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Getting Started

Welcome to Idolon Chat! This guide will walk you through everything you need to know to get the most out of your private, secure AI chat experience.

What is Idolon Chat?

Idolon Chat is a unique AI chat application that puts you in control. Unlike other services that use a shared, central API key, Idolon Chat is designed to use your own personal API keys from various AI providers. This approach has several major benefits:

  • Complete Privacy: Your conversations are between you and the AI provider. We act only as a secure interface and never see, store, or log your chat content on our proxy server.
  • Total Control: You choose the AI models you want to use and have full visibility over your API usage and costs.
  • User-Controlled Encryption: Your chat history is end-to-end encrypted. The content is encrypted on your device *before* being saved to your personal cloud database. Only you, with your account, can decrypt and view your conversations.

Your First Steps

  1. Sign In (Recommended): Create an account or sign in with Google. This is highly recommended to securely back up your encrypted settings and chat history across devices.
  2. Add an API Key: Click the "Settings" icon (⚙️). Under the "API & Model" section, choose a provider (like Google Gemini, Groq, or OpenRouter) and paste in your personal API key. You can get free keys from providers like Google AI Studio or GroqCloud.
  3. Start Chatting: That's it! You can now chat with the default Idolon assistant or create your own custom AI characters.

A Note on Content & Safety

Idolon Chat is designed with safety as the default. By default, the app instructs the AI to decline to generate inappropriate content (such as sexually explicit, hateful, or violent material).

However, we believe in user control. In the 'Danger Zone' of the settings panel, you will find a "Turn Off Filters" toggle. This feature is intended for mature users (18+) and has important limitations:

  • Enabling this removes Idolon's explicit safety instructions to the AI, which can allow for more mature or unfiltered conversations.
  • This does not bypass the hard-coded safety systems of the API provider (Google, Groq, etc.). You are always subject to their Acceptable Use Policy.
  • Your usage and generated content remain subject to the Terms of Service of your chosen API provider at all times.

User Guide

Managing Chats & Characters

  • Creating a Character: Click the "Add New Character" button in the sidebar. Give your AI a name and a persona. The persona is the most important part—it defines the AI's personality, knowledge, and style of speaking.
  • Creating a Group Chat: Click the "Add New Group" button. Give the group a name and select at least two existing characters to be participants.
  • Editing & Deleting: Click the pencil icon (✎) next to any chat in the sidebar to edit its details or delete it.

Special Chat Commands

You can use special commands in the message bar for advanced features:

  • /image [your prompt]: Directly generates an image based on your description. (Requires a Gemini API key).
  • /sendpic [your prompt]: Asks the AI character to generate a "selfie" or image based on its persona and your request. (Requires a Gemini API key).

The Settings Panel Explained

Account
Sign in with Google or Email to back up and sync your data. You can also sign out here.
Appearance
Switch between Dark and Light mode, change the interface style to mimic popular messaging apps (iMessage, WhatsApp, etc.), and toggle the visibility of avatars in chat.
API & Model
This is the heart of the app. Select your preferred AI provider (Google Gemini, Groq, OpenRouter) and enter your corresponding API key. You can also select specific models from each provider.
Data Management
Use the "Import Character Data" button to load a character and their chat history from a .json file. Use the "Download" button in the main chat header to save your current character and chat.
Danger Zone
Turn Off Filters: As described above, this removes the app's default safety prompt.
Use Secure Proxy: Recommended. This routes your API calls through our secure, zero-logging proxy server. Your API key is never exposed directly from your browser. You must be signed in to use this feature.
Reset & Erase All Data: This is permanent. It will delete all your characters, chats, and settings from both your device and your cloud account. This action cannot be undone.

Privacy Policy

Last Updated: [Enter Current Date, e.g., October 26, 2023]

Your privacy is the foundation of this application. Our architecture is designed from the ground up to protect your data and ensure that your conversations remain yours alone.

Our Core Privacy Promise

We operate on a principle of zero-knowledge regarding your sensitive content. Here's what that means for you:

  • We cannot read your chats or API keys. All sensitive data, including every message you send and receive and your personal API keys, is encrypted on your device *before* it is sent to the cloud for storage. The encryption key is securely managed by your user account, and we, the developers, do not have access to it.
  • We do not sell your data. We will never sell your personal information or user data to third parties. Our business model is not based on advertising or data brokerage.

What Data We Collect

To provide a seamless cross-device experience, we collect and store the following information:

  • Account Information: When you sign up using Google or Email, we store your unique User ID and email address for authentication purposes.
  • Encrypted User Data: We store the characters, settings, and chat history you create. This data is stored in an encrypted format that we cannot decipher.

How We Use Your Data

  • To Provide the Service: Your account information is used to log you in and sync your encrypted data across your devices.
  • For Security: The server-side proxy uses your encrypted API key in-memory for the sole purpose of forwarding your request to the AI provider. It is never logged or stored permanently on our proxy server.

