Your pets
Up to five, dogs and cats. Stroke one in the scene, or hold on it, and it leans into your hand.
Pets come with AniMates Plus. The ones you make here wait for it.
Their routines
Nothing here asks for upkeep. A pet you don't walk is still fine, and it just has a nap.
On your desktop
Let the pets outNow and then a pet wanders out of the scene to nap on the taskbar or trot along the bottom of the screen. Clicks go straight through it.
Send one out nowSee it for yourself
Who's on the bench
The two of you, how you sit, and what's carved on the bench. Your pets have their own tab.
Special days
On the day the bench dresses up for it, and countdowns count to it.
Your dates
Holidays at home
Holidays
The ones you celebrate. Each has its own decorations, and some light up the night.
Your calendar
Your next plans on the bench: a Calendar widget, party hats when a birthday is coming, and an umbrella packed when an outdoor plan meets rain.
Google CalendarRead only
OutlookMicrosoft 365, Outlook.com or Hotmail; read only
Connecting opens your browser to sign in. The sign-in stays on this PC, kept safe by Windows, and your events are only read here; nothing goes to AniMates.
Someone far away
For the one in another city: their time, their weather, the distance, and the days until you're together.
Their weather also comes from Open-Meteo. Only their city's coordinates are sent, every half hour.
Friends
Leave each other notes and photos. They turn up in the Love note and Photo memory widgets, with who sent them.
Coming soonLeave each other notes and photos, like Locket, once accounts arrive in a later version.
Friends need an accountYours and theirs. It's free, and it keeps your settings too.
Your friend codeSend it to someone so they can add you
On your bench
When your partner has AniMates open, they glow softly on your bench. Double-click them to send a few hearts to their screen.
A question for two
Waiting
Send something
From your friends
You sent
Your friends
Only your friends can send you anything. Report something and it's hidden at once and sent to AniMates to look at. Blocking someone ends the friendship and removes what they sent.
Home and weather
Weather and seasons follow home, wherever the scene is.
Units
Weather comes from Open-Meteo (free, no account). Only your home city's coordinates are sent, every 15 minutes.
Places
Where the bench is. Pick and order them in the place picker.
Your own placesBuild one from the bench up: the water, what's behind, the buildings, a landmark
Choose placesThumbnails, and which ones rotate
Your screens
Pick a screen, then customise its widgets.
This screen
Wallpaper on this screenOff leaves your own desktop picture there
Notes, the to-do list, photos and the passport are edited in their own widget: customise a screen and click the widget.
Reports and ideas
Something not working, an idea, or something you love. It goes straight to the people making AniMates, and every note is read.
What you've sent
Themes
A whole look for the clock, the widgets and the place card. Settings keep theirs.
How Settings look
On your desktop
AniMates sits behind your desktop icons and rests whenever it can't be seen.
One scene across all monitorsOne wide place over every monitor, as they sit on your desk, with the bench on the main one. Widgets stay on each monitor.
Saving power
Rest under windowsPauses when apps cover the desktop
Rest for games and videoPauses while anything is full screen
Rest on batteryLaptops only
Eco modeHalf the frame rate, gentler motion
Startup, lock screen and screensaver
Start with WindowsOpens quietly in the tray
Use as my lock screenUpdates the picture every 15 minutes
ScreensaverThe scene over everything when you step away; any key or movement ends it
Try itShows the screensaver now
AniMates Plus
Get AniMates PlusMonthly, yearly, or once for good. Opens the shop in your browser; the key comes by email
Move it to another PCFrees this PC's place on your licence, so the key works on another one
What Plus adds
Your account
Keeps your settings when you move to another PC, and lets you leave notes and photos for friends.
Coming soonAccounts arrive in a later version: your settings on every device, and friends. This test build keeps everything on this PC.
Your settings, friends, notes and photos are kept on the AniMates server. Delete the account any time and they go with it.
AniMates Plus
AniMates Plus
Password
Where you're signed in
Your data
Download my dataEverything your account keeps, in a zip: settings, your notes, to-dos and passport, friends, what you've sent and been sent, and your photos
Delete the account
About
AniMates: your people and pets on a bench, somewhere beautiful, all day long.
Keyboard← → change place · P places · C character maker · E customise widgets · K keep this moment · F full screen · S settings · 1–5 a pet's menu
Test buildA version for friends to try. Everything is open; accounts and friends come in a later version.
WeatherOpen-Meteo, free and without an account
Your accountOnly if you make one: your settings, friends, notes and photos are kept on the AniMates server until you delete it
The tourThe corner buttons and what they do, in four steps
Start overPuts every setting and widget back to how it started