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

New users arriving at Secrets AI for the first time face an immediate decision tree: which character to start with, what the Moments currency means, and whether to pay before experiencing anything. Getting this initial sequence right determines whether the platform clicks on first use or frustrates before the second session. This guide walks through every step — from opening a browser to your first real conversation — in the order that makes the most sense for a new user.

One thing you will not need: an app download. Secrets AI is browser-only, accessed at secrets.ai, and works on any device with a modern browser.

Step 1 — Create Your Account

Everything begins at secrets.ai in your browser — Chrome, Safari, or Firefox all work. There is no app to download and no software to install.

The signup process:

1. Click the sign-up or register option on the homepage
2. Enter an email address
3. Create a password
4. Confirm and complete registration

That is the complete list of required information. No real name, no phone number, no social media login, and no payment details are required to create an account. The entire process takes under 60 seconds.

Upon registration, your account is credited with 200 free Moments — the platform's virtual currency. You also have immediate access to the full character library for browsing. No credit card required to start.

Pro Tip: If billing privacy matters to you, use a dedicated email address rather than your primary one. Charges, if you subscribe later, will appear on your statement as "Sun Clinical Laboratories" — but a separate email keeps account notifications compartmentalized.

Step 2 — Choose Your First Character

The character library contains approximately 94 pre-built hyper-realistic characters, with some anime-style options alongside the realistic ones. For a first session, browsing the pre-built library is the faster path to conversation — custom character creation adds setup time and costs Moments (after the first character, which is free).

When browsing pre-built characters, pay attention to:

• The character's described personality (not just appearance)
• The suggested interaction styles or scenarios shown on their profile
• Whether their default communication style matches what you're looking for

If you want to create a custom character instead:

• First custom character is free (no Moments cost)
• Customization options: 9 ethnicity options, 6 body types, 6 voice options, eye color, hairstyle, skin tone
• Personality settings: confidence, playfulness, dominance, intelligence sliders
• Profession: 5 preset categories
• Personality presets: 5 options
• Hobbies and free-text details: add specific backstory and preferences

The free-text details field is worth filling out carefully — it has a disproportionate effect on how contextually responsive the AI is in conversation. Specific details ("grew up near the coast, sarcastic sense of humor, competitive about cooking") produce more interesting conversations than generic traits.

Four images are automatically generated when you finalize a character, giving you an immediate visual representation.

Step 3 — Start Your First Conversation

Opening a character takes you directly to the chat interface. Conversation starters are provided — a selection that mixes casual social prompts with more suggestive options. These help avoid the blank-slate awkwardness of a first message.

First-session dynamics worth knowing:

• The AI adapts to your conversation style from the first few exchanges — set the tone you want early
• Asking follow-up questions and responding with some detail produces better AI responses than single-word inputs
• On the free tier: you have 20 messages per day, each costing 1-2 Moments

The AI responds naturally, asks follow-up questions, and will reference earlier messages within the session where memory allows. On the free tier, memory covers only the last 2-3 exchanges — meaning the AI has effectively no context of messages you sent earlier in a longer session. This is the main functional limitation of the free experience.

For better engagement:

• Be specific rather than vague ("I just got back from a 3-hour hike and my legs are dead" engages more than "I'm tired")
• Reference the character's established traits in your messages
• Establish what kind of dynamic you want within the first 5 exchanges

Step 4 — Explore Media Features

Generate Images

Image generation is unlocked from the Lite tier ($5.99/mo) and above. On the free tier, 200 starting Moments can cover 4-8 images at 25-50 Moments per image — test the feature before committing to a subscription.

To generate an image:

1. Look for the image generation option in the chat interface
2. Select a generation model (Premium model produces better results)
3. Use the 4 available presets or add your own description
4. Images generate in seconds

Four images are automatically generated when you create a new character, so your first visual content is already available without spending any Moments.

Create Videos

Video generation is the feature that most distinguishes Secrets AI from competitors. The workflow:

1. Select a generated companion image to use as the base
2. Add a text prompt describing the desired movement or action
3. Wait approximately 2 minutes for processing
4. View and save the completed clip

Short 3-second clips cost approximately 50 Moments. Longer, higher-quality clips cost up to 600 Moments. Video access is available on Lite and above; best quality requires Premium or Ultimate.

