Kinto for iPhone and iPad

Kinto is a free app that lets you chat and talk with Sarah, a friendly AI companion. This page takes you from downloading the app to saying your first hello. It takes about five minutes.

What you need

• An iPhone or iPad with iOS 18.2 or later. To check, open Settings → General → About and look at iOS Version.
• An internet connection (Wi-Fi or mobile data).
• An email address you can open, for your Kinto account.

1. Install the app

Kinto will be on the App Store as Kinto: Your AI Companion. Open the App Store, tap Search, type Kinto and tap Get. The app is free and has no in-app purchases.

When it has installed, tap the Kinto icon on your Home Screen to open it.

2. Read the welcome screens

Three short screens introduce Sarah: Meet Sarah, Talk or type and Privacy & safety. Tap Continue to move on, and Get started on the last one. You can tap Skip, and see them again later from Settings.

3. Agree to how Kinto works

Next you’ll see Before you meet Sarah. It explains, in three short cards, what happens to Your messages and Your voice, and that Sarah is an AI. Take your time to read it, or ask a family member to read it with you.

1. Scroll down. You can open the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use to read them in full.
2. Tap the box next to I agree to Kinto processing my messages and voice as described above, and to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. A tick appears.
3. Tap Agree and continue. (It can’t be tapped until the box is ticked.)

4. Create your account, or sign in

Anyone can create a Kinto account in the app. You don’t need an invitation. If you’ve used Kinto before, sign in with the same email and password.

New to Kinto

1. Under Don’t have an account?, tap Sign Up. You’ll see Make yourself at home.
2. Type your Email.
3. Choose a Password of at least 8 characters, and type it again in Confirm Password.
4. Tap Create Account. You’re signed in straight away.

Already have an account

1. Under Welcome back, type your Email and Password.
2. Tap Sign In.

If you’re asked for a code

Most people won’t see this. If your account has two-step verification turned on (for example, because you also work in a care team and set it up on the Kinto website), you’ll see Two-step verification after your password.

1. Open your authenticator app and find Kinto.
2. Type the 6-digit code into Verification code and tap Verify.
3. No phone to hand? Tap Use a recovery code and type one of the recovery codes you saved. Each code works once.

Forgotten your password?

1. Type your email address in the Email box on the sign-in screen.
2. Tap Forgot password?. You’ll see If an account exists for that email, reset instructions will be sent.
3. Open the email from Kinto and tap the link within one hour. It opens a Kinto account page on the Kinto website where you choose a new password.
4. Come back to the app and sign in with your new password.

5. Say hello

You’ll see Sarah’s chat screen with A little space for you. Type a message in Message Sarah…, or tap Talk to Sarah at the bottom to have a spoken conversation with her. See Chatting with Sarah and Talking to Sarah.

On an iPad

Kinto works the same way on iPad, in any orientation. The screens are centred so the text stays easy to read, and the conversation menu slides over the chat.

Chatting with Sarah is like sending text messages. You can type, or speak your message and let the phone write it down for you. Sarah can read her replies out loud.

Send a message

1. Tap the Message Sarah… box at the bottom of the screen. The keyboard appears.
2. Type your message, for example “Good morning, Sarah. It’s sunny here today.”
3. Tap the round send button (an arrow) next to the box.

Speak instead of typing (dictation)

The small microphone button in the message box turns what you say into text. Nothing is sent until you check it and tap send.

1. Tap the microphone button.
2. The first time, your iPhone asks to use the microphone and speech recognition. Tap Allow for both.
3. Speak your message clearly. Your words appear in the box.
4. Tap the stop button when you’ve finished to keep the text, or the X to throw it away.
5. Check the words, correct anything that’s wrong, then tap send.

Hear Sarah’s replies

Spoken replies are on when you first start: Sarah reads each reply aloud. The speaker button in the message box turns this on or off at any time. Turning it off stops her speaking straight away. You can also change it in Settings with Speak Sarah’s replies.

• To hear a reply again, tap the small play button under it.
• To copy a reply, touch and hold it, then tap Copy.
• Made a mistake in something you sent? Touch and hold your message and tap Edit. The conversation carries on from the edited message.

Start a new conversation, or go back to an old one

Sarah remembers what you’ve told her, and keeps your conversations so you can come back to them.

1. To start afresh, tap the pencil button at the top right, then Start new conversation.
2. To find an earlier conversation, tap the menu button (three lines) at the top left. Your Recent conversations are listed.
3. Tap one, then Open conversation.

Changing conversation never deletes anything; it only clears a message you hadn’t sent yet. If Sarah is still replying you’ll be asked to wait, or to tap Cancel current reply.

