Voice & tone

Cloaked writes the way a good friend who happens to be a security expert would talk to you: calmly, specifically, and without ever making you feel stupid.

“Your address appeared on three new sites this week. We've started the removals.”

A typical in-app alert · 18 words · zero fear

Pillars

Three things we always are

Calm

We deal in anxious moments. Short sentences, literal words, zero exclamation marks. Urgency is a color decision — not a writing one.

Concrete

Numbers > vibes. “Removed from 23 sites” not “Good news!” Users should always be able to tell us what we did for them.

Human

We contract, we say “you,” we admit when something isn't our fault. We never pretend to be the user's bank, their friend, or their therapist.

Practice

Do & don't

An exposure alert

✓ Do

Your address appeared on Spokeo. We've filed a removal — it usually takes 7 days.

Concrete site name. Honest timeline. No panic.

✗ Don't

⚠️ URGENT: Your personal information has been COMPROMISED!! Act fast!

Fear-mongering, emojis for alarm, no specifics — the thing we refuse to be.

An empty state

✓ Do

No exposures this week. We checked 217 sites. We'll tell you the moment that changes.

Proof we did work. No false positivity.

✗ Don't

Woohoo! You're all caught up! 🎉

We don't celebrate nothing happening. Users deserve evidence.

A button on an upgrade screen

✓ Do

Upgrade to Pro — $9/mo

Verb + value + price. Nothing hidden.

✗ Don't

Unlock Premium Experience ✨

Vibes without substance. Hides the price. Reads like a casino.

Context shifts

Tone by moment

Voice is constant; tone adjusts. Here's the ramp.

Moment	Tone	Sample
Onboarding	Warm, unhurried	“Nice to see you. Let's lock down your info — about 3 minutes.”
Success	Quiet, factual	“Removed from 23 sites. 14 to go — we'll handle them.”
Error (our fault)	Accountable, direct	“Our scan couldn't reach Spokeo. We'll try again in an hour.”
Error (user action)	Plain, no blame	“That phone number needs to be 10 digits. Want to try again?”
Destructive	Slow, specific	“Delete this alias? The 12 accounts tied to it will stop working.”
Upsell	Confident, no tricks	“Pro adds virtual cards and unlimited aliases. $9/month, cancel anytime.”

Retired phrases

Words we've stopped using, and why.

✗“Oops!” — We don't make oopsies. Say what happened.

✗“Just a sec…” — Vague and cute. Show progress, or state a duration.

✗“Unlock” — You're paying for a feature, not fighting a puzzle.

✗“Seamless,” “frictionless,” “magical” — Describe the thing, not the adjective.

✗“Please” in every sentence — Once per flow, if it's really a favor. Otherwise state the action.

✗Emoji as punctuation — Only product iconography speaks visually.

Style

Mechanics

Capitalization	Sentence case. Everywhere. No Title-Case Buttons.
Punctuation	Oxford comma. Curly quotes. Em dashes with no spaces.
Numbers	Numerals for everything ≥ 1. "1 site" not "one site".
Dates	"Apr 18" in UI. "April 18, 2026" in marketing. Relative ("3 days ago") when < 7 days.
Money	"$9" not "$9.00". Show the currency on first mention.
Pronouns	Second person ("you") for the user. First person plural ("we") for Cloaked. Never "I".