Frequently Asked Questions

You write reflections on the Altar. Your companion responds with empathy and insight. Over time, the app recognizes patterns in your journey and offers deeper wisdom through Weekly Whispers, Soul Profiles, and more. Everything you write lives in your Journal, organized by timeline, themes, favorites, or search. Open Altar is powered by artificial intelligence, designed to listen carefully and reflect back what it sees in your writing. It does not replace human relationships or spiritual leaders — it simply offers a private, nonjudgmental space for reflection.

Companions are spiritual voices rooted in different traditions—Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, and universal or secular. Each has a distinct way of listening and speaking, but every companion is trained in universal wisdom and responds from an interfaith perspective. The Rabbi can speak to a Christian seeker, the Shepherd to someone drawn to Hindu devotion, the Zen Master to a Muslim—they honor your tradition and meet you where you are. You choose who resonates with you. They're here to help you hear yourself, not to tell you what to believe.

Yes! Open Altar is built for anyone seeking reflection and meaning—including those on non-traditional, mystical, folk, and diasporic paths that often go unseen. Our companions are trained to honor folk Catholicism (Black Madonna, Santa Muerte, folk saints), Kabbalah and Jewish mysticism, Hindu bhakti, Islamic mysticism (Sufism), Indigenous spiritualities (land-based practices, honoring ancestors), African Traditional Religions, and African diasporic practices (Hoodoo, Vodou, Santería, Candomblé). If you follow an earth-based, eclectic, or otherwise non-traditional path—or if you're spiritual but not religious, questioning, deconstructing, or drawn to the mystical edges of any path—you belong here.

The Altar is where you write. It's just for writing—one focused space. Everything you save appears in Journal, where you can browse by timeline, favorites, themes, or search. Insights is where you find the patterns: Soul Profile, Year in Review, Monthly Letters, Voice Library.

Free: 7 reflections total, all companions. Core ($16.99/mo or $149.99/yr): unlimited reflections, 20 voice prayers/meditations per billing period, Weekly Whispers, Soul Profile, Year in Review. Premium ($34.99/mo or $299/yr): everything in Core, 100 voice prayers/meditations per billing period, Monthly Letters from your companion, Sacred Threads.

Core gives you 20 voice prayers or meditations per billing period. Premium gives you 100. Monthly and annual subscribers both get 20 or 100 per month—annual plans reset on the same day each month as your subscription anniversary, not once per year. When you open a reflection in Journal and tap the prayer or meditation section, you'll see "Voice generations remaining: X/20" (or X/100). That number updates each time you generate one.

Your voice count stays the same—it doesn't reset. If you upgrade from Core to Premium mid-period, you keep your current billing period and the new limit (100 instead of 20) applies for the rest of it. The same applies if you switch between monthly and annual billing. If you downgrade from Premium to Core: You keep access to past Monthly Letters (read and listen anytime) but won't receive new letters. Sacred Threads will no longer appear in your reflections—you'll lose access to that feature.

Upgrade: Open the hamburger menu (top right). If you're on the free plan, tap "Upgrade Plan" to choose and subscribe. If you're on Core or Premium, tap "Manage Subscription" to open your account, then tap "Change Plan" to switch plans or billing interval. Cancel: In Account, tap "Manage Billing" to open the Stripe portal, where you can cancel or update payment info. If you run into trouble, email support@openaltar.app.

Journal tab → top card. Tap to expand. The Weekly Whisper is a personalized insight from your companion reflecting on your week's emotions, themes, and patterns—plus a gentle invitation for the week ahead. A new one appears every Sunday (Core and Premium) if you wrote at least one reflection in the past seven days.

Insights → "Monthly Letters" card. Each letter is from your chosen companion, reflecting on your month. You can read and listen. Premium receives new letters each month; Core and Free can read past letters if they downgraded from Premium.

Journal → Timeline view. Tap a month to expand it; the Monthly Snapshot appears inside that month—a short narrative of your journey that month plus reflection count and patterns. Snapshots are generated on the 1st of each month (for the previous month). Core and Premium.

Insights → "Voice Library" card. That's where all your saved voice prayers and meditations live. To create new ones: open a reflection in Journal, scroll to the prayer or meditation section, and generate. It saves automatically.

Open any reflection in your Journal and scroll down to the Sacred Threads section. It shows other reflections that resonate with the one you're reading—connections across time. Premium only.

Insights → tap the "Soul Profile" or "Year in Review" card. Soul Profile updates quarterly (after 10+ reflections). Year in Review is generated each January. Both are Core and Premium.

Account → Email or Password section. You'll need to confirm a new email via the link we send.

Account → scroll to Danger Zone → type DELETE to confirm. If you have an active subscription, cancel it first (Account → Manage Billing).

You own everything you write. We don't sell or share your reflections. For data export or deletion requests, email support@openaltar.app. See our Privacy Policy for details.

Open Altar works on desktop and mobile in Chrome, Safari, Firefox, and Edge. For the best mobile experience, you can add it to your home screen to run it like an app.

Refresh the page first. If it's still broken, email support@openaltar.app with what happened and what device/browser you're using.

No. Open Altar is a tool for reflection and meaning-making. It doesn't replace therapy, spiritual direction, or medical care. If you're in crisis, reach out to a qualified professional or crisis line.

Yes. Open Altar is for adults (18+ or the age of majority where you live).