The preview is a limited introduction, not a continuing free plan
Try Ember briefly
50 messages, or 15 in some regions. Regenerate, Continue and message suggestions each count as half a message.
More features, still Ember
A payment method is required, and the trial renews as a paid plan unless cancelled. On web, phone verification is required; the web trial is unavailable in some regions.
Read-only without a plan
Your data remains available to read, play back, export or delete. Sending, regenerating, calls and proactive messages stop.
Source: current preview, trial and read-only rules. Starting a trial or subscription permanently ends the remaining preview.
I would use the preview to judge the character setup and conversation style, then stop before the payment step to decide whether an ongoing bill fits the habit. A few good exchanges cannot establish months of continuity.
Check the model on each companion before comparing replies
Open Kin Settings → Models → LLM Model. Select Polaris directly if you have paid access and want to evaluate it. Record the model name alongside the companion’s Personality, flair and settings; switching several things at once makes a better reply hard to explain. Current model and personality controls.
The September Polaris announcement originally said it became Latest. Its October correction says Latest now uses Ember. An old release paragraph or a model picker shown during the trial is an unreliable basis for a Polaris review.
Fix the stored detail before paying for more memory
Kindroid combines written personality, recent chat, Cascaded Memory and retrievable memories. A larger memory allowance is not the first fix for contradictory notes. Start with the symptom rather than an upgrade.
Wrong fact keeps returningInspect the notes that can reintroduce it
Check Kin Settings → Personality → Personality (formerly Backstory) and Key Memories first. Correct contradictions there. These are explicit setup fields. Personality controls.
Inspect editable Learned Context too. For a particular reply, tap it → Long term memory to see recalled memories and journals. Deprioritize reduces a memory’s influence; it does not delete it. Memory controls.
The scene or reply style is stuckUse Chat Break without assuming a full reset
Tap the latest AI reply → Chat Break and write a fresh greeting. It restarts recent context while keeping personality, journals and long-term memory. Cascaded Memory is kept by default. The separate Reset Cascaded Memory option wipes that layer, not every stored fact. Chat Break behavior; Cascaded Memory.
Record whether Repetition Guard is on during a model comparison. Under Profile → Preferences → Chat & content, it is off by default and can retry repeated wording once with a backup model. It does not catch the same idea rephrased, and does not run on Continue, Suggest or Rooms. Repetition Guard limits.
For a small correction, try editing your latest message first, then Regenerate or Suggest. Editing alone does not produce a new AI reply. Edit behavior.
A one-off story should stay separateOne memory switch does not isolate the conversation
Memory formation and Memory recall are separate General settings. Turning recall off still allows journals to be recalled; Learned Context has its own switch. These controls are not a privacy or deletion mode. Independent memory switches.
For a separate fictional story, I would use a separate character and review its settings first. Global journals and persona backstory can still supply shared information across characters, so that choice alone does not isolate the story.
Give the companion one fact you can actually inspect
For a fictional adult companion, put “Mara packs green tea for train trips” in Key Memories. Discuss a different subject, then ask what Mara would pack for a rail journey. Inspect the stored fields and the reply’s memory panel before changing anything.
A correct answer here tests use of supplied setup, not spontaneous long-term learning. If the answer is wrong, check for contradictory notes and edit only inaccurate entries, then try again with the same model. A wrong reply alone does not establish insufficient memory capacity. Do not treat one successful reply as a reliability score.
For an event-specific journal, choose a distinctive trigger such as “Mara’s coastal train trip,” rather than a broad word such as “travel.” Journal keyphrases match your messages, not the AI’s replies. Generic triggers can pull irrelevant entries into limited recall slots. Journal triggering and limits.
A companion that remembers in text can behave differently on a call
Long-term memory recall is currently paused during voice calls. Backstory, Key Memories and journals still apply. Under Calling, Shared chat history determines whether the call continues the text conversation or starts with separate recent history. A call can still form long-term memories when shared history is off, if memory formation is enabled for that Kin. Memory in voice calls.
If voice is your main reason to subscribe, evaluate an ordinary conversation in voice too. A good text exchange does not settle that decision. Answering an incoming proactive call uses audio credits; a proactive voice note is free. Voice credit rules.
Check every renewal before adding memory or leaving
Exact prices depend on country and platform; use your checkout. Ultra adds to Standard; MAX requires both. They renew monthly as separate subscriptions. Cancelling Ultra can leave a MAX charge running, and Standard expiring makes the account read-only even with add-ons active. Add-on dependencies.
For web purchases, open Profile → Billing and manage Standard, Ultra and MAX separately. App-store purchases are managed through that store. Cancellation controls. Deleting the account does not cancel billing. Deletion FAQ.
Before leaving, find Profile → Preferences → Account privacy → Export data. It needs a verified account email and is available once every 30 days. Download the emailed file within seven days. Its JSONL contains media links, not the media files themselves; download wanted photos and videos separately. Export format and timing.