> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://wiki.secrets.ai/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://wiki.secrets.ai/create/custom-characters.md).
# Custom Characters
### Creating Custom Characters
{% hint style="danger" %}
Creating characters based on real people are strictly forbidden and will be deleted without a refund.
This includes celebrities, influencers, public figures, and private individuals.
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#### Getting Started
1. **Navigate to Custom Characters**: Go to the Custom Characters section
2. **Start Creation**: Click "Create New Character"
3. **Follow Creation Flow**: Complete the character creation process
4. **Finalize Character**: Review and finalize your character
#### Creation Process
The custom character creation process involves several steps:
**Step 1: Appearance & Basic Information**
* Select gender and appearance style (realistic or anime)
* Choose physical features
* Customize appearance details
* Select a voice
* Name your character
* Set their age and location
* Review and finalize
* Generate appearance previews
**Step 2: Personality**
* Answer personality questions
* Describe character traits
* Set personality tone
* Define character background
**Step 3: Finalization**
* Review all details
* Make final adjustments
* Complete character creation
* Start chatting!
{% hint style="info" %}
You're no longer locked in at finalization. While a character is private or shared, you can refine its appearance, personality, and details in the **Character Studio**, and every change can be undone. See [Editing Your Character](#editing-your-character-character-studio) below.
{% endhint %}
### Editing Your Character (Character Studio)
Once a character exists, the **Character Studio** is where you manage everything about them. Open one of your custom characters and choose **Edit** to enter the Studio. It's organized into tabs: **Appearance**, **Personality**, **Details**, **Gallery**, **Publish**, and **History**.
{% hint style="warning" %}
Once a character goes **public** (or is **in review**), its appearance, personality, and details are locked and can no longer be edited — the one exception is the [advanced image reference](#advanced-image-reference-optional), which can always be updated. To change a character that's already public, [**fork it**](#forking-characters) and edit your private copy instead.
{% endhint %}
{% hint style="success" %}
Every appearance, personality, and details change is saved to the **History** tab and can be reverted at any time, so it's safe to experiment.
{% endhint %}
#### Appearance
Reshape how your character looks by describing the change in plain language, no prompt knowledge required.
1. Describe the change (e.g. *"short platinum blonde hair"*, *"add freckles and green eyes"*, *"warmer smile, softer features"*)
2. **Generate looks** — each batch produces **4 options** and costs **100 moments**
3. Generate more batches if you want additional choices, and page through them
4. Pick your favorite and **apply** it
{% hint style="warning" %}
If your character is shared with other people, applying a new look changes it in their chats too. You'll be warned before the change goes through.
{% endhint %}
#### Advanced Image Reference (optional)
At the bottom of the **Appearance** tab is the **Advanced Image Reference** section, where you can pick a **reference photo** for your character. Advanced image generation uses this photo as its visual reference, so choosing an image that matches your character's current appearance keeps Advanced results consistent.
1. Expand the **Reference photo** row
2. Pick from the images you've already generated for this character (group photos aren't eligible)
3. Hit **Set as reference**
A few things to know:
* **It's optional** — without a reference photo, the character's **avatar** is used automatically
* **It's free** — setting or changing the reference costs no moments
* **It's revertible** — every reference change is saved to the **History** tab (private and shared characters)
* **No images yet?** Use the **Generate** shortcut in the section header to create some first
**Choosing a good reference photo**
The reference photo is about **freedom**: *you* decide which of your character's features Advanced generation keeps consistent. Whatever the photo shows off is what gets preserved — anything it doesn't show is left for the model to improvise each time. Pick with that in mind:
* **Show the features you care about.** Face, body type, tattoos, piercings, or any distinctive details — if it matters to you, make sure the reference clearly shows it.
* **Full body, facing forward.** A well-lit, full-body photo facing the camera preserves the most, from face to figure. Close-up portraits keep the face consistent but leave the body up to interpretation.
* **NSFW consistency needs an NSFW reference.** If you want your character's intimate features maintained across NSFW generations, use an **NSFW reference photo that shows those features off**. With a clothed reference, the model invents those details fresh in every image — so they'll drift from generation to generation.
* **Match the current appearance.** After changing your character's look in the Appearance editor, set a new reference from images of the updated look — an outdated reference pulls generations back toward the old appearance.
* **Quality in, quality out.** Choose a sharp, well-composed generation you're happy with; artifacts and odd poses in the reference can carry over.
