Search real Inks app help scenarios for writing, playback, styling, statistics, payment, account, and privacy.
Tap Compose on the Letters page to enter the editor quickly. Long-press Compose to use the full writing flow: choose stationery, write the letter, then set pauses, envelope, opening effects, ambient effects, and music. On first use, we recommend trying the full flow once.
Use quick writing when you want to get the words down first. Use the full writing flow when you want a finished letter with stationery, pauses, envelope, effects, and music. Both paths can save a formal letter.
You can keep adding content pages. In the editor, swipe horizontally from the left or right edge of the paper to write on the back as a postscript. In page overview, swipe a page card left or right to edit its postscript. Page turning and postscript flipping are separate gestures.
In the current version, sharing mainly uses a .mbx letter file. Send the file to the recipient, and they can import it into Inks to view the text, playback, postscript, and related effects. It works like sending a complete letter file, not a normal image link.
A .mbx file is for complete delivery: it can be imported back into Inks and preserves text, playback, postscript, and effects as much as possible. Images and PDF are for static saving or quick sharing. Video and Live Photo are playable clips, but they cannot be imported as letters again.
Inks treats the writing process as part of the expression. Pauses, hesitation, and revisions become the playback timeline, so the recipient can see how the letter was written instead of only seeing the final text.
During the first reading of an imported letter, unread future content is protected. You cannot jump ahead, seek on the timeline, or change playback speed. After the full playback is completed and marked as read, these controls unlock automatically.
Swipe up or down to move between content pages. Swipe left or right to flip the paper and view the postscript. During the first reading of an imported letter, only jumping to unread content pages is restricted; postscript flipping remains available.
You can skip the envelope animation for your own letters at any time. Imported letters cannot be skipped during the first reading. After you complete the first full playback, you can skip it on later opens.
If an imported letter is still in its first reading, time-based jumps are disabled, so search results cannot jump directly either. After the first full playback, search results and timeline seeking can be used for quick navigation.
Long-press a letter in the list to quickly share, favorite, hide, delete, or view details. Some letters may also show actions such as Reply or Configure Access.
Afterthoughts are later feelings added to a letter’s timeline. They are appended with their own time record, extending the memory without replacing what was written before.
An afterthought records what you left at that moment. Inks lets the timeline grow by adding new afterthoughts instead of rewriting expressions that already happened.
Deleting a letter is permanent, not just removing it from a list. Inks keeps a small confirmation step so you can make the decision deliberately.
Open the top-right menu on the letter list and choose Timeline Mode or Chat Mode under Display Mode. Timeline Mode is better for reviewing all records; Chat Mode groups letters by contact.
No. A single segment of the original writing timeline cannot be deleted. Pauses, revisions, and rewrites are saved as part of the expression. Video or Live Photo export can use a selected playback range, but it does not change the original letter.
Long-press a paper style on the stationery selection page and choose Customize. You can enable writing guide lines and adjust paper edge effects, roughness, or intensity. Some saved customizations depend on your current benefits; previewing or adjusting the panel does not change existing letters by itself.
Yes. Some ambient effects support long-press customization, such as density, color bias, or motion style. Background music can be changed in the Music section of the Effects page.
Long-pressing a resource opens actions for that resource. Paper styles usually support Favorite and Customize; stickers and fonts usually support Favorite; some effects and music may also support customization. Favorites, saved customizations, and premium resource use are checked against your current benefits.
Statistics shows overview data, writing habits, interaction rankings, and graph views. You can switch time ranges, and data is generated as you create or import letters.
It usually means the selected time range has no letter records that can form a graph. Try another time range, or check again after creating or importing more letters.
Basic statistics are available directly. Contact graphs, letter graphs, saved graph settings, and some sharing customizations belong to Advanced Statistics. Before unlock, they may show sample data or temporary previews only.
Yes. After you finish viewing an imported letter and return to the list, Inks can check for reusable resources such as music, sound effects, and special fonts. Saving them to your private resource library requires an active Inks Pass.
You can use Inks as a private diary, a thoughtful mailbox for letters, or a time capsule for preserving a feeling and its process. The core idea is to write slower and read slower.
