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

Getting started with Secrets AI takes under five minutes. Account creation is fast, the character library is immediately accessible, and your first conversation can begin with no payment required. This guide walks through every step — from signup to your first chat, through media generation, privacy settings, and common issues that catch new users off guard.

Everything in this guide works on desktop and mobile browsers. No download or installation is needed at any step.

Step 1 — Create Your Account

Open any browser and go to secrets.ai. The signup process asks for:

• An email address
• A password you choose

No real name, no phone number, and no social media account is required. A privacy-focused or throwaway email works for full access. The whole process takes under 60 seconds.

After signup, your account starts with 200 free Moments — the platform's virtual currency — and immediate access to the complete character library. You do not need to enter payment information to explore the platform with a free account.

The free tier limits you to 20 messages per day. That is enough to get a genuine feel for the conversation quality before deciding whether to upgrade.

Step 2 — Choose Your First Character

After logging in, you land on the character library. Two paths from here:

Option A: Browse pre-built characters. The library has approximately 94 characters covering realistic and anime styles across a range of personalities and archetypes. Browse by personality type or appearance. Each character has a brief profile describing their personality and typical interaction style.

Option B: Create a custom character. The first custom character is free. The customization menu covers:

• Appearance: 9 ethnicity options, 6 body types, hairstyle, eye color, skin tone
• Voice: 6 options covering different tones
• Personality: confidence, playfulness, dominance, intelligence (all adjustable sliders)
• Background: 5 profession presets, 5 personality trait presets
• Hobbies and a free-text field for specific preferences or relationship context

The free-text field is worth filling in detail — the AI uses this information to calibrate its initial behavior and character voice. More detail here produces a more personalized first interaction.

When a new character is created (or selected), four AI-generated images are automatically produced. These become the visual baseline for all subsequent image and video generation.

Step 3 — Start Your First Conversation

After selecting a character, the chat interface opens. Conversation starters appear at the top — use one or start fresh with your own opener. The AI adapts to your tone quickly, so the opening message sets the emotional register for the session.

Practical tips for the first conversation:

• Be specific. Generic openers produce generic responses. Specific details about your preferences, the scenario context, or the character you want the AI to adopt produce more engaging replies.
• Set the tone early. If you want romantic roleplay, establish that framing in the first few exchanges. The AI follows your lead.
• Use conversation starters. They are provided for a reason — they are calibrated to produce good first interactions with each character type.

Free users have 20 messages per day with a 500-character limit per message. This is sufficient for a test but not for deep roleplay. If you hit the limit and want more, the Plus plan ($9.99/mo) removes it entirely.

Step 4 — Explore Media Features

Generate Images

Image generation is accessible from within the chat interface. The cost is 25–50 Moments per image, depending on the generation model. On a free account, your 200 starting Moments covers 4–8 images.

Four preset image styles are available for quick generation. Text prompt customization is also supported for more specific scenarios.

Create Videos

Video generation requires at least the Lite plan — it is not available on the free tier. The process:

1. Select an existing companion image
2. Enter a text prompt describing the motion or action you want
3. Wait approximately 2 minutes for rendering
4. View and save the clip

Costs range from ~50 Moments for a 3-second clip to ~600 Moments for a longer video. The video generator guide covers this feature in full detail, including cost math by tier.

Try Voice Calls

Voice calls use one of six voice options selectable per character. The cost is 100 Moments per minute — voice is significantly more Moments-intensive than text or images. Voice quality earns a 4.3/5 in independent assessments: natural tone, responsive to conversational context.

Voice calls are not available on the free tier.

Step 5 — Manage Your Moments

Moments tracking is accessible in account settings. The balance displays in the interface during chat sessions.

Moments cost by feature:

Two practical rules for new users:

1. Text first. Use your free 200 Moments on conversation, not video. Video at 600 Moments per clip means your entire starting balance covers less than one clip.
2. Images before video. At 25–50 Moments per image, you can generate 4–8 images on the free account to assess visual quality before committing to higher-cost video generation.

If you run through your Moments, top-up bundles start at $5.99 for 1,980 Moments. Upgrading to Plus ($9.99/mo) gives 3,000 Moments monthly plus unlimited messaging — a better per-Moment rate than top-ups for regular users.

The pricing guide covers the full cost breakdown and the math for each tier. For the upgrade decision specifically, the free vs premium comparison is the clearest resource.

Step 6 — Enable Privacy Features

Private Mode encrypts individual conversations end-to-end and opts them out of AI training data collection. To enable it:

1. Open a conversation
2. Find the Private Mode toggle in the conversation settings
3. Enable it before the conversation begins

Private Mode is per-conversation, not a global setting. It does not apply retroactively to conversations that began without it enabled. If privacy is important to your use case, make enabling Private Mode a habit at the start of each new conversation thread.

Additionally: billing appears on bank statements as "Sun Clinical Laboratories" — no reference to Secrets AI or adult content. For full payment privacy, cryptocurrency payments (minimum $20) are accepted. See the safety analysis for the complete privacy picture.

Tips for New Users

Seven observations from practical extended use:

1. Start with the free tier before paying — the 20 messages/day free limit is enough to evaluate whether the chat quality suits you
2. Spend your 200 starting Moments on images, not video — images cost 25–50 Moments vs 600 for a full video
3. Fill in the free-text character details field thoroughly — this is where specific preferences produce the biggest improvement in conversation personalization
4. The AI remembers more on paid tiers — free memory (2–3 exchanges) is functionally useless for ongoing relationship simulation
5. Plus ($9.99/mo) is the right starting point for regular users — unlimited messaging + 3,000 Moments is the price-performance sweet spot
6. Add secrets.ai to your phone's home screen for one-tap access — instructions are in the mobile access guide
7. Save important conversation moments manually (10 Moments each) — automatic recall is good but not infallible in complex roleplay threads

Common Issues and Solutions

Messages not sending

Check your daily message limit. Free accounts cap at 20 messages per day. If you have hit the limit, you either need to wait for the daily reset or upgrade to a paid plan.

AI seems forgetful

Memory quality is directly tied to subscription tier. The free tier has a 2–3 exchange recall window — essentially no cross-session memory. Upgrading to Plus or above delivers meaningful memory continuity. If you are on a paid tier and notice memory gaps, manual memory saves (10 Moments each) allow explicit preservation of key conversation elements.

Slow responses

Peak hour traffic causes response delays — this is user-reported and consistent with how AI inference infrastructure behaves under load. Off-peak times (generally outside US evening hours) produce more consistent response speed.

Cannot generate video

Video generation requires at least the Lite plan and sufficient Moments balance. Free accounts cannot access video generation at all. Check both your plan status and Moments balance if video generation is unavailable.

Forgot password

Use the "Forgot Password" link on the login page. Password reset is handled via the email address associated with your account.

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