On a free account's 200 Moments, video generation is not available. Once on a paid plan, start with short clips to evaluate quality before spending 600 Moments on a longer generation.

Try Voice Calls

Voice calls cost 100 Moments per minute — the second most expensive action after long video clips. Six voice options are available, rated 4.3/5 by reviewers for naturalness and tone. Voice calls are useful for experiencing the companion as audio rather than text, but the per-minute cost adds up quickly on lower-Moments plans. On the Plus tier (3,000 Moments/month), 100 minutes of voice would exhaust the entire monthly allocation.

Step 5 — Manage Your Moments

Moments management is one of the skills that separates users who find the platform value-for-money from those who burn through their budget in the first week.

Moments cost by action:

• Text message: 1-2 Moments
• Image generation: 25-50 Moments
• Short video (3 sec): ~50 Moments
• Long video clip: ~600 Moments
• Voice call: 100 Moments/minute
• Manual memory save: 10 Moments
• New custom character (after first): 1,000-1,500 Moments

Budget strategy for new users:

• Use most of your free 200 Moments on text and 1-2 test images
• Do not spend all starting Moments on video — the quality difference between image and video is real, but so is the cost difference
• Track your Moments balance in account settings; there is no alert before you hit zero
• Consider upgrading to Plus ($9.99/mo) rather than buying top-up bundles — the 3,000 monthly Moments is better value than equivalent standalone purchases

For additional Moments beyond your plan allocation, top-up bundles start at 1,980 Moments for $5.99, scaling to 118,800 Moments for $249.99 with bulk discounts up to 30.4%.

For detailed plan comparisons and the math behind each tier's budget, the pricing guide covers every option.

Step 6 — Enable Privacy Features

Secrets AI's primary privacy tool is Private Mode, which encrypts a conversation end-to-end and prevents it from being used to train the AI models.

Important operational notes:

• Private Mode must be activated per conversation — it is not a global setting
• It is not retroactive; activating it mid-conversation does not protect earlier messages
• Look for the Private Mode toggle in the conversation settings before starting a session you want encrypted

Separately, billing privacy is built in regardless of any settings you enable: charges appear on statements as "Sun Clinical Laboratories" with no reference to the platform.

Tips for New Users

A Closer Look at what experienced users do differently from first-timers:

• Start with the free tier — the 200 Moments and 20 daily messages give you a meaningful taste of conversation quality before spending anything
• Don't exhaust starting Moments immediately — use them across 2-3 separate sessions to evaluate consistency, not just first impressions
• Create detailed character profiles — the quality of your custom character's backstory directly affects conversation quality
• The AI remembers more on paid tiers — free memory is functionally unusable for relationship simulation (2-3 exchanges only)
• Plus at $9.99 is the practical starting point — unlimited messaging, 30-day memory, and full media access represent the minimum workable experience
• Add secrets.ai to your home screen — Android Chrome and iOS Safari both support this for an app-like launch experience

Common Issues and Solutions

Most issues new users encounter fall into predictable patterns with straightforward solutions:

• Messages not sending: Check daily message limit (free tier: 20/day). If the counter is at zero, wait for the 24-hour reset or upgrade your plan.
• AI seems forgetful: On the free tier, this is expected — memory covers only 2-3 exchanges. Upgrading to Lite or Plus dramatically improves continuity.
• Slow responses: Peak usage hours cause noticeable delays. Off-peak times (early morning or late night) typically produce faster responses.
• Cannot generate video: Video requires Lite plan or higher. Also check your Moments balance — if you are at zero, even on a paid plan, you cannot generate media.
• Forgot password: Use the email reset function on the login page at secrets.ai. The reset link is sent to your registered email.
• Images look different than expected: Try a different preset or add specific description text to the generation prompt. The 4 available presets produce noticeably different output styles.

For a deeper look at how the chat system works and what to expect from NSFW conversations, the chat capabilities guide covers the conversation engine in detail. For a side-by-side comparison of free versus paid capabilities, the free vs premium analysis covers the exact feature differences.

FAQ