Find help with writing, sharing, your account, and your data.
Writing & Replay
How do I start a letter?
On the Letters tab, the pen icon at the bottom right is Compose Letter.
Tap Compose Letter to go straight to the editor—handy for everyday notes. If you want to change the look while writing, open Letter Atmosphere at the top left for a limited set of adjustments.
Touch and hold Compose Letter to choose stationery first, write, then add pause notes and finish the envelope, effects, and music. Try this when you want to put a little more into a birthday or anniversary letter.
Can I change paper or font after I start writing?
Open Letter Atmosphere at the top left of the editor to select paper, fonts, ambient effects, and music already available on your device. These choices apply to this letter, not the defaults for your next one.
Changing paper or font requires the letter to have only one page, with the existing text still fitting after the change. Inks will explain if a style would cause overflow. With two or more pages, paper and font selection are disabled, but ambient effects and music remain adjustable.
Text size, margins, paper edges, and other detailed customizations are not available here. To set these up, touch and hold Compose Letter and adjust them before writing.
Where can I find ideas for what to write?
If you are not sure what to write, tap the Ideas lightbulb in the toolbar at the bottom of the writing editor. Browse suggestions or choose a saved idea under Mine. It appears above the letter for reference and does not insert text into your writing.
To make suggestions more relevant to your life, go to Settings > Ideas > Recommendation preferences.
Do I need to choose a recipient?
No. Keep a journal, record an experience, or write what you want to say to someone. Finished letters stay on your device and are not sent automatically. You can decide whether to share them later.
How do I add another page?
When you fill a page and keep typing, your writing automatically continues on a new page.
To start another page before the current one is full, you can:
• Scroll below the last page and tap the plus button.
• Tap the four-square Pages button at the top left of the writing editor, then tap the add-page card.
For example, add a page to keep another day’s notes separate without filling the current page first.
How do I delete a page I no longer need?
Tap the four-square Pages button at the top left of the writing editor. Touch and hold the page card you want to remove, then confirm deletion.
This permanently deletes the entire page, including its text, doodles and postscript on the back. Each letter must keep at least one page.
What is a postscript, and how do I write one?
A postscript is written on the back of a page while you are creating the letter, separate from the main text.
In the writing editor, swipe horizontally from either edge of the paper to flip to the back and write. Alternatively, tap the four-square Pages button at the top left, then swipe a page card left or right to edit its back.
Use it for a little secret or a few more honest words you want to keep outside the main text. You might describe meeting someone in the letter, then use the back to say how you really felt but could not say at the time.
A postscript belongs to creating the letter. An afterthought is a new thought added after the letter is finished.
How do I share a letter, and which format should I choose?
Touch and hold one of your own letters in the Letters list and choose Share. While reading, you can also tap the share icon at the bottom left—the square with an upward arrow.
MBX is for keeping the complete letter, or letting someone read and replay it in Inks. Text, the writing process, images, doodles, and resources stay together in the file, even if a resource is later removed from the library.
Images and PDF are useful for viewing, saving, or forwarding. Video and Live Photo show the writing process as playable media. These formats work without Inks but cannot be imported as complete letters.
Letters received from others cannot be reshared through these controls. Time, location, page, or region protection limits export to MBX. With only a whole-letter password or security question, the author can use other formats after verification.
How do I add a note to a pause?
If you step away to take a call or collect food, a pause note can remind you what happened when you replay the letter.
A Full Letter includes pause annotations after writing. Expand a pause to choose a built-in label or enter a note. When writing directly, enable Show When Writing Directly in Settings > Pause Annotations; repeated or longer pauses can then bring up this step before completion. Turning the option off does not remove pause records.
Built-in labels are free. Custom text requires Lifetime, an active Inks Pass, or an available trial use.
How do I replay the writing process?
A letter opens on its finished text. To revisit how you wrote it, tap Replay—the circular arrow at the top right. It plays typing, revisions, and pauses on the current page. Use the controls at the bottom to pause, continue, or drag the progress bar.
Progress is not saved after you leave the letter. Next time, it opens on the finished text again, and a new replay starts from the beginning.
How do I turn pages and read a postscript?
Swipe up or down to change body pages. Swipe horizontally from either edge of the paper to read the postscript on the back.
In normal reading, each page shows its finished text first. During Replay, each page keeps its progress for the current viewing session.
Why is protected text missing from search?
Time, location, page, or region protection can exclude some text from search. This does not mean it is lost. Find the letter in the Letters list and meet its access conditions to read it.
