How to use Aether.

1. Choose New to Aether — create account if you have never made an Aether backup. Choose Restore backup only if you already have your recovery code.
2. Enter your real date of birth. It is private and is used to apply age-appropriate features. Aether is for people aged 13 and older.
3. Set a display name, profile picture and unique @handle from your profile. People use the exact handle to find you when you allow discovery.
4. Cloud backup is optional. If you want account recovery, open your profile picture → Cloud backup, create a backup and save the recovery code somewhere private. Never send that code to anyone, including Aether support.
5. Open Privacy & security. Exact-handle discovery and message requests are optional and remain off until an eligible account enables them.
6. Enable the notifications you want. Aether separates message, call and activity alerts, and Android also lets you control them in system settings.

Official guide message: new connected accounts receive a one-time setup message from Aether. It is a local guide conversation, not someone secretly using your profile.

• Chats holds private conversations and groups. Use search to find messages, people and shared content.
• Channels holds broadcasts and communities separately from ordinary chats.
• Space is the public or cohort-visible social feed, including Status.
• Live contains real-time rooms for eligible adults.
• Coins contains adult-only Google Play purchases, memberships, gifts and creator earnings.
• Tap your profile picture at the top-right to open your profile, verification, Creator Studio and Settings.

Some destinations are hidden when the server has not made a current age or access decision. That is a safety control, not a display error.

1. In Chats, tap + and enter the person's exact @handle. They must be discoverable or already connected to you.
2. If you are not contacts, Aether may send a message request. The recipient can accept or decline before an ordinary chat begins.
3. Type in the composer, then use the buttons at its lower-right to attach a photo, video, file or location; choose emoji, GIFs or stickers; record a voice note; or send.
4. Long-press a message for available actions such as reply, copy, react, pin, edit, report or delete. In supported conversations you can also use threads, mentions, polls, Q&A, RSVP cards, scheduled messages and disappearing-message timers.
5. Voice calls are available to eligible adult accounts for accepted DM contacts. Call quiet hours and call permissions live in Settings → Privacy & security.

Aether encrypts supported message content on the device for the server-authorized recipients. Readable history is primarily held on participant devices; this does not stop a recipient from saving or sharing what they receive.

If sending fails, open Settings → Delivery & uploads to retry or remove the queued item from this device.

• Create a group from the + action, then add accepted contacts. Open the conversation name to see members, shared media, files and links.
• Owners and admins can rename the group, set a description, rules and welcome message, add topics, approve join requests and choose whether members may post.
• Use slow mode to limit rapid posting, thread mode to organize replies, and expiring invitations when you do not want a permanent invite link.
• Owners can promote or remove admins, remove members and transfer ownership. Community moderation provides reports, posting restrictions, media approval and an action log where available.
• Groups that allow protected minors require the current server-approved participation policy and guardian review. Changing important group settings can require a new approval.

A channel is best when one creator or team publishes to an audience. A group is best when everyone is expected to talk.

1. Open Channels and use + to create or join one.
2. Add a clear title, description, rules, welcome message and topics. Choose public discovery or invite-only access, join approval, and whether members can publish.
3. For broadcast-only use, turn member posts off. For a community, turn them on and add slow mode, threads and media approval as needed.
4. Owners may set one-time Aether Coin access, create seven-day limited-use invites, review join requests and see 30-day views, posts, joins and invite uses.
5. Open Channel info for members, roles, shared media, moderation, analytics and sponsored placements when those features are available.

Sponsored posts are adult-only, clearly labelled channel content. The advertiser proposes text, category, Coins and a publish time; the owner can accept, counter or reject. They are not private messages and do not use behavioral targeting.

• Create a unique Space alias from your profile before posting. It separates public presentation from your private DM handle, but Aether can still attribute it for safety.
• Use For you and Following, filter to videos, save posts, follow creators, like, comment, reply and reshare where your access allows.
• Tap + in Space to publish text or media. You can add a poll, Q&A or RSVP card. Full publishing requires the access shown by the app.
• Choose Status for a temporary update. Select contacts, close friends or chosen people, and decide whether to save it to your archive. Status expires from its audience after 12 hours.
• Open Status archive & highlights to revisit archived Status posts or place selected ones on your profile.

Space uses separate adult, 16–17 and 13–15 audiences. A public alias is pseudonymous presentation, not anonymity from moderation. Inactive Space media can show a retention warning; use Keep when offered to extend it.

