How to Use Ask Safely: The Complete Guide to AI with Amnesia
- cass816
- Jan 16
- 4 min read
Updated: Jan 20
Your conversations disappear in 8 hours. Here's everything you need to know.
You've heard the pitch: an AI assistant that actually forgets. No permanent record of your questions. No training on your data. Just helpful answers that vanish when you're done with them.
But how does it actually work? This guide walks you through everything—from your first conversation to the swipe gestures that make managing your privacy effortless.
What Makes Ask Safely Different
Most AI assistants store your conversations indefinitely. Some use that data to train their models. Others keep it "for safety purposes" even after you delete it.
Ask Safely takes the opposite approach. We call it AI with Amnesia—and it comes down to three things:
Your chats auto-delete after 8 hours. This isn't a setting you have to enable. It's not hidden in a menu somewhere. Every conversation you have with Ask Safely disappears automatically. No action required.
Your data never trains AI models. There's no opt-out toggle because there's nothing to opt out of. We simply don't do it.
Everything is encrypted. Your messages are protected with AES-256 encryption—the same standard banks use. Even if someone accessed our database, they'd find nothing but scrambled data.
Getting Started
Download the App
Ask Safely is available on iOS (App Store) and on the web at app.asksafely.ai. Android is coming soon.
Create Your Account
The signup process takes about 30 seconds:
Open the app or visit the website
Enter your email address
Create a password
Check your inbox for a verification code
Enter the code, and you're in
That's it. No phone number required. No social login. Just email and password.
Send Your First Message
Once you're logged in, you'll see a simple chat interface.
Type anything you'd ask a smart assistant:
"What's the weather in Minneapolis today?"
"Help me write a professional email to decline a meeting"
"Explain how a 401(k) match works"
"What should I make for dinner with chicken and broccoli?"
Ask Safely uses advanced AI models (Claude Haiku 4.5 and Sonnet 4.5) to respond.
The system automatically picks the right model based on how complex your question is—you don't need to configure anything.
The Features That Matter
Auto-Deleting Chats
This is the core of Ask Safely. Every conversation deletes itself 8 hours after your last message.
This happens at the database level. We use something called TTL (Time-To-Live) indexes in MongoDB, which means deletion is automatic and permanent. It's not just hidden from your view—it's gone from our servers entirely.
Why 8 hours? It gives you enough time to reference a conversation if you need to, but short enough that nothing lingers. Most people finish a task and move on within minutes anyway.
Swipe Gestures (iOS)
The iOS app supports two gestures that put you in control:
Swipe left to delete a conversation immediately. Don't want to wait 8 hours? Gone in one swipe.
Swipe right to keep a conversation for up to 14 days. Maybe you're working on a project and need to reference something later. Swipe right, and we'll hold onto it (with full encryption) for two weeks instead of eight hours.
Automatic Web Search
When you ask about something current—news, prices, weather, recent events—Ask Safely automatically searches the web for you. You don't need to say "search for" or "look up." The system recognizes when your question needs fresh information and goes and gets it.
Questions like "What's the current price of Bitcoin?" or "Who won the game last night?" trigger a web search automatically. Questions like "How does photosynthesis work?" don't—because the answer hasn't changed.
Smart Model Routing
Behind the scenes, Ask Safely picks the right AI model for each question. Simple questions go to our fast, efficient model. Complex questions that need deeper reasoning go to our more powerful model.
You never have to think about this. It just works.
Quick How-To's
Delete a Chat Right Now
On iOS: Swipe left on the conversation in your chat list. Confirm when prompted.
On Web: Click the trash icon next to the conversation. Confirm deletion.
The chat is immediately and permanently removed.
Keep a Chat Longer Than 8 Hours
On iOS: Swipe right on the conversation. It's now saved for 14 days with encryption.
On Web: Tap the 'store temporarily' icon in the upper right hand corner of the chat screen.
Start a Fresh Conversation
On iOS: Tap the "+" button in the top navigation or swipe left or right.
On Web: Click "New Chat" in the sidebar.
Each conversation is independent—Ask Safely doesn't remember context from previous chats.
How We Protect Your Data
Encryption
We use envelope encryption with AES-256-GCM. In plain English: every message gets its own unique encryption key, and that key is itself encrypted using AWS Key Management Service. The master keys never leave AWS's secure hardware.
What gets encrypted:
All your messages
All AI responses
Your email and password
Verification codes
Authentication tokens
Infrastructure
Ask Safely runs entirely on AWS. We inherit their enterprise-grade security certifications (SOC, PCI DSS, HIPAA). All data stays in the United States.
What We Don't Do
We don't store conversations beyond 8 hours (or 14 days if you extend)
We don't train AI models on your data
We don't sell or share your information
We don't build profiles about you
Troubleshooting
Can't log in? Double-check your email address and make sure caps lock is off. Use "Forgot Password" if needed.
Conversations disappeared? That's the feature working as intended. Ask Safely deletes chats after 8 hours. If you need to keep something longer, swipe right before the window closes.
Got outdated information? Include words like "current," "today," or "latest" in your question to trigger a web search for fresh data.
App running slowly? Check your internet connection, close and reopen the app, and make sure you're on the latest version.
No verification email? Check spam, verify the email address is correct, and try requesting a new code. Add support@asksafely.ai to your contacts.
Get Help
If you run into issues or have questions:
Email: support@asksafely.ai
Website: asksafely.ai
General inquiries: mike@asksafely.ai
We read every message and typically respond within 24 hours.
The Bottom Line
Ask Safely exists for people who want AI help without the surveillance baggage. You get intelligent answers to your questions. We forget you ever asked.
That's it. That's the product.
Ask Safely is a product of SafeLife Inc., headquartered in Minneapolis, MN.
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