Inks User Manual

Inks is a private writing app that presents your records as letters. This manual covers writing, replay, sharing, privacy, and saving your files for reference whenever you need it.

1. Starting a letter

Inks is not a social network or a traditional email app. You do not need to choose a recipient or enter an email address.

Tap “Write” on the Letters page to start writing directly. To choose stationery first, touch and hold “Write” to start a Full Letter, then add an envelope, effects, and music after writing. Both paths are always available, so choose whichever approach suits you.

2. Saving and editing

Your writing is saved automatically as a draft. Once sealed, the completed letter is saved on your device.

• Letter text: The text cannot be edited once the letter is sealed.
• Postscript and addendum: While writing, you can turn the paper over to leave a short postscript on the back. After sealing, you can add a time-stamped addendum in the letter details without changing the original text.
• Reply: You can write a new letter in response to an existing one. Once completed, the two letters are linked in the letter graph. A reply is not sent to anyone automatically.

3. Reading and replay

When you reopen a letter, you see the complete final text first. To revisit how it was written, tap “Replay”. You can pause, resume, or drag the progress bar.

Replay progress is not kept after you exit the letter. The next time you open it, you will see the final text first again.

4. Exporting and sharing

Completing a letter does not send it. You decide whether to export or share. Touch and hold a letter you wrote in the list, or use the share option while reading it.

• MBX file: Keeps the text, writing process, images, doodles, and resources together. Import it into Inks to view it; the completed text cannot be edited.
• Images / PDF: Save the content as static files for viewing or forwarding.
• Video / Live Photo: Share the writing process as playable media. These formats cannot be imported back into Inks as letters.

If a letter has only a whole-letter password or security question, you need to pass that verification before sharing. Letters with time or location conditions, or access rules for individual pages or regions, can only be exported as MBX files. This prevents images or videos from revealing protected content in advance.

Sharing is available only to the letter’s author. Receiving someone else’s letter does not give you permission to share it again through Inks. Sharing does not automatically upload letter content to our servers.

5. App Lock, Hidden Space, and letter protection

These features protect different things:

• App Lock (Free): When enabled, returning to Inks after it has been in the background for one minute or longer requires Face ID, Touch ID, or your device passcode.
• Hidden Space (Lifetime or an active Inks Pass): Hide selected letters from the main list. Touch and hold the Letters tab at the bottom, then use Face ID or Touch ID to view Hidden Space.
• Whole-letter password or security question (Free): Set a password or security question for an entire letter.
• Time, location, page, or region protection (Lifetime or an active Inks Pass): Set time or location conditions, or protect individual pages or regions within a letter.

6. Accounts and plans

You can try writing your first letter without signing in. Creating further letters requires signing in. Your account manages profile information and purchase access; signing in does not automatically back up letters to the cloud. You can still read letters already on your device.

Core writing, saving, and reading are free. Lifetime is a one-time purchase, while Inks Pass is a monthly or annual subscription. An active Inks Pass currently provides the same features and resource access as Lifetime, including Hidden Space, full statistics, additional styles, resource uploads, and saving reusable resources from imported letters to your library.

You do not need to save an MBX file’s resources to your library to view them within the letter. Current prices and plan details are shown in the app and the App Store.

7. Saving your data and privacy

Letter content is stored on your device by default. Signing in or syncing profile information does not back up letter text, attachments, or MBX files to the cloud.

Export important letters regularly and keep copies in cloud storage or on a drive you trust. Uninstalling the app, device damage, or accidental deletion may cause content stored only on your device to be lost. Do not rely solely on a system backup you have not confirmed was successful.

When you add photos, the system photo picker accesses only the images you select, without scanning your library. Accounts, purchases, resource downloads, and public profile updates involve network connections. Usage analytics require your consent, do not include letter text, and can be turned off in Settings. See the Privacy Policy for details.

8. Long-term availability

An MBX file keeps the letter text, writing process, images, doodles, and resources used together. If a stationery design is later removed from our library, the content saved in your file is unaffected. We will continue to support MBX files that Inks has already created.

If we can no longer maintain Inks due to exceptional circumstances, we will provide a standalone reader that can be downloaded and used offline, so you can continue to view at least the text, images, and handwriting. Password-protected letters will still require the original password to unlock on your device. Neither the file nor the password will be uploaded for this purpose.

This safeguard cannot recover a lost file if no copy remains. Keep your own backups of important letters. For the design choices behind Inks, see Our Philosophy.

9. Getting help

Start with Help if you run into a problem. If it remains unresolved, contact us through Support & Feedback.