{% hint style="info" %}
Unlike the rest of the Appearance tab, the reference photo can still be updated while a character is **in review** or **public** — for public characters, you'll find the section on their Studio page.
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#### Personality
Refine an existing personality by chatting with the personality editor and describing what you'd like to change, then confirm to apply it.
{% hint style="info" %}
Editing an existing character's personality is an **Ultimate** feature. Setting up a personality for the first time during creation is available on **every tier** and is not affected.
{% endhint %}
#### Details
Update your character's **name**, **age** (18–99), **location**, **description**, and **voice** at any time.
#### Gallery
Curate the photos and videos attached to your character, choose their **profile photo** and **avatar**, and control which images are shown publicly.
{% hint style="warning" %}
The **avatar must be a full-body, standing photo** — it's used as the character's image generation reference whenever no [reference photo](#advanced-image-reference-optional) is set, and a full-body standing avatar is required for [public approval](#visual-requirements-for-public-approval). The **profile photo** should be **selfie-style** — it's what appears in the small circular avatar in chat.
{% endhint %}
### Forking Characters
Forking creates your own **private, editable copy** of a character that you can reshape however you like in the Character Studio. The original is never changed.
* **What you can fork:** **public** community characters and your own custom characters
* **What you can't fork:** official companions, and characters that were only **privately shared** with you
* **Cost:** **300 moments** to fork **your own** character, or **600 moments** to fork **someone else's** public character. Forks are always charged and never use your free-character allowance.
The fork copies the character's appearance and personality into your new private copy, gives it its own memories, and drops you straight into the Character Studio to make it your own. To fork, open a character's profile and choose **Fork** (also shown as *"Create your own editable copy"*).
{% hint style="success" %}
**Creators earn from forks.** When another user forks one of your **public** characters, you receive a **300-moment bonus** — half of the 600 moments they pay — credited automatically, with a notification.
{% endhint %}
Forked characters are hidden from the default browse feed, use the **Forks** filter on the explore page to show them. A fork always links back to the character it was **forked from**.
### Custom Character Limits
#### Message Limits by Tier
| Tier | Custom Character Messages |
| ------------ | ------------------------- |
| **FREE** | 100 messages TOTAL |
| **PREMIUM** | Unlimited |
| **ULTIMATE** | Unlimited |
#### Creation Limits
* **Creation Cost**: First character is free, 500 moments for any additional characters
* **No Tier Restriction**: All tiers can create custom characters
### Sharing Custom Characters
#### Character Visibility
**Private Characters**
* Only you can chat with them
* Not visible to other users
* Full control over access
**Shared Characters (sharing enabled)**
* Can be shared with others via the share link
* Once another user starts a conversation with your character, you cannot turn this setting off
**Public Characters**
* Other users can discover and chat with them
* Visible in character browsing
#### Making Characters Public
Open your character in the **Character Studio** and go to the **Publish** tab. Before you can request public status, your character must meet every requirement below:
* A selected **voice**
* A **profile photo**, an **avatar**, and **9 gallery images** — all of which must be different from each other, and all generated with the latest **Advanced image mode**
* A **preview video**
* **Public sharing** enabled on the character
The avatar, profile photo, and preview video also have to meet the [visual requirements](#visual-requirements-for-public-approval) below — they're the first (and often only) thing reviewers look at.
You also need a **public profile** on your account (a username set and your profile activated).
Once everything is in place, **request public status** from the Publish tab. Your character moves to **In Review** while the Secrets AI Team reviews it, and goes **Public** once approved. While a character is in review or public, its appearance, personality, and details are locked from editing.
#### Visual Requirements for Public Approval
The review starts with your character's **avatar**, **profile photo**, and **preview video** (see [How Public Requests Are Reviewed](#how-public-requests-are-reviewed) below), so these three need to meet the bar. Missing any of the points below is the fastest way to a decline:
**Avatar**
* A **full-body, standing** view of your character.
**Profile photo**
* **Selfie-style**, or otherwise framed to look great in the **small circular avatar shown in chat**.
* Check it in your own chat before submitting — if it doesn't fit the small circle well there, **it will not be approved**.
**Preview video**
* Must **start on your avatar's full-body standing frame**.
* Motion should be **simple and subtle** — think a hair wave, a wink, a gentle pose shift.
