Character.AI
A website and mobile app for chatting with AI characters created by users, with a free tier and paid (c.ai) lite and c.ai+ plans.
Fixes
Step-by-step fixes for common Character.AI problems.
- Character.AI Not Working? Is It Down? Every Error and Fix Character.AI's help centre points to its community channels and Reddit for outage news, and the status.character.ai address it once named did not show a working status board when we checked. If others report problems, wait. If not, most failures are local or account-related: log in with the same method you signed up with (Google, Apple or an email link, since there are no passwords), refresh or update the app, and try the other platform. Waiting rooms and slow mode are capacity controls on busy days, not faults. If chat is gone and you only see reading mode, age assurance has placed you in the under-18 experience; adults can verify with a selfie through Persona in Settings, Advanced, Verify Age.
- Character.AI Memory Not Working? Why It Forgets and How to Fix It Character.AI characters forget because a chat can only hold so much at once: as a conversation grows, older messages are trimmed to make room, and the company's own guide says details lower down a long Definition carry less weight. The fixes, in order: pin the messages that matter (15 pins per chat on free, 30 on (c.ai) lite and c.ai+, according to the help centre's plan table), write lasting facts into Story Memory, tighten the character's Definition, remove messages that have derailed the chat, and start a new chat when an old one is cluttered, carrying your saved memory across. Paid tiers add more pins, a detailed Memory Usage view, automatic Facts (c.ai+) and private Lorebooks (c.ai+). They give more room, not perfect recall.
Alternatives
Where people go when Character.AI is not working for them.
- Replika Alternatives (2026): 7 Apps Compared on Price, Memory and Group Chats If you want group chats and a stronger focus on memory, Nomi and Kindroid are the closest swaps for Replika. Both let you chat with several companions in one group. Nomi's Launch Plan is $9.99 a month on the US App Store, and its homepage says it is free to start. Kindroid is $15.99 a month and has no ongoing free tier. For free roleplay with lots of characters, Character.AI keeps unlimited free messaging. Its owner is going through a court-supervised sale, though, and says the platform will close if no viable bid emerges. SpicyChat is web-based, 18+ and publishes exact memory sizes. Pi is a free, calm chat partner with voice mode but no companion features. Talkie is the only one here open to under-18s. Chai could not be found on the US App Store on 29 October 2026.
- Janitor AI Alternatives (2026): 5 Options Compared Janitor AI users who want the same kind of open character roleplay usually look at SpicyChat or Chub AI. SpicyChat says its core features stay free and publishes exact context sizes (4,096 tokens free, up to 32,768 on its $29.95 plan). Chub AI lets you plug in your own OpenAI, Anthropic, Google or OpenRouter key, or pay $20 a month for its own Mars models. SillyTavern is free, open-source software you run yourself and connect to any model you choose. Kindroid suits one long-running companion but has no ongoing free tier. Character.AI keeps unlimited free messaging, is rated 18+ on the App Store and has removed open-ended chat for under-18s.
- Character.AI Alternatives (2026): 7 Apps Compared, Free and Paid No single app replaces Character.AI for everyone. For free, open-ended roleplay with user-made characters, Janitor AI and SpicyChat both say their core service stays free, and both are 18+. For one long-running companion with deep memory, Kindroid ($15.99 a month on the US App Store) and Nomi ($15.99, or $9.99 on its Launch Plan) are built for that, also 18+. Replika suits people who want one steady companion rather than many characters. Chai and Talkie are mobile character apps whose listings do not say what the free tier includes. Talkie is the only one here whose terms allow users under 18 (14+ in most countries).
Comparisons
Character.AI side by side with other apps, from official pages.
Pricing: is it worth it?
What the paid plan gets you, real prices, and who should skip it.
Best-of lists
Shortlists that include Character.AI, with the reasoning shown.
- Best AI Roleplay Apps for Android (2026): 9 Apps Checked on Google Play All nine apps here have an official way onto Android. Eight are on Google Play; SpicyChat is an APK from its own website. For adults, Janitor AI (listed on Play as 'Janitor: Interactive Stories' by janitorai) ranks first: 4.3 stars, a roleplay-first listing and a free core service. Kindroid matches its rating but has no ongoing free tier. Nomi, Chai, SpicyChat and Replika follow. For under-18s, only Talkie's terms clearly allow teens (from 14 in most countries). Character.AI is rated Teen on Play but has removed open-ended chat for under-18s. PolyBuzz is rated Mature 17+ and publishes no minimum age. Check the developer name before installing, because look-alike apps exist.
- Best Free AI Companion Apps (2026): What Each Free Tier Includes Character.AI is the most generous and most transparent free tier on paper: its September 2026 post says unlimited messaging stays on every tier, and its plan page says free accounts get full ads, slow mode and basic memory. SpicyChat and Janitor AI both promise a free core service for adults, and SpicyChat publishes its free context size (4,096 tokens). Replika's help centre says chatting will always be free, with calls and extras on the paid plan. Nomi gives free accounts a daily allowance of messages and images but does not publish the numbers. PolyBuzz, Chai and Talkie all offer free use, but none of their official pages read states a free message limit. Six of the eight state 18+ on official pages or store listings; Talkie's terms allow users from 14, and no PolyBuzz minimum age was found.
