moments — the platform's virtual currency for media generation and certain features. The full character library is accessible immediately. You do not need to verify your email before browsing and chatting.

If privacy is a concern, note that using a dedicated email address for signup reduces any personal identity connection to the account.

Step 2 — Choose Your First Character

After signup you land in the character library. Two paths are available:

Browse the pre-built library. Approximately 94 characters are available, each with a defined appearance, personality, and backstory. Browse by category or scenario type. Most characters have profile text explaining their personality and what kind of interactions they are oriented toward.

Create a custom character. If the pre-built library does not have what you want, create your own. The first custom character is free.

Custom character parameters:

• Ethnicity: 9 options
• Skin tone, eye color, hairstyle: adjustable
• Body type: 6 options
• Voice: 6 options
• Personality axes: confidence, playfulness, dominance, intelligence (slider-based)
• Profession: 5 presets
• Personality traits: 5 presets
• Hobbies and free-text details: open-ended, for anything presets do not cover

The free-text details field is the most powerful customization tool. This is where you can specify specific interests, relationship context, communication preferences, or scenario details that generic presets cannot capture. Spending a few minutes here produces noticeably more relevant conversations.

When you confirm a character, the platform auto-generates four companion images. These come from your starting 200 Moments at a cost of 25–50 Moments per image.

Step 3 — Start Your First Conversation

Entering a character's chat opens with a set of conversation starters. These are organized into two types: casual openers (introductory, getting-to-know-you style) and suggestive/roleplay openers. Pick one or write your own.

The AI adapts to your conversation style within a few exchanges. A casual, exploratory opening produces a warmer, more conversational response pattern. A more direct or suggestive opening establishes a different dynamic early. Setting the tone in the first few messages shapes how the session develops.

Free tier note: 20 messages per day maximum, 500-character limit per message. The daily cap resets every 24 hours. For testing conversation quality, 20 messages is enough. For ongoing use, it is tight.

Practical tip: be specific in your responses. Vague one-word answers produce vague follow-ups. Detailed, specific responses produce contextually richer replies from the AI.

Step 4 — Explore Media Features

Generating Images

Images can be requested at any point in a conversation using the image generation option within the chat interface. Each image costs 25–50 Moments depending on the generation model selected (standard or Advanced/Premium).

The four initial character images generated when you set up the character do not require additional requests — they appear automatically. Additional images require intentional requests during conversation.

Quality tip: images generated in context with specific conversation framing tend to be more creatively varied than generic requests. Describe what you want specifically rather than leaving it open.

Creating Videos

Video generation is available from the Lite tier and above (not available on Free). To create a video:

1. Select an existing companion image (your own generated images)
2. Write a text prompt describing the movement or action you want
3. Submit and wait approximately 2 minutes for generation
4. View and save the completed clip

Video costs 50–600 Moments per clip depending on length and quality tier. Short (3-second) clips cost approximately 50 Moments; full-length clips cost up to 600.

New users should start with shorter clips to evaluate quality before spending large Moments amounts on longer videos. Using the Premium generation model and higher-quality source images produces better results.

Trying Voice Calls

Six voice options are available for voice call interaction. Voice calls cost 100 Moments per minute. On the free tier's starting 200 Moments, that is 2 minutes of voice total — not enough to form a real impression.

Voice calls are most useful on Plus ($9.99/month, 3,000 Moments) or above, where 30 minutes of voice per month is achievable while leaving Moments for other features.

Step 5 — Manage Your Moments

Moments management is the skill that separates satisfied users from frustrated ones. The core principle: prioritize by value to you, not by what is most expensive to generate.

Moments cost reference:

• Text message: 1–2 Moments (cheapest)
• Standard image: 25–50 Moments
• Short video (3s): ~50 Moments
• Full video: up to 600 Moments
• Voice call: 100 Moments/minute
• Manual memory save: 10 Moments
• New custom character: 1,000–1,500 Moments

Starting with 200 free Moments: Do not spend them all on video — you will have nothing left for conversation testing. A practical split: use 100–150 Moments on images (to see visual quality), keep the rest for chat context.

If you plan to use media features regularly, upgrading to Plus ($9.99/month) for 3,000 Moments makes economic sense quickly. The free tier's 200 Moments is a one-time allocation — there are no monthly free Moments renewals.

Moments top-ups are available separately: 1,980 Moments for $5.99, scaling up to 118,800 Moments for $249.99. These can be purchased without changing your subscription tier.

For full pricing and plan comparison, see the pricing plans page.

Step 6 — Enable Privacy Features

Private Mode is an opt-in feature that applies end-to-end encryption to a specific conversation and excludes it from AI training data. To enable it:

1. Open or start a conversation
2. Find the Private Mode toggle in the conversation settings
3. Enable it before you start the conversation (it applies from activation forward, not retroactively)

Two practical points: Private Mode must be enabled per conversation, not globally. And it applies to conversations from the point of activation — previous messages in the same conversation are not retroactively encrypted.

Billing privacy is automatic: all charges show on bank statements as "Sun Clinical Laboratories" with no reference to the platform or adult content. No configuration is needed for billing discretion.

Tips for New Users

Based on common first-use patterns, these adjustments produce better experiences:

• Start with Free, but treat it as a trial — The 200 free Moments exist to evaluate conversation quality and UI. Forming a real opinion of the platform requires at least 1–2 sessions at Plus level.
• Create a detailed character profile — The free-text customization field is more valuable than the presets for getting a companion that feels specifically built for you.
• Memory is much better on paid tiers — If the AI seems forgetful and disconnected, that is the free tier's 2–3 exchange limit. It is not a quality indicator for the paid experience.
• Plus ($9.99) is the sweet spot for most users — Unlimited messaging, 3,000 Moments, 30-day memory, and full media access. It is where the platform becomes a usable daily experience rather than a demo.
• Add secrets.ai to your home screen — The browser shortcut (explained in the app access guide) creates an app-like experience on mobile.
• Video is the most expensive feature — Budget Moments accordingly or you will hit the monthly cap before the billing cycle ends.

Common Issues and Solutions

Messages Not Sending

Check your daily message limit. Free users are capped at 20 messages per day. Paid users on Lite are capped at 100 per day. Plus and above have unlimited messaging. If the send button is unresponsive, a daily limit is the most common cause.

AI Seems Forgetful Between Sessions

This is the free tier's memory limitation in action. Free users get 2–3 exchange recall — the AI effectively starts fresh each session. Upgrading to Plus adds 30-day topic and tone memory, which changes the continuity experience substantially.

Slow Response Times

Peak usage hours produce slower responses. If conversations feel sluggish, trying off-peak times (late night or early morning) typically produces faster responses.

Cannot Generate Video

Video generation requires a Lite subscription or higher. If the video option is not available in your chat interface, you are on the free tier, which does not include video.

Forgot Password

Use the email-based password reset on the login page at secrets.ai. Enter your registered email address and follow the reset link.

For a complete breakdown of what is available at each tier, see the free vs premium comparison.

FAQ