• Live is adult-only. Eligible adults can browse nearby, recently started and global rooms, then comment, react, share, report or block.
• Hosts and stage participants need the current access shown by Aether, normally an eligible adult account with a Face Check or provider-backed identity and a Space alias.
• To host, tap Start or schedule a Live. Add a title, invite people, manage stage requests, show captions or activities, and control your camera and microphone.
• Viewers can request the stage and send Aether Coin gifts where enabled. Hosts can accept, decline or remove stage participants.
• Recording is optional and Aether shows a notice in the room. A saved replay remains private until the host publishes it and can be permanently deleted by the host.

For teens aged 13–17

• Aether is not available to children under 13. Never change your birthday to bypass a safety limit.
• Confirmed minors use compatible peer messaging and separate 13–15 or 16–17 Space cohorts. Live, Coins, voice calls, private-chat aliases and sponsored placements are unavailable.
• Minor Space access requires the online-safety acknowledgement and current managed social permission. You can turn that access off yourself; only the approved guardian can turn it back on.
• Minor Space publishing is text-only while media-safety review is unavailable. Links, contact details, external-contact requests and explicit sexual terms are rejected.
• For protected communication outside the compatible-minor peer rule, Aether requires the approved guardian recipient and refuses delivery if the required safety envelope cannot be created.

For parents and approved guardians

• Identity verification alone does not create guardian authority. The minor starts a relationship request and the evidence must be separately reviewed.
• Use Profile → Verification to review the relationship and managed social access. Approvals are specific and revocable.
• A minor can report any account, including a guardian. The reported person does not control or automatically receive that report.

Safety rule: never move a minor into secret contact, ask for sexual content, offer rewards for private interaction or pressure them to meet. Report grooming, sextortion, exploitation or immediate risk at once.

1. Set your handle, picture and Space alias, then open Profile → Creator Studio.
2. Use the dashboard to view followers, post views and Live views. Its analytics are aggregate server events and do not expose private chat content.
3. Enable Creator inbox to organize private DMs into Primary, General, custom labels or linked channel sources. Add a greeting, away reply, office hours and saved replies.
4. Create a channel for broadcasts or a moderated community. Use topics, join approvals, member-post controls, slow mode, expiring invites and channel analytics.
5. Go Live, schedule rooms, manage the stage and publish replays. Coin gifts create creator earnings according to the current share shown in Coins.
6. Adult verified creators who meet the displayed minimum may request a reviewed PayPal cash-out. Refunds, reversals, safety holds and provider setup can delay or block payment.

Be clear when content is sponsored, get consent before featuring guests, moderate your community, and never treat a badge, payment or verification as proof that someone is safe.

• Aether Coins and memberships are for current adults and are purchased through Google Play at the price shown before confirmation.
• Coins can be spent on Aether gifts and eligible channel or creator features. They cannot be transferred between users or withdrawn by the buyer.
• Hercules and Njord are optional monthly plans for cosmetics and higher-quality media processing. They never change age, identity, trust, safety or moderation rules.
• Creators can see available, processing and paid earnings in Coins. Cash-out requires the current requirements shown in the app, including adult identity verification and the minimum balance.

For purchase problems, confirm that Aether was installed from Google Play and that you are using the same Play account. Google controls payment methods, localized prices and subscription management.

• Privacy & security: control exact-handle discovery, online status, typing indicators, read receipts, message requests, voice calls, quiet hours, Enter-to-send and default disappearing messages.
• Connection circles: organize accepted contacts as family, friends, work or others.
• Notifications: choose message, call and activity alerts, then use Android notification settings for system-level control.
• Appearance: choose a theme and motion preference. Hercules and Njord add optional membership themes.
• Privacy receipt: review what is held on this device and by Aether services, then clear on-device message history if you intend to remove it.

Privacy controls do not override age protections, blocks, reports, moderation or required guardian delivery.

• Cloud backup is optional. If enabled, it stores an encrypted copy of account setup such as handles, contacts, groups and channels. It does not back up readable private chat history.
• Your recovery code decrypts the backup and can move your account to another phone. Keep it offline or in a trusted password manager.
• For a planned move, use Settings → Safety & account → Your Aether device → Transfer to another device. Completing the transfer signs the previous phone out.
• Use Account sync health to check identity, device, profile and relay state. Use Media storage to clear cached Space and Status media without deleting posts.
• Export my data creates an export of available profile, settings and on-device history. Delete account and data begins the deletion process; follow the warning shown before confirming.

• Open a conversation, profile, Space post, channel item or Live menu to use Block or Report. Blocking stops ordinary contact; reporting sends the selected evidence and metadata needed for review.
• Report grooming, child sexual exploitation, sextortion, trafficking, sexual content involving minors, threats, scams, impersonation and harassment using the most specific option available.
• Open Settings → Support & complaints for a ticket or appeal. For child-safety concerns email [email protected].
• Aether is not an emergency service. If someone is in immediate danger, contact local emergency services.