Safety and privacy
Privacy, chat storage, age rules and staying safe.
What's new
Dated notes on recent changes.
- Did Character.AI Remove Age Verification? The Rules in 2026 No, Character.AI has not removed age verification: its help centre, updated on 3 and 4 November 2026, still describes age assurance on every account. Character.AI has removed open-ended chat with characters for users under 18. It announced the change on 29 October 2025 and began removing chat for US teens from 24 November 2025. Every account is put through age assurance, which first looks at signals such as login info and on-platform activity. Most adults are never asked for anything. If the system thinks you are under 18 and you are not, you can verify through Persona with a selfie, and only if the selfie is inconclusive with a physical government ID. Character.AI says it never receives the selfie or ID and that Persona deletes them within 7 days. Teens keep reading mode, past chats, character creation, Stories, Feed and other non-chat features.
- Character.AI Sale Update: Will It Shut Down? Your Chats and c.ai+ On 12 October 2026 Character.AI filed a voluntary Chapter 11 case in the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware to run a court-supervised sale. It says the platform stays up for now, paid subscriptions remain active and billing is unchanged, and your data stays under its existing Privacy Policy. It expects the sale to finish by late November or early December 2026; on 30 October 2026 the court approved the bidding procedures, Law360 reported. If no bid allows the platform to continue, Character.AI says it will be wound down. The announced stalking horse bid, from a Disney affiliate, is for a licence of certain intellectual property, not the platform itself. If your chats matter to you, request a data export now: Character.AI says exports can take 3 to 4 weeks. This is general information, not legal or financial advice.
More Character.AI guides
What changed for Character.AI
Merged from the change logs of every guide above, newest first. Each entry links to the guide that records it.
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Rechecked after the 30 October 2026 hearing: Law360 reported the court approved the bidding procedures, including the $20 million Disney stalking horse bid. Character.AI's blog post (no update since 16 October) and the Stretto case page rechecked; Stretto does not yet list a bid deadline, auction or sale hearing date. Title, timeline and the list of unconfirmed points updated
Character.AI Sale Update: Will It Shut Down? Your Chats and c.ai+ · What's New -
Rechecked Character.AI's age assurance help articles (updated 3 and 4 November 2026): age assurance is still in place. The quick answer now opens with that, and a new FAQ answers why the checks were added, in Character.AI's own words.
Did Character.AI Remove Age Verification? The Rules in 2026 · What's New -
Nomi section updated: its cancellation policy, rechecked on 3 November 2026, now also lists cancelling App Store and Google Play subscriptions inside the Nomi app. Added a link to our Candy AI review. No other rules changed.
How to Cancel an AI Companion Subscription and Get a Refund (2026): App by App · Guides -
Aitryvo joined SpicyChat's affiliate programme; SpicyChat links on this page are now affiliate links too, and the disclosure was updated. The list did not change.
Replika Alternatives (2026): 7 Apps Compared on Price, Memory and Group Chats · Alternatives -
Title, description and a new first FAQ now answer the question most searchers ask (did Character.AI remove age verification). The facts are unchanged from the 27 October check.
Did Character.AI Remove Age Verification? The Rules in 2026 · What's New -
Aitryvo joined SpicyChat's affiliate programme; SpicyChat links on this page are now affiliate links and are disclosed. The list and trade-offs did not change.
Janitor AI Alternatives (2026): 5 Options Compared · Alternatives -
Added a no-filter section for adults (Kindroid, SpicyChat, Janitor AI and Nectar AI content and age rules) and a matching FAQ, from those companies' own pages read 22 October to 3 November 2026. Nectar AI links are affiliate links and are disclosed. The seven-app comparison did not change.
Character.AI Alternatives (2026): 7 Apps Compared, Free and Paid · Alternatives -
Aitryvo is now in the Nomi and SpicyChat affiliate programmes; links to those two apps on this page are affiliate links and are disclosed. The list and trade-offs did not change.
Character.AI Alternatives (2026): 7 Apps Compared, Free and Paid · Alternatives
Show 20 earlier changes
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New guide published; Google Play listings, data safety pages, SpicyChat's APK route and each company's age rules checked on 29 October 2026
Best AI Roleplay Apps for Android (2026): 9 Apps Checked on Google Play · Best of -
New guide published; cancellation, refund and renewal rules checked on each company's terms, help centre and policy pages, and on Apple and Google help pages, on 29 October 2026
How to Cancel an AI Companion Subscription and Get a Refund (2026): App by App · Guides -
New guide published; prices, features, age rules, privacy terms and the Character.AI sale status checked on official pages, the court claims agent's case page and US store listings on 29 October 2026
Character.AI vs Replika (2026): Price, Memory, Privacy and the Sale · Comparisons -
New guide published; prices, free use, memory, group chats and age rules checked on official pages, terms and US App Store listings on 29 October 