* **No movie-like scenes**: no explosions, dancing, talking, or other dramatic/random action.
* **No glitches** or visual artifacts.
* Generated in **at least 720p** using the **newest Advanced model**.
{% hint style="warning" %}
Reviewers see your avatar, profile photo, and preview video exactly the way other users would on the home and browse pages and in chat. If something looks off to you there, it will look off to them too — fix it before requesting public status.
{% endhint %}
#### How Public Requests Are Reviewed
Public requests go through a **visuals-first review**:
1. **Visual round** — reviewers look only at your character's **avatar**, **profile photo**, and **preview video**: the media that would represent your character on the home and browse pages. Nothing else is opened at this stage.
2. **Full review** — characters whose visuals stand out move on to a closer look before going public.
This lets the team get feedback back to you much faster — but it also means the decline message you receive tells you exactly how far your character got.
#### Understanding Decline Messages
**The generic visuals message.** If your decline says that only your **avatar, profile photo, and preview video** were reviewed, it means exactly that:
* Your character did not pass the visual round — the decline is based purely on those three items.
* Your **gallery, description, and personality were never viewed or judged**. There's nothing wrong with them (they weren't looked at), so don't rework them in response to this message.
* It should be easy to tell which of the photos or the video held your character back — check each one against the [visual requirements](#visual-requirements-for-public-approval) above. Update the visuals and **resubmit anytime** — strong, eye-catching visuals have the best chance of moving forward.
**Specific feedback.** If your decline includes specific feedback instead of the generic visuals message, your request got a closer look. The message will call out exactly what needs to change — usually a small tweak — before you resubmit.
{% hint style="info" %}
Your avatar, profile photo, and preview video are your character's first impression — they're what other users see when browsing. If you receive the generic visuals decline, that first impression is the only thing to improve before resubmitting.
{% endhint %}
#### Permanent Rejection
A standard decline is never final — you can update your character and resubmit anytime. In certain cases, however, the Secrets AI Team may **permanently reject** a character. A permanently rejected character can **never be submitted for public listing again**: the Publish tab shows a **Permanently Rejected** status, the submission option is removed, and any new request for that character is refused.
Permanent rejection is reserved for cases such as:
* **Repeated resubmissions without improvements** — submitting the same character again and again without addressing the feedback from earlier declines.
* **Terms of Service violations** — characters whose content breaks the Terms of Service are not eligible for public listing.
* **Repeatedly ignoring the submission guidelines** — continuing to submit despite the [visual requirements](#visual-requirements-for-public-approval) and the public submission guidelines shown in the Publish tab not being met.
Permanent rejection only affects **public listing**. The character is not deleted — you can still chat with it yourself and share it privately via its share link.
{% hint style="warning" %}
Resubmitting the same character repeatedly without changes doesn't improve its chances — it can lead to permanent rejection. Always address the feedback from your decline message before requesting public status again.
{% endhint %}
#### Sharing Tips
**Before Sharing**
* Test your character thoroughly
* Ensure personality is well-developed
* Check for any issues
* Make sure you're happy with the character
### Advanced + Group Image Generation
Custom characters work with **Advanced image generation** and **group photos** out of the box — there is nothing to enable and no setup cost anymore.
{% hint style="success" %}
By default, your character's **avatar** is used as their generation reference, so an avatar that shows their **full body** gives the best likeness (Character Studio → Gallery). For even more consistent Advanced results, you can optionally set a dedicated **reference photo** from your generated images — see [Advanced Image Reference](#advanced-image-reference-optional).
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Use any custom character — yours or other users' — in:
* Advanced solo images
* Group photo images (up to 3 companions)
Details: see [Image Generation](/create/image-generation.md).
### Troubleshooting Custom Characters
#### Creation Issues
**Character Not Creating**
* Check moment balance (need 500 moments)
* Ensure all required fields completed
* Try refreshing and starting over
* Contact support if persists
### Frequently Asked Questions
**Q: How much does it cost to create a custom character?**
* 500 moments.
**Q: Can FREE users create custom characters?**
* Yes! But they can only send 100 messages total.
**Q: How many custom characters can I create?**
* Unlimited, as long as you have moments (500 per additional character).
**Q: Can I edit my custom character after creation?**
* Yes! Use the **Character Studio** to change appearance, details, and (on Ultimate) personality after creation. Every change can be reverted from the History tab. See [Editing Your Character](#editing-your-character-character-studio).