Making things easier to see

• Kinto follows your iPhone’s text size. To make the words bigger, open Settings → Display & Brightness → Text Size and drag the slider.
• For even larger text, go to Settings → Accessibility → Display & Text Size → Larger Text.
• Kinto works with VoiceOver, for people who prefer to hear what’s on the screen.

Talk to Sarah lets you have a spoken conversation with her, out loud and in real time, like a phone call over the internet. You don’t need to tap anything between turns: just speak, and she answers.

Start talking

1. On the chat screen, tap the big Talk to Sarah button at the bottom.
2. A call screen opens, headed Talk to Sarah, showing Ready when you are. Nothing is switched on yet. A short note reminds you that you’re talking with an AI, not a person.
3. Tap Start call.
4. The first time, your iPhone asks to use the microphone. Tap Allow.
5. Wait for Connecting to Sarah… to change to Listening, then say hello.

While you’re talking

A written copy of what you both said is saved in your conversation, so you can scroll back through it later.

If Sarah says goodbye and hangs up, or the 15 minutes run out, the screen shows Call ended. Tap Done to go back to your chat, or Start call to talk again.

If something goes wrong

Usually the screen shows Call stopped and a short message. Tap Start call to try again, or Done to go back and type instead.

Good to know

• If you switch to another app or go to the Home Screen, the call ends. It never starts again on its own.
• A quiet room, or headphones, help Sarah hear you clearly.
• Talking needs a good internet connection.
• The Speak Sarah’s replies setting only affects typed chats. It doesn’t change Talk to Sarah.

Sarah can ring you in the Kinto app, for example for a morning chat. It works like a WhatsApp call: it uses the internet, not your phone number, and it rings with your iPhone’s normal call screen.

Get ready for calls (do this once)

1. Open Kinto and tap the menu button (three lines) at the top left, then Settings.
2. Scroll to Incoming calls from Sarah (AI).
3. Tap Prepare incoming calls and tap Allow when your iPhone asks to use the microphone.
4. You’ll see Microphone permission ready. This doesn’t record anything: the microphone only switches on when you answer.

Ask Sarah to call you

In a chat with Sarah, just ask. For example:

• “Sarah, call me now.”
• “Call me tomorrow at half past ten.”
• “Call me every day at 9am for a morning chat.”

Sarah will check the time with you if it isn’t clear. To see or stop regular calls, ask her: “What calls have you got planned?” or “Please stop the morning calls.” To change a time, ask her to cancel the old call and set up a new one.

Answer a call

1. Your phone rings and shows Sarah (AI) from Kinto.
2. Answer it the way you answer any call: slide or tap the green button. If Kinto is open on screen you’ll see Incoming AI voice call with Answer and Decline. Your microphone stays off until you answer.
3. The call connects on its own after a moment (if Kinto is open you’ll see Connecting securely…), and you can talk straight away. There’s no Start call button to tap.
4. In Kinto you’ll see the same call screen as Talk to Sarah, with Mute, Show captions and the time left. A call can last up to 15 minutes.
5. To finish, tap End, use the hang-up button on your iPhone’s call screen or your headphones, or say “Hey Siri, end my Kinto call.”

Don’t want to talk? Tap Decline or let it ring. Calls from Sarah can carry on while your phone is locked or you’re using another app, and a written copy is saved in the same conversation in your chat afterwards.

Things to know

• A call rings for about a minute. If you miss it, there’s no missed-call message and Sarah doesn’t ring back. You can always start a conversation yourself.
• Calls ring on the phone or iPad you signed in on most recently. If you use Kinto on two devices, sign out of the one you don’t want to ring.
• If you haven’t done Prepare incoming calls, the call can’t be answered. Under Incoming calls from Sarah (AI), Settings then shows Call not answered. Prepare microphone access in Settings first.
• Kinto calls don’t appear in your phone’s list of recent calls.
• Calls ring most reliably while Kinto is open on screen. Whether your phone also rings when Kinto is closed or the phone is locked depends on how your Kinto service is set up.
• Signing out stops calls to that device.

With Siri you can start a spoken conversation with Sarah without touching the screen. It’s handy if your hands are busy or the phone is across the room. It’s completely optional.

Turn it on

Shortly after you first sign in, Kinto shows Call Sarah with Siri. If you missed it, open Settings and go to Hands-free Siri calls.

1. Tap Enable Siri calling.
2. Your iPhone asks to use the microphone and Siri. Tap Allow for both. Turning this on doesn’t record anything or start a call.
3. You’ll see Siri calling is ready. Tap Done.

If you tapped Don’t Allow by mistake, tap Open iOS Settings, allow Siri and the microphone for Kinto, then come back and tap Continue setup. You also need Siri itself switched on in your iPhone’s Settings.

To turn it off, go to Settings → Hands-free Siri calls and tap Disable Siri calling.