Even if a letter appears in search results, its current access conditions still apply when you open it.
Where are Favorite, Hide, Delete, and Details?
On the Letters tab, touch and hold a letter for Favorite, Hide, Delete, and View Details. Your own letters also offer Share; letters that support replies offer reply actions too.
What does Reply to This Letter do?
A reply starts a new letter linked to the current one; nothing is sent automatically. For example, reply to an old letter about your plans to record how things turned out. Finished replies appear connected to the original in Statistics > Letter Graph.
While reading, use the left-turning reply arrow in the bottom-center capsule: tap to write directly, or touch and hold to choose stationery and start a Full Reply. You can also reply from a letter’s long-press menu or its Letter Graph detail card.
How do I hide letters, and where can I view them?
To keep a letter out of the main list, touch and hold it on the Letters tab and choose Hide. Hidden Space requires Lifetime or an active Inks Pass.
Touch and hold the Letters tab at the bottom, then verify with Face ID or Touch ID to view Hidden Space. Touch and hold the same tab again to leave. Hiding does not delete the letter or move it to another device.
How do I switch the letter list’s display mode?
On the Letters tab, tap the … menu at the top right and choose Display Mode.
Choose Timeline to browse by time. Correspondence groups received letters by author, with your own in a separate group. Letter drawer lets you browse envelopes.
Can I edit a finished letter or remove part of its writing process?
No. You can edit a draft, but once sealed, the text and original writing process cannot be changed or partly deleted. To add something, write an afterthought or reply to the letter.
You can select a playback range when exporting video or Live Photo without changing the original letter.
Styling & Customization
Where can I adjust stationery, text size, and paper edges in detail?
Touch and hold Compose Letter. Before writing, touch and hold a paper style on the stationery selection page and choose Customize. Here you can adjust text size, guides, margins, and more. Paper edges offer styles, Overlay or Cutout mode, and intensity controls. Letter Atmosphere is for quick selections while writing, not these detailed adjustments.
Text size and horizontal or vertical guide toggles are free. Margins, text color, and detailed guide settings require Lifetime or an active Inks Pass. Some papers set their own text color; edge resources have their own access requirements. Changes do not alter completed letters.
How do I customize a stamp or use my own image?
For a personal touch on a birthday or anniversary letter, finish writing in a Full Letter and open Envelope > Stamps. Touch and hold a stamp and choose Customize. Shape and drag or pinch cropping are free; borders, grain, ink, and other texture adjustments require Lifetime or an active Inks Pass.
To use your own photo, tap + in the stamp list, choose an image, and adjust the crop. Uploading requires Lifetime, an active Inks Pass, or an available upload trial.
Changing a library stamp affects future placements, not stamps already placed in drafts or completed letters.
Where do I adjust music and effects?
To add background music or atmosphere to a replay, finish writing in a Full Letter and open Effects. While writing, Letter Atmosphere at the top left also offers quick selections of available music and ambient effects.
For detailed controls, touch and hold a supported item on Effects and choose Customize. Music supports volume, fades, and looping; some opening effects allow content or style changes. Ambient effects currently have no density or color controls. Applying custom settings requires Lifetime or an active Inks Pass.
How do I favorite or delete a resource?
In the resource panels for stationery, stamps, or effects, touch and hold an item to favorite it for later. Supported items also offer Customize. Resources you uploaded can be deleted from their menus; built-in resources cannot.
Letter Atmosphere in the writing editor is a quick-selection panel and does not offer these library-management actions.
Payment
Should I choose Lifetime or Inks Pass?
Both currently include the same features and resource access. Lifetime is a one-time purchase. Inks Pass is a monthly or annual subscription with access while active. Prices are shown in the app and the App Store.
Can I keep using uploaded stamps after Inks Pass expires?
Yes. Uploaded stamps remain in your library, and their saved shape, crop, border, and texture are preserved for use on new envelopes. After Inks Pass expires, you can still adjust the shape and crop. Changing the border or texture requires Lifetime or an active Inks Pass. Uploading another stamp requires Lifetime, an active Inks Pass, or an available upload trial.
When is a trial use deducted?
Browsing and previewing do not use trials. Postscript, custom pause notes, and eligible premium opening, ambient, and music resources are confirmed when you finish a letter. Uploads count after they succeed. Features included in Lifetime or an active Inks Pass do not use free trials.
Trial uses join your account after sign-in and are kept separate between accounts. Finishing a letter may require an internet connection; if unavailable, retry later or keep the draft.