The primary supported experience is currently the iOS app. Exported .mbx letter files are designed to be as self-contained and cross-platform-friendly as possible, leaving room for compatible viewing environments in the future. Formal release timing for other platforms depends on actual releases, so we do not promise dates here.
Yes. Go to Settings > Storage & Cache > Cache Management > Reset Ignored Tips & Guidance to show dismissed guidance again.
After a letter is sealed, the same access rules apply to everyone, including the author. This keeps promises like “read it in the future” or “read it at this place” meaningful.
Drafts are still in free editing state, so formal letter access locks are not active yet. Time, location, password, or Q&A rules start applying after you finish and save the letter as a formal letter.
Letter applies to the whole letter. Page applies to the selected full page. Region applies to the selected masked area on that page. The rule is saved to the scope you choose.
No. On the same page, Page-level and Region-level locks are mutually exclusive. Page-level rules control the whole page; Region-level rules control selected blocks separately.
Time and location are objective conditions, while password and Q&A are credentials. The app checks objective conditions first, then asks for credentials when needed. If a letter has multiple conditions, the access sheet shows each stage and may give a subtle haptic when a stage is completed, so you can tell what is still blocking access.
If a letter is already protected by a password or Q&A, you must pass the current check before editing its access rules. This prevents someone with the device from bypassing the old rule and changing a protected letter to open access. After verification, the app can read the letter and safely rewrite the new rules.
Currently, one Inks account can be active on up to 3 devices. To view or switch devices, go to Settings > Account & Benefits > Devices & Entitlements, or contact support for help.
Yes. Experience records created before sign-in are stored on this device first, then attached to the current cloud account after sign-in. Experiences that become part of a formal letter must be confirmed by the cloud before sealing. If the network is unavailable, the app asks you to retry later or save a draft first. Pending records are isolated between accounts.
Lifetime is a one-time unlock for local premium capabilities, including Lifetime-level resources, styling, statistics, and privacy features. Inks Pass is a subscription for custom writing resource uploads, ongoing resource access, and saving resources from imported letters. Lifetime users can activate Inks Pass-level access at an exclusive price.
Trial counts are consumed only when a feature actually produces a result. Postscript and custom pause annotation are counted per letter, so repeated edits to the same letter do not count again. Custom resource uploads count only after the resource is successfully saved. Premium opening and ambient effects can be previewed first and count only when sealed into a final letter. Tutorial letters do not consume formal trial counts.
Preview lets you decide whether a resource fits the letter, but it does not mean the resource is formally unlocked. Resources are gated by benefit level. If your current benefits are not enough, sealing checks whether you still have a matching trial count. If a count is available it is consumed by rule; after counts run out, you need to upgrade or choose an unlocked resource.
Sign in to your cloud account first, then go to Settings > Account & Benefits > My Benefits and tap Restore App Store Purchases. The app checks active purchases for the current Apple ID, and benefits are applied after server verification.
In the current version, letters are stored on your device by default. They are not uploaded automatically and do not cloud-sync automatically. To back up or send a letter, export the letter file yourself and keep it somewhere you trust.
No. Analytics is limited to usage data and necessary technical information that does not include letter content. You can turn it off anytime in Settings > Privacy & Data.
Go to Settings > Privacy & Data to export or delete statistics data and full app data separately. Before deleting, check whether you need to export a backup first.
No. Deleting a letter is permanent. If you did not export a backup before deleting, the app does not keep an extra cloud copy and there is no recycle bin to restore from.
Because the current version stores letters locally by default, uninstalling the app clears letters on that device. For important letters, regularly export .mbx backups and keep them somewhere you trust.
After you unlock an encrypted letter, the app can cache its list cover thumbnail on this device for faster display next time. You can clear it manually in Settings > Storage & Cache > Cache Management.
If the letter is still locked, cover cache is disabled, or the cache was cleared manually, the list will not show the real cover texture. It uses the default style to reduce sensitive information exposure.
Inks is designed with an offline-first, self-contained approach. Exported .mbx files include the data, resources, and font information needed for playback as much as possible. As long as a compatible viewer exists in the future, the letter can still be read.
This keeps letter content in a place you control. The current version shares letters through locally exported .mbx files by default and does not upload letter text automatically for sharing. Cloud links and “Send to the Future” will be developed after the related capabilities are stable.