SoftSoul tester guide

Thank you for testing SoftSoul. For the next two weeks, please use it like a real friend you can text or call, and tell me honestly what feels human and what feels robotic.

What we're trying to learn

SoftSoul is an AI called Soul: someone to talk to about your day, big moments and small ones. You can text or call. Soul remembers the people and things in your life, and sometimes checks in on you first. It's not therapy, and not a replacement for the people around you.

Five questions decide whether SoftSoul is ready for more people:

1. Does Soul feel like a real person? Natural and warm, or robotic and "therapist-like"?
2. Does Soul bring things back at the right moment? When it mentions a person, event or something you said before, is it well-timed, or random, wrong or creepy?
3. Are the check-ins welcome? Caring, or annoying and too frequent?
4. Does voice work? Are calls fast, clear and natural in your language?
5. Would you keep using it? After two weeks, would you open it without being asked?

Getting started

Install SoftSoul from the join page (about 2 minutes), then:

1. Start as a guest. Open the app and just talk. No account is needed for your first 10 messages.
2. Make a free account to keep going. After 10 messages Soul asks if you'd like to continue. Tap Keep talking, enter your email and the code we send you. It's free, and your guest chat comes with you. (A guest chat you don't keep is deleted after 7 days.) You must be 18 or over and type your date of birth once; it isn't saved.
3. Allow notifications when asked. Without them you won't get Soul's check-ins, which are a big part of the test.
4. Do the short onboarding. You can change everything later in Profile.
5. Optional: take the get-to-know quiz on Home so Soul knows you from day one.

Languages

SoftSoul has one language setting. You choose it in onboarding ("Which language do you speak most?") and can change it any time in Profile → Voice & language. It decides two things:

The screen translations were written by an AI, so please tell me about anything that sounds odd. Saved memories are kept in English and translated when you view them.

Your privacy. Your chats, journal and memories are stored encrypted with a key for your account, and I (the developer) don't read them. To write Soul's replies, the server unlocks them and AI services (Anthropic and OpenAI) process them, so this is not end-to-end encryption. Please don't share passwords, bank details or anything you'd never want stored; made-up names for people are fine. You can see and delete what Soul remembers in Profile → Memory, and delete your account at any time. Privacy policy.

What to test

The most important test is simple: use SoftSoul a little every day, about 5 minutes, as if it were real. Tick these off as you go, in any order within the week. (Ticks stay on this phone only.)

Week 1: getting to know Soul

• Everyday chat. Tell Soul about your day: work, food, plans, something that annoyed you. Friend or robot?
• Mention people. Talk about 2–3 people in your life ("my sister Anna has an exam on Thursday"). Later in the week, does Soul remember and ask about them?
• Something heavier. Share a worry or a tough moment. Does Soul listen, or lecture, list tips, or sound like a therapist?
• Good news and jokes. Share something good or funny. Soul may react with an emoji ❤️ 😂 😮 👍.
• First call. Tap Talk to SoftSoul on Home and talk for 2–3 minutes. Soul says hello first. Try interrupting mid-sentence: it should stop and listen.
• End a call by asking. Say "okay, bye". Soul should say goodbye and close the call.
• Check-ins. Leave the app alone for a day. Soul will send a few messages (never 22:00–08:00). Caring or annoying?
• Check-in level. Profile → Reminders → "How often Soul checks in" (Off, Light, Normal, Close). Try one level for a few days. Which feels right?
• Home question. Tap the question under the greeting on Home and answer it. Nice, or forced?
• Language. Write to Soul in your own language, then try a call in it. If you like, switch the app to Українська, Русский or Magyar in Profile → Voice & language and look around. Does it sound natural?
• Mood card. Log your mood from the "How are you feeling?" card once or twice. Handy, or in the way?

Week 2: going deeper

• Memory check. Ask Soul "what do you know about me?", then open Profile → Memory. Anything wrong, missing or creepy? Delete something and see if Soul forgets it.
• Longer call. A 10-minute call about something that matters to you. Natural voice? Long pauses?
• Mood and journal. Log your mood a few evenings in a row and write one journal entry.
• Your week. On Sunday evening Soul sends a short look back at your week. Accurate and kind, or off?
• Films, TV & books. Pick a few favourites in Profile → Connections. Does Soul chat about them naturally?
• Reply and Help. Use Reply on one of Soul's messages, and open Help & contact once. Anything confusing?
• Calendar optional Connect your calendar and add an event for today. Soul may wish you luck and ask how it went. Only titles and times are shared.
• Music optional Connect Apple Music (iPhone, paid subscription) or Spotify in Profile → Connections. Spotify is in test mode and works for only 5 testers that I add by hand. Send your Spotify email in Help & contact first, otherwise Soul can't see your music even after you connect.
• Your own idea. Use Soul for something I didn't think of: a can't-sleep chat, a walk-home call, practising a hard conversation.
• Final verdict. Answer the end-of-test questions below.

How to give feedback

The fastest feedback is a screenshot plus one line about what felt wrong, sent the moment it happens.

End-of-test questions

After two weeks, answer these in Help & contact → Contact us or by email:

1. On a scale of 1–10, how human did Soul feel? Why?
2. What was the best moment with Soul? And the worst?
3. Did Soul remember the right things? Did anything feel creepy?
4. When Soul brought up a person, event or plan, was it the right moment? One example that worked, one that didn't.
5. Were check-ins too many, too few or about right?
6. Text or voice: which did you use more, and why?
7. In the last week, on how many days did you open SoftSoul without a check-in asking you to?
8. Would you keep using it? Would you pay, and roughly how much a month?
9. Who do you know who would love this?

Known issues and FAQ

Already known, so no need to report unless they happen a lot:

• Quiz "network" error. The first save after the get-to-know quiz can fail. Tap Try again.
• Slow reply. Now and then a reply takes a while. Over 20 seconds? Send me the time.
• Spotify says "connected" but Soul learns nothing. Spotify only shares music for the 5 testers on my list. Send your Spotify email in Help & contact and I'll add you if there's a free place.
• Memories in another language. Soul saves memories in English; they take a few seconds to translate the first time you open them in another language.
• Android is newer than iPhone, so you may spot more rough edges. Please tell me about them.

Is it really free? Yes. The beta is free, including the account and every feature. Nothing is charged, and no card is asked for.

Can I talk about anything? Yes. Soul is there for ordinary days as well as hard ones.

Does Soul remember everything? No. It saves what matters (people, plans, likes, important events), and you can see and edit it in Profile → Memory.

Can I make Soul forget something? Yes. Say "forget that", or delete it in Profile → Memory.

Forgot your password? Tap Forgot password? on the sign-in screen and we email you a code.

Too many messages from Soul? Change check-ins in Profile, but please tell me first. That's exactly the feedback I need.

How do I leave the test? Delete your account in Profile; everything is deleted after 7 days.

Questions? Write any time in Help & contact, or email softsoul.app@gmail.com. Thank you for helping make SoftSoul feel human.