toolate

The feed and its six shapes

The feed is the same posts in six shapes, in a row: Front page, Everything, Full screen, Photos, Timeline, Compact.

On a phone: pinch in with two fingers for the next shape, pinch out for the one before. The dots at the top right show where you are; a tap on them also moves on.
On a computer: pick a shape by name at the top of the feed, press 1 to 6, or pinch on a trackpad.
Front page gives the most room to the posts that matter most right now. Everything shows every post as a small square. Tap any post to open it full screen.

Asking the AI

The box at the bottom asks the AI about the post in front of you. In the shapes that show many posts at once, it asks about all of them together.

The face next to the box shows what the AI read in the post, with a few questions ready to ask. On a computer the panel beside the post shows its comments; the face, or a question, brings the AI there, and the next post brings the comments back.
It answers only from the post and the comments under it. If the answer is not there, it says the post does not say.
You can choose which AI model answers, in the box on a computer or in Settings. Some models read only words, some also photos, some also clips with their sound.
Each person gets 200 AI answers a day. The count starts again at midnight, UTC.

Conversations with the AI

Everything you ask is kept as a conversation, listed in the menu under Conversations (on a computer, in the sidebar on the left). Open one to read it again and to go on with it.

About a post: each post you ask about has one conversation, named after your first question. Ask about the same post again, under the post or in the conversation, and it goes on from there: the AI knows what you asked before. The line at its top leads to the post.
New chat starts a conversation that is not about a post. Ask anything. There the AI answers from what it knows: it cannot look things up on the web, it cannot see photos, and it can be wrong.
Conversations are kept in your account, so your phone and your computer show the same list. Only you can open them.
To delete one, open it and choose Delete conversation in its menu. Settings, Your AI deletes all of them. Deleting a post removes the conversation about it.

Taking a photo

On a phone, press the plus: the camera opens. Tap the round button for a photo, or hold it for a clip of up to 15 seconds. Write, at the top, is for a post of only words. On a computer the plus opens the question first; Take a photo is there.
Swipe sideways on the picture, or tap a name under it, to try a filter before you shoot. The small buttons flip to the other camera or pick something you already have.
After the shot you do nothing. The picture fills the screen, the AI looks at it, and the post writes itself on top: the words, a title, the type the title is set in, and a filter. Press Post and it is out.
The round buttons beside the words change how it looks. The star gives the AI's next way of doing the whole thing (there are three); the two under it step to the next filter and the next type for the title, and each says what it chose. You can also tap the title or the words and type your own.
The AI also suggests up to three hashtags under the words. Tap one to leave it out; the rest go out with the post.
For a photo the AI may also pick a sound: a quiet background mood (Calm, Bright, Dreamy, Lo-fi or Tense) that toolate makes itself, not a song. The sound button under the words plays the next one, or turns it off. People hear it when the post fills their screen and their sound is on.
A place is only added by itself when the picture shows it, such as a sign or a landmark. Otherwise a button offers your city; it goes on the post only if you tap it, and then stays on for your next posts on that device until you tap it off.
The first time, your browser asks whether toolate may use the camera, and the microphone when you first hold for a clip. If you say no, toolate offers your phone's own camera or your library instead, and from then on the plus opens the question rather than the camera.

Making a post

Press the plus (on a phone, then Write). Give your agent an idea, a few words, a photo or a clip, and it writes a draft.
Change the draft by talking: say what to change, or tap Shorter, Funnier or Bolder (over a photo they show when you tap the box). You can also type over it yourself.
Say “post it” or press Post. Nothing is published before that. Then you see it as a card with a check: See it goes to the feed, New post starts another.
To change a post after it is out, open its menu (the three dots) and choose Edit. You can change the words, the title, the filter, the sound and the place; the photo or clip itself stays. The post then says “edited”.
Type # and a word (like #sunset) anywhere in a post to make a hashtag. Tap a hashtag on any post to see every post that has it.
Photos: JPG, PNG, WebP or GIF. Clips: MP4, WebM or MOV. Up to 50 MB each. A post holds up to 500 characters.
Each person can keep up to 300 photos and clips, or 1 GB. Deleting a post frees its room.

People

Tap a name on any post to see that person and follow them. Their posts then show under Following.
On a profile, tap Followers or Following to see who they are. A post’s menu (the three dots) shows who liked it.
Like, comment and save from each post. Saved posts are only for you.
Under a post you can like a comment (the small heart) and reply to it. Replies sit under the comment they answer.
Type @ and someone’s handle (like @sam) in a post or a comment to mention them. They are told, and the name opens their profile. While you type it in a comment, the people it could be are offered.
Repost someone’s post from its menu (the three dots). It then also shows on your profile and to the people who follow you, still as theirs, marked “Reposted by” you. They are told. Undo it from the same menu.
To write to someone privately, open their profile and tap the paper plane. Your conversations are under Messages in the menu, with a number when something new came in. Tap a message you sent to delete it for both of you. Someone you blocked, or who blocked you, cannot message you.
The menu on a post (the three dots) shares it. Anyone you send the link to can see that post, even without an account.
When someone likes, comments on or reposts your post, replies to or likes your comment, mentions you, or follows you, a dot shows on the menu.

Inviting friends

toolate is invite only for now. Your own invite link is under Invite a friend, in the menu and in Settings.
Send the link to a friend and they can create an account. A post you share carries your invite too, so the join button on it just works.
You can bring in up to 20 people.

Blocking and reporting

Block someone from their profile or from the menu on one of their posts. Neither of you sees the other’s posts or comments any more, and neither can follow the other. They are not told. Undo it in Settings, Account, under the people you blocked.
Report a post or a person from the same menus, and a comment with Report under it. It goes to the person who runs toolate, who can remove it. The person you report is not told who did.
Send feedback is in your account menu: what works, what does not, what is missing.

Search and keys

Search finds posts by their words and by what the AI read in their photos and clips, and people by name.
On a computer: Ctrl K (or Cmd K) opens search, the arrow keys or J and K move between posts, / goes to the AI box, N starts a post, Esc closes what is open.
Your phone’s Back button (or the browser’s) closes whatever is open and takes you to where you were. The address always says where you are, so you can reload it or send it to yourself.

Put toolate on your home screen

iPhone: open toolate in Safari, press Share, then Add to Home Screen.
Android: open it in Chrome, press the three dots, then Add to Home screen or Install app.

It then opens full screen, like any other app.

Your account

Settings holds your profile, your AI model, whether clips start with sound, your invite link, and your account.
Your recovery code is the way back in if you forget your password. toolate has no email to send you a new one. You are shown the code once when you join; keep it somewhere safe. Settings, Account makes a new one (the old one then stops working).
Forgot your password? On the sign-in page press Forgot password, then give your email, your recovery code and a new password.
Change your password in Settings, Account.
Delete account removes your account with every post, photo, clip, comment and like you made. It cannot be undone.

Something else

Write to us from the About page. The rules say what is not allowed, and Privacy says what is stored.

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