Questions, answered

The things people ask before they sign up, answered straight. If yours is not here, ask us and a person will read it.

Is she a real person?

Yes. Every woman here works in a real Pattaya bar, and the name you see is the nickname she actually uses at work. She joined because she chose to and she can leave whenever she likes. The only manufactured thing is the drawn picture on her card, which is a character illustration rather than a photograph of her.

Does she know the messages are translated?

Yes. She reads your message in Thai on her own phone and writes back in Thai. Nothing is hidden from her side and nothing pretends to be her words when it is not. The translation runs on ThaiPo, which is what a subscription pays for.

Do I need to speak Thai?

No. Write English the way you would say it out loud. It reaches her in natural Thai rather than phrasebook Thai, and her answer comes back to you in English a few seconds later.

Does she have to install anything?

No. She is reached on LINE, which she already uses every day. That is deliberate: an app she has to download and remember to open is an app she will not open.

What does it cost?

Your first messages are free and you do not need a card to start. After that a subscription keeps you writing, and it works in every conversation you have here rather than per person. Buying her a drink is separate and only when you want to.

Can I read her replies without paying?

Always, and this will never change. The free trial ends when she first writes back, but that reply and every one after it stays readable whether you subscribe or not. Charging to unlock words a woman has already written is the oldest trick in the category and we will not run it. The wall stops you writing, never her.

How quickly does she reply?

It varies, and honestly it has to. She is at work, and a busy night means a slow reply. Some answer within minutes, some the next morning, and some do not answer at all. Cards show a speed badge only when there is enough history to be fair about it.

Is this a dating app?

No. There is no swiping, no matching, no compatibility score and no profile to fill in. It is a messenger: one person, one conversation, and nobody else in the room.

How is it different from a bar's live stream?

A stream is a camera pointed at a room, with a few hundred men typing into the same chat and hoping to be noticed. Nobody watching is having a conversation. Here she knows your name, she remembers what you told her last week, and when you buy her a drink she knows exactly who sent it.

What happens when I buy her a drink?

A real drink goes on her bar's till and she earns her usual commission on it, exactly as if you were standing next to her when you bought it. She hears about it straight away and her thank you arrives in your chat. You do not have to be in the country.

Can I ask her to video call?

Once you have been talking for a while, yes. She starts the call from her side, so it only ever happens because she wanted it to, and it is still translated while you speak.

Can I meet her?

She works at a bar, and where that bar is becomes visible once you have signed in. Anything beyond that is a conversation between the two of you. We are a messenger and we do not arrange, book or broker anything.

What if she stops replying?

That is her right and it costs you nothing. You are not charged per message, so an unanswered conversation does not run up a bill. Start one with somebody else whenever you like.

Can she remove herself?

At any time, by asking the management at her bar. She is taken out of the service and stays out, including if her details later turn up again in a routine sync. That is a promise made to her, not a setting she has to find.

Why is it called Up To You Ka?

"Up to you" is the most-heard sentence in Pattaya, and "ka" is the polite particle a Thai woman ends a sentence with. Put together it is roughly "whatever you like, love", said with a shrug. It seemed a fair name for a service that decides nothing for you.

Who can see my messages?

The two of you. What is stored, for how long, and how to have it deleted is set out in full in the privacy policy, including the translation step, which is the one place a message is processed by something other than the two phones at either end.