**Q: How much does it cost to change my character's appearance?**
* Each batch of appearance options is **100 moments** and gives you 4 looks to choose from. You only apply the one you like.
**Q: Do I need a subscription to edit personality?**
* Editing an existing personality requires **Ultimate**. First-time personality setup during creation is free on every tier.
**Q: What is forking?**
* Forking makes your own private, editable copy of a public community character or your own character. It costs **300 moments** to fork your own character, or **600 moments** to fork someone else's. The original is untouched, and your copy opens in the Character Studio. Official companions and privately-shared characters can't be forked.
**Q: Do I earn moments when someone forks my character?**
* Yes. When another user forks one of your **public** characters, you receive a **300-moment creator bonus** automatically — half of the 600 moments they pay — along with a notification. Forking your own character doesn't pay a bonus, and bonuses aren't paid out while an account is banned.
**Q: Can I delete custom characters?**
* Yes, you can delete characters you no longer want, so long as they have not been made public or shared with others.
**Q: Can other users chat with my custom characters?**
* Only if you enable sharing and/or make them public. Private characters are only accessible by you.
**Q: Do custom characters remember me?**
* Yes! Custom characters use the same memory system as regular companions.
**Q: How old can my character be?**
* Your character can be between the ages of 18-99. Any attempts to create a character below 18 will be met with a quick ban.
**Q: How do I make my character public?**
* Open the character in the Character Studio, go to the **Publish** tab, meet the requirements, and request public status. See [Making Characters Public](#making-characters-public).
**Q: My public request was declined with a message saying only my avatar, profile photo, and preview video were reviewed — what does that mean?**
* Your character didn't pass the **visual round** of review. Only those three items were looked at — your gallery, description, and personality were never viewed or judged. Check them against the [visual requirements](#visual-requirements-for-public-approval), fix what falls short, and resubmit. See [Understanding Decline Messages](#understanding-decline-messages).
**Q: What do reviewers look for in the avatar, profile photo, and preview video?**
* **Avatar:** full-body, standing. **Profile photo:** selfie-style, framed to look right in the small circular chat avatar (check it in your own chat — if it doesn't fit the circle, it won't be approved). **Preview video:** starts on the avatar's full-body standing frame, simple subtle motion only (hair wave, wink — no dancing, talking, explosions, or movie-like scenes), no glitches, and at least **720p** from the **newest Advanced model**. Full checklist: [Visual Requirements for Public Approval](#visual-requirements-for-public-approval).
**Q: My decline had specific feedback instead of the generic visuals message — what now?**
* Your request got a closer look, and the feedback tells you exactly what to fix. It's usually a small tweak — make the change and resubmit.
**Q: Can I resubmit after a decline?**
* Yes, anytime — as long as the character hasn't been **permanently rejected**. Update whatever the decline message pointed to, then request public status again from the Publish tab. See [Permanent Rejection](#permanent-rejection).
**Q: My character shows "Permanently Rejected" — what does that mean?**
* The team has ruled the character out of public listing for good, and it can no longer be submitted. This is reserved for repeated resubmissions without improvements, Terms of Service violations, or repeatedly ignoring the submission guidelines. The character itself still works — you can chat with it and share it privately. See [Permanent Rejection](#permanent-rejection).
**Q: Do I need to enable anything to use Advanced image generation with my character?**
* No — Advanced and group photos work with every character automatically. The avatar serves as the generation reference by default, so use a full-body avatar for best results.
**Q: What is the reference photo and do I need to set one?**
* The reference photo is the image Advanced generation uses as its visual reference for your character. It's completely **optional** — without one, the avatar is used. Setting one is **free**: pick any image you've generated of that character in the Appearance tab's **Advanced Image Reference** section. It's most useful for keeping Advanced images consistent after appearance changes.
**Q: What makes a good reference photo?**
* One that **shows off the features you want kept consistent** — that's the whole point of choosing your own. A full-body, front-facing photo preserves the most. And if you want your character's intimate features maintained in NSFW generations, use an NSFW reference that clearly shows them; a clothed reference means the model reinvents those details every time. See [Choosing a good reference photo](#advanced-image-reference-optional).
***
Ready to create? Start building your custom character, or check out [Audio Calls](/create/audio-calls.md) and [Discord Integration](/extra/discord-integration.md)!