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

Getting started with Secrets AI takes under five minutes. The platform runs entirely in a web browser — no download, no installation, no app store required. Open secrets.ai, create an account, and you have access to the full character library and 200 free Moments immediately.

This guide walks through each step in sequence, including how to set up your first character for the best conversation quality, how to manage your Moments budget, and the mistakes new users most commonly make in their first sessions.

Step 1 — Create Your Account

Open any browser on any device and go to secrets.ai. There is no app to download — the platform is fully browser-based.

Click the sign-up option. You need:

• An email address (a real one for password recovery; anonymous email services work fine)
• A password

That is the complete registration. No real name. No phone number. No social media account. Anonymous signup is supported by design — the platform does not require any identifying information beyond an email address.

Account creation completes in under 60 seconds. Immediately after, you have:

• 200 free Moments (one-time allocation)
• Full access to browse the character library (~94 pre-built characters)
• 20 messages per day on the free tier

No credit card is required to create a free account. For a full overview of what these free limits mean in practice, the full review covers the platform's capabilities in detail.

Step 2 — Choose Your First Character

After account creation, you land in the character library. Two paths:

Use a pre-built character: Browse approximately 94 hyper-realistic female characters and some anime options. Each has a pre-written backstory and personality profile. You can start chatting immediately.

Build a custom character: The first custom character is free. The creation process covers:

• Appearance: ethnicity (9 options), skin tone, eye color, hairstyle, body type (6 options)
• Voice: 6 options (you choose now; used for voice calls later)
• Personality traits: adjustable sliders for confidence, playfulness, dominance, and intelligence
• Profession: 5 preset categories
• Personality presets: 5 template options as a starting point
• Hobbies and free-text details: open fields where more investment pays off significantly

The free-text fields are worth spending time on. The AI uses the character profile as context for every conversation. A character with generic preset settings produces generic interactions. A character with specific background details, defined relationship history, and precise personality notes produces interactions that feel grounded from the first message.

Step 3 — Start Your First Conversation

The chat interface is simple: text input at the bottom, responses above, with conversation starters available if you want a prompt. Starters are split between casual openers and suggestive ones — choose based on how you want the relationship dynamic to begin.

The AI responds naturally and asks follow-up questions. It adapts to your communication style within the first few exchanges — more formal responses if you write formally, more casual if you write casually.

Important free-tier awareness: You have 20 messages per day on the free plan. Do not spend them all exploring the interface — use them to test whether the conversation quality meets your expectations before deciding to upgrade.

Set the tone early. The relationship dynamic you establish in the first few exchanges shapes the AI's behavior in subsequent messages. If you want emotional depth, invest in that direction from the start. The AI is responsive to user framing.

Step 4 — Explore Media Features

Generate Images

To generate an image of your companion in a specific context, use the image generation option within the chat. Four images are automatically generated when you first create a custom character, so you have initial visuals immediately.

• Cost: 25-50 Moments per image depending on model
• Two generation models available (standard and advanced — advanced produces better results)
• Results display in approximately 30-60 seconds

New users: with 200 free Moments, you have roughly 4-8 images available. Spend them on testing quality rather than generating many similar outputs.

Create Videos

Video generation is Secrets AI's standout feature — most competing platforms do not offer it. To create a video clip:

1. Select an existing companion image as the source
2. Add a text prompt describing the desired movement or action
3. Wait approximately 2 minutes for generation to complete
4. View and save the completed clip

Short 3-second clips cost approximately 50 Moments. Longer, higher-quality clips can reach 600 Moments. Video is not available on the free tier — you need at least the Lite plan ($5.99/month).

With 200 free Moments, you cannot generate any video on the free tier regardless of plan — video requires a paid subscription. This is the most common point of confusion for new users who spend their starting Moments trying to generate video.

Try Voice Calls

The platform offers 6 voice options, each with natural tonal variation based on conversation context. Voice costs 100 Moments per minute — the second-most expensive per-unit cost after long video clips.

With 200 free Moments, you have roughly 2 minutes of voice call available. Try it briefly to test quality, but do not commit most of your starting allocation to voice.

Step 5 — Manage Your Moments

Moments are the platform's in-app currency. Every media action costs Moments; your allocation comes from your monthly tier plus any purchased top-ups.

Cost reference:

Tracking your Moments balance is available in account settings. Common beginner mistake: spending the 200 free Moments on 2-3 images and then finding the account empty. Prioritize testing text quality first — messages cost 1-2 Moments, so your 200 starting credits can power 100+ text-only exchanges.

If you run out and want to continue, top-up bundles start at 1,980 Moments for $5.99. The choose a plan page has full pricing and the math on what each tier delivers monthly.

Step 6 — Enable Privacy Features

If privacy matters to you, one specific step is important:

Enable Private Mode before any conversation you want protected. Private Mode enables end-to-end encryption for that conversation and excludes it from AI training data. It must be activated per conversation — it is not a global account setting, and it is not retroactive.

Find Private Mode in the conversation settings or interface. Turn it on before you start typing if you want the entire conversation encrypted.

Also confirm: billing appears on statements as "Sun Clinical Laboratories" — no reference to Secrets AI or adult content. If payment discretion is important, this is already handled for you. Cryptocurrency is accepted for complete payment anonymity.

Tips for New Users

Practices that make the first month significantly better:

• Do not rush through character creation. The free-text fields for backstory and preferences are the most underutilized part of the setup — a detailed character profile produces dramatically better conversations than the defaults.
• Test text quality before spending Moments on media. The conversation engine is the core product. Evaluate it before committing Moments to images or video.
• The memory gap between free and Plus is the most important upgrade reason. Free tier memory (2-3 exchanges) makes the AI feel forgetful and disconnected. Plus ($9.99/month) extends recall to 30 days with topic and tone awareness — a qualitative shift in how continuous the relationship simulation feels.
• Add secrets.ai to your home screen for app-like access on mobile (instructions in the how to use on mobile guide).
• Annual billing saves 33%. If you stick with the platform for 2-3 months, switching to annual at Plus ($6.67/month equivalent) saves nearly $40 per year.

Common Issues and Solutions

Messages not sending

Check your daily message limit. Free tier allows 20 messages per 24 hours. If you have hit the limit, the counter resets at the same time the next day. Upgrading to Plus or higher removes the daily cap entirely.

The AI seems forgetful across sessions

This is the free tier memory limitation. The AI on free only retains the last 2-3 exchanges — it effectively resets each session. Upgrading to at least Plus ($9.99/month) extends recall to 30 days. Premium provides unlimited memory with emotional timeline tracking.

Response lag or slowdowns

Peak usage hours cause server-side delays. Responses that normally take 2-3 seconds may take 10-15 seconds during high traffic. Try off-peak times (early morning or overnight in your time zone) for faster response times.

Cannot generate video

Video requires a paid subscription of at least Lite ($5.99/month). The free tier does not include video generation regardless of Moments balance. Even on Lite, video generation needs Moments — the tier provides 1,000 Moments monthly.

Forgot password

Use the password reset option on the login page at secrets.ai. The reset link is sent to your registered email address. Check spam folders if it does not arrive within a few minutes.

For deeper context on which plan makes sense based on your usage patterns, the which plan to pick comparison maps out the real differences between tiers and the chat guide covers how to get the most from the conversation experience.

Create Your Free Secrets AI Account →

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