# FAQ Straight answers on billing, latency, browser quirks, and plans — the questions developers actually ask before shipping. ## Billing ### What am I billed for? You're billed for **how long the avatar speaks** — the duration of the audio it generates — not for how long the session stays open. An idle open session doesn't accrue speaking usage (though it still counts against your concurrency limit). ### What if the user interrupts the avatar? Audio the avatar has **already generated still counts**, even if the user interrupts before it finishes playing. Metering is based on generated speech, so the portion already produced is billed regardless of the interruption. ### Where do I see my usage? On your **[Profile page → Usage tab](/profile)**. ### How do I avoid surprise bills? Avoid loops that make the avatar speak repeatedly, and don't retry reconnects in a tight loop. End sessions you don't need to free up concurrency. See [Limits & Quotas](/docs/guides/limits). ## Latency ### Why is there a pause before the avatar responds? Establishing the stream is a one-time cost per session: **~5–7s on the first connect** (the Rive avatar downloads and initializes) and **~2–3s** afterward from cache. Once connected, in `call` mode the avatar starts responding **~700–900ms** after the user stops speaking. See [Production & Voice UX](/docs/guides/production-voice-ux) to budget each stage. ### How do I make it feel faster? Reflect `isListening` / `isSpeaking` state immediately, show a connecting affordance during setup, and render transcripts progressively. Perceived latency is what users judge. ## Browser & platform ### The avatar works in Chrome but not Safari / iOS. Why? Safari and iOS require audio playback to be unlocked by a **user gesture**. Start the session from a real click or tap — not automatically on page load — or the browser blocks the audio and the avatar appears mute. ### Do I need a backend? For production, yes — you mint session tokens on your server so your secret key never reaches the browser. For a zero-backend start, the quickstart uses the public `"default"` avatar. See [Authentication](/docs/authentication). ### Which package do I install? `@avatarfactory/react` for web, `@avatarfactory/react-native` for Expo mobile apps. Both share the same components, hooks, and config. ## Plans & access ### Can I try it without signing up? Yes. The [Quickstart](/docs/quickstart) runs against the public `"default"` avatar with no signup. Publish your own avatar in the Platform when you're ready. ### What are the plan limits? All plans currently allow **5 concurrent sessions**. See [Limits & Quotas](/docs/guides/limits) for the full list of per-session limits. > Didn't find your answer? Check > [Production & Voice UX](/docs/guides/production-voice-ux) for symptom-based > fixes, or reach out through your Platform account.