If a trial was confirmed but saving failed, finishing the same letter again does not deduct another use. When trials run out, choose an unlocked resource or upgrade. Resources without a trial option need to be unlocked first.
How do I restore a purchase?
Sign in to Inks, then tap Restore Purchases in Settings > Benefits & Plans > My Benefits. Inks syncs your account benefits and checks purchases for the current App Store account if needed.
Follow any instructions about device slots or replacement waiting periods. Restoring access does not recover deleted letters or letters lost after uninstalling, or transfer letters from another device.
Privacy & Data
What do Letter, Page, and Region protection cover?
Choose Letter to protect the whole letter, Page for an entire page, or Region for selected passages. Page and Region protection cannot be combined on the same page.
Whole-letter passwords and security questions are free. Time, location, page, and region protection require Lifetime or an active Inks Pass.
The conditions also apply to the author: a future opening date prevents early reading by you too. Inks checks time and location first, then asks for a password or answer if needed.
How do I set or add letter protection?
After finishing a letter, touch and hold it on the Letters tab and choose Access Control. This entry is for your own letters; drafts do not use this protection.
Only the author can add protection. If a password or security question is already set, you must pass that check first. Existing conditions cannot be changed or removed; you can only add conditions that have not been set. The letter’s text stays unchanged.
Are letters uploaded or synced to the cloud automatically?
No. In the current version, letter bodies, attachments, and .mbx content stay on this device by default. Signing in or finishing a letter does not upload them automatically. Export a copy yourself when you want to back up or send one.
Does analytics collect letter content?
No. Usage and diagnostics do not include letter text, titles, image or attachment files, or search content.
To opt out, turn off Usage & Diagnostics in Settings > Privacy & Data. This does not affect normal use.
How do I request an export or deletion of analytics data?
In Settings > Privacy & Data, fill in Notification Email, then choose Request Analytics Data Export or Request Analytics Data Deletion. Requests are processed manually, and you will be notified when complete.
This is for analytics data, not letter backups. One-step export or deletion of all app data is not yet available.
Can I recover a deleted letter?
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.
Will uninstalling the app delete my letters? How should I back them up?
Uninstalling the app normally removes locally stored letters. Whether a device backup can restore them depends on iOS and your backup settings; Inks cannot guarantee this.
Before uninstalling or replacing your device, touch and hold important letters you wrote in the Letters list, choose Share, and export MBX copies to cloud storage, Files, or another reliable location. For received letters, keep the original MBX file separately. Keeping the only copy inside Inks is not an extra backup.
Why does an encrypted letter show a default cover? Can I hide its real cover?
A real cover needs Cache encrypted letter covers enabled and a thumbnail generated after unlocking the letter. Without a thumbnail, the list shows a default cover. A visible cover does not mean the text is unlocked; opening it still requires verification.
To keep previously unlocked covers out of view in the list, go to Settings > Storage & Data > Cache Management, turn off Cache encrypted letter covers, then tap Clear encrypted cover cache.
Does Inks scan my entire photo library when I choose an image?
No. Inks processes only the images you actively choose through the system picker for a profile photo, custom resource, or letter decoration. It does not browse or analyze your full library in the background.
What is the difference between App Lock, Hidden Space, and letter protection?
App Lock protects entry to Inks. Enable the free App Lock option in Settings > Privacy & Data. After one minute or longer in the background, returning requires Face ID, Touch ID, or your device passcode.
Hidden Space keeps selected letters out of the main list and requires Lifetime or an active Inks Pass. Touch and hold a letter and choose Hide; touch and hold the Letters tab and verify to view it.
Letter protection stays with the letter itself. Whole-letter passwords and security questions are free; time, location, page, and region protection require Lifetime or an active Inks Pass.
Does Inks store Face ID or Touch ID data?
No. Biometric verification is handled locally by iOS. Inks receives only a success or failure result and cannot read, store, or upload your face or fingerprint source data.
Can I still read my letters years later if Inks is no longer maintained?
Yes. As long as you keep an intact export, you will still have a way to read it even if Inks is no longer maintained. An .mbx file keeps the letter body, writing process, attachments, and resources needed for reading together in one file; Inks also already supports image, PDF, video, and Live Photo exports.
We will continue to support .mbx files that Inks has already created. Even if Inks is no longer maintained, we will provide a standalone reader that can be downloaded and used offline so core content—including text, images, and handwriting—remains viewable.
Password-protected letters will still require the original password, processed only on your device; neither the file nor the password will be uploaded for this purpose. This commitment protects long-term readability, but it cannot recover the only copy after device damage, accidental deletion, or app removal.