How Nocturya works: pen pal letters carried by shooting stars

One letter, one person

Nocturya is an anonymous correspondence service for adults. You write a letter of up to two thousand characters, and it is delivered to one person only, chosen at random from the available members. It never appears in a public feed, and the draw will not send you to the same person twice. There are no followers or algorithmic feeds here.

What you can choose

Before sending, you can specify the sex and age range of the person you would like to write to. You cannot choose their country, language or profile. The draw gives priority to members who are online or were recently active, without revealing in advance who will receive the letter. A few minutes separate two new letters.

The letter's journey

Your letter does not appear instantly for the other person. It travels at thirty kilometres per second, based on the real distance between your two countries. A randomly selected wind can shorten or lengthen the journey. Meanwhile, you can follow its flight in your sky, and the recipient sees a star approaching. Thirty seconds after sending it, you can add one message of up to three hundred characters: the wake.

How a correspondence begins

The person may reply, but they do not have to. Their first reply opens a private thread between you. You then take turns writing; once a letter has been sent, you must wait for a reply before sending another, apart from the wake. This deliberate pace leaves room for words and anticipation.

Two different public spaces

The Milky Way brings together the photos posted by members. Each member can post one every 24 hours, visible to all members for 30 days. Each photo can be liked and commented on by members. Under the stars works differently: during the week, you prepare a short card. At the weekend, the cards become visible and anyone can reply to those that interest them. A reply is a real private letter and opens a correspondence; each card can receive no more than three replies.

Your star and profile card

You can personalise your star's colour, expression and halo. Your profile card contains your username, country and age, along with anything you choose to add: an introduction, short answers, languages spoken, evening mood, profile photo and an album of up to three photos. Each album photo has its own visibility and commenting settings. You never need to display your address, email or real name.

Seasonal halos

A halo matching the current season becomes available automatically. The calendar takes your country's hemisphere into account: when the north receives the winter halo, the south receives the summer one. The halo is put away when the season changes.

Safety and account deletion

Every member accepts the Sky Charter when they join. You can report a letter, message or profile, and block someone without notifying them. If you request the deletion of your account, it is deactivated immediately. A personal link sent by email lets you restore it for thirty days; after that, the deletion and anonymisation become permanent.