Custom Characters
Create your own unique AI companions with custom personalities, appearances, and backstories. This guide covers everything you need to know about custom character creation.
Creating Custom Characters
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.
Getting Started
Navigate to Custom Characters: Go to the Custom Characters section
Start Creation: Click "Create New Character"
Follow Creation Flow: Complete the character creation process
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!
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.
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, which can always be updated. To change a character that's already public, fork it and edit your private copy instead.
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.
Appearance
Reshape how your character looks by describing the change in plain language, no prompt knowledge required.
Describe the change (e.g. "short platinum blonde hair", "add freckles and green eyes", "warmer smile, softer features")
Generate looks — each batch produces 4 options and costs 100 moments
Generate more batches if you want additional choices, and page through them
Pick your favorite and apply it
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.
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.
Expand the Reference photo row
Pick from the images you've already generated for this character (group photos aren't eligible)
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.
Personality
Refine an existing personality by chatting with the personality editor and describing what you'd like to change, then confirm to apply it.
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.
The avatar must be a full-body, standing photo — it's used as the character's image generation reference whenever no reference photo is set, and a full-body standing avatar is required for public approval. The profile photo should be selfie-style — it's what appears in the small circular avatar in chat.
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").
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.
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
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 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 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.
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.
How Public Requests Are Reviewed
Public requests go through a visuals-first review:
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.
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 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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
Use any custom character — yours or other users' — in:
Advanced solo images
Group photo images (up to 3 companions)
Details: see Image Generation.
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.
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.
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, fix what falls short, and resubmit. See 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.
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.
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.
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.
Ready to create? Start building your custom character, or check out Audio Calls and Discord Integration!
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