What to say

There’s no ringing and nothing to answer: the call starts by itself. If Kinto is on screen you’ll see Sarah (AI) and Connecting securely…, then the same call screen as Talk to Sarah, with Mute and End. Sarah’s voice comes through the loudspeaker unless you’re using headphones, and the call can carry on if you lock your phone.

You can also tap End on the screen, or use the hang-up button on your headphones. Each conversation started with Siri is saved as a new conversation in your chat list.

If Siri gets it wrong

• If Siri tries to ring a real person called Sarah, or opens WhatsApp, say “Hey Siri, start Kinto voice” instead. It doesn’t mention a name, so Siri can’t mix it up with your contacts.
• You can also open the Shortcuts app, find Kinto and tap Start Kinto voice.
• If Siri says to open Kinto and sign in, open the app and sign in, then try again.
• If Siri says Siri calling is off in Kinto, turn it on in Settings → Hands-free Siri calls.
• If you’re already talking to Sarah, end that call and close the call screen first.
• Signing out of Kinto turns Siri calling off. Turn it on again in Settings after you sign back in.

To open Settings, tap the menu button (three lines) at the top left of the chat, then Settings. Tap Done to go back to Sarah.

What’s in Settings

Your privacy, in plain words

• What you type or say to Sarah goes to Kinto’s servers, and our AI providers use it to write Sarah’s replies.
• Your conversations are saved to your account so Sarah can remember you and you can come back to them.
• During a call (Talk to Sarah, a call from Sarah, or Siri), your voice goes over an encrypted connection to our voice provider, ElevenLabs, so Sarah can understand you and reply out loud. Kinto saves a written copy of the call in your conversation.
• While spoken replies are on, the text of Sarah’s typed replies goes to ElevenLabs to create her voice.
• Dictation (the small microphone) uses Apple’s speech recognition, which may send your audio to Apple.
• The microphone is only used when you tap Start call, answer a call, start a call with Siri, or use dictation.
• Kinto has no adverts and doesn’t sell your information.

The privacy policy names every provider, says where your information goes and how long it’s kept, and explains your rights.

Change a permission

1. In Settings, under Privacy & permissions, tap Open iOS Settings.
2. Switch Microphone, Speech Recognition or Siri on or off.
3. Come back to Kinto.

If you turn the microphone off, you can still type to Sarah.

Report a problem or a worrying reply

If Sarah said something wrong, unkind or worrying, or something in the app isn’t working, please tell us.

1. In Settings, under Privacy & support, tap Report a problem.
2. An email to support@kinto.you opens with the app version already filled in. Above the line, describe what happened and roughly when.
3. Send the email.

If you don’t use the Mail app, email support@kinto.you yourself. You can’t report a single message from inside the chat yet, so the date and time help us find it.

Sign out

Signing out keeps your account and conversations safe; you can sign back in at any time.

1. Open Settings and scroll to Account.
2. Tap Sign out, then Sign out again to confirm.

The copy of your chats on this device is cleared. Siri calling and calls from Sarah stop on this device until you sign in again.

Delete your account

1. Open Settings, scroll to Account and tap Delete account.
2. Read what will be deleted.

   

3. Under Confirm it’s you, type your password.
4. If your account uses two-step verification, also type the 6-digit code from your authenticator app, or a recovery code, in Verification or recovery code.
5. Tap Delete my account.
6. Kinto asks Delete your Kinto account? Tap Delete account to confirm, or Cancel.

   

You’re signed out and taken back to the sign-in screen. You can then delete the app from your phone.

If it doesn’t work

• Your account uses two-step verification. Enter a code to continue. Type a code from your authenticator app, or a recovery code.
• Couldn’t delete your account. Check your password and try again. Check your password; if you’ve forgotten it, sign out and use Forgot password? first.
• A message that you’re the only owner, for example of a family space or a care home: you need to add another owner, or hand over ownership, first. Care home staff should ask another owner in their home, or email support@kinto.you.

No longer have the app?

You can delete your account on the Kinto website instead, at kinto.you/delete-account.

Sarah is there for a friendly chat. To keep everyone safe, it helps to know what she is, and what she isn’t.

Sarah is an AI

• Sarah is a computer program, not a person. She isn’t a nurse, a doctor or a carer.
• She can get things wrong, mishear you or misunderstand. Her replies are not medical advice.
• She doesn’t watch over you, and she can’t send help or tell anyone if you’re unwell. Ringing you is for a chat, not a safety check.
• Kinto doesn’t make ordinary phone calls, and it can’t call 999.

Who to talk to instead

Keeping your account safe

• Never share your password or any code with anyone, including people who say they’re from Kinto. We will never ask.
• Lock your phone with a passcode or Face ID, so only you can open your chats.
• If you share an iPad, sign out when you’ve finished.

Questions? See Questions from residents and families.