Third-Party Services

Idolon Chat relies on Google's Firebase platform for authentication and cloud database storage. Your interactions with third-party AI providers (like Google Gemini, Groq, etc.) are subject to their respective privacy policies.

Your Control & Data Deletion

You have complete control over your data. You can simply click the "Reset & Erase All Data" button for the permanent deletion of all associated data in your account at any time.

Terms & Conditions

Last Updated: [Enter Current Date, e.g., October 26, 2023]

1. Acceptance of Terms

By using Idolon Chat (the "Service"), you agree to be bound by these Terms & Conditions and our Privacy Policy.

2. Description of Service

The Service provides a user interface for you to interact with various third-party AI language models using your own personal API keys. We are an interface, not the AI provider.

3. Your API Keys and Associated Costs

You are solely responsible for obtaining and securing your own API keys from third-party providers. You acknowledge and agree that you are responsible for any and all costs incurred on your API keys through usage of the Service. We provide a secure environment to use your keys, but we are not responsible for their management or billing.

4. User Conduct and Responsibility

You are solely responsible for the content you generate and the conversations you have using the Service. You agree not to use the Service to generate content that is unlawful, harmful, harassing, or in violation of the terms of service of the underlying AI provider. You also affirm that you have the necessary rights to any content you upload, such as character avatars.

5. Age Requirement

You must be at least 13 years old to use this Service. To use features intended for mature users, such as the "Turn Off Filters" option, you must be at least 18 years old.

6. Disclaimer of Warranty

The Service is provided "as is," without warranty of any kind. We do not guarantee that the Service will be uninterrupted or error-free, or that the AI-generated content will be accurate or safe.

7. Limitation of Liability

In no event shall the creators of Idolon Chat be liable for any direct, indirect, or consequential damages arising out of the use or inability to use the Service.

Third-Party Resources & Licenses

Idolon Chat is built using fantastic open-source software. We are grateful to the developers and communities who create and maintain these tools.

Core Libraries

  • Firebase SDKs - Copyright Google LLC, licensed under the Apache License 2.0.
  • Tailwind CSS - Copyright Tailwind Labs Inc., licensed under the MIT License.
  • Lucide Icons - Copyright Lucide Contributors, licensed under the ISC License.
  • Marked - Copyright Christopher Jeffrey, licensed under the MIT License.
  • CryptoJS - Copyright Jeff Mott, licensed under the MIT License.

Fonts

Self-Hosting Guide

This guide provides a comprehensive, step-by-step walkthrough for deploying your own private and secure instance of Idolon Chat. By following these instructions, you will use a free-tier combination of Firebase and Cloudflare to host the application and a secure proxy for your API keys.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, you will need accounts for:

You also need these command-line tools installed:

  • Node.js and npm
  • Firebase CLI: npm install -g firebase-tools
  • Cloudflare Wrangler CLI: npm install -g wrangler

Part 1: Firebase Setup (Backend)

  1. Create Firebase Project: Go to the Firebase Console and click "Add project". Name it something like idolon-chat-personal.
  2. Create Web App: In the project dashboard, click the Web icon (</>), register the app, and **copy the `firebaseConfig` object**.
  3. Enable Authentication: Go to Build → Authentication → Get Started and enable **Google** and **Email/Password**.
  4. Setup Firestore & Rules: Go to Build → Firestore Database → Create database. Start in **production mode**. Then, go to the **Rules** tab, paste in the security rules from the project's `README.md` or `firestore.rules` file, and click **Publish**.

Part 2: Cloudflare Worker Setup (Secure Proxy)

  1. Create Worker Project: In your terminal, run wrangler init your-proxy-name (e.g., `idolon-api-proxy`). Choose the **"Hello World" Worker** and **JavaScript**.
  2. Configure Worker: Navigate into the new folder (cd idolon-api-proxy). Install the crypto dependency: npm install crypto-js. Then, open `package.json` and replace its contents with the configuration provided in the project's `README.md` to enable `node_compat`.
  3. Add Worker Code: Open `src/index.js` and replace its contents with the proxy code from the repository. Update the `FIREBASE_PROJECT_ID` and `Access-Control-Allow-Origin` URL to match your Firebase project.
  4. Add Firebase Secret Key: In your Firebase project settings under Service Accounts, generate a new private key and download the JSON file. In your terminal, run wrangler secret put FIREBASE_SERVICE_ACCOUNT and paste the content of the JSON file.
  5. Deploy Worker: Run wrangler deploy. **Copy the final worker URL** it gives you.

Part 3: Frontend Setup & Deployment

  1. Clone the Repository: Get the Idolon Chat source code from GitHub.
  2. Configure `index.html`: Open the main `index.html` file. Paste your `firebaseConfig` object from Step 1.2 and your worker URL from Step 2.5 into the designated placeholders.
  3. Deploy Website: In the root of the project folder, run `firebase init hosting`. Connect it to your existing Firebase project. Set `public` as the public directory. Finally, deploy the site with firebase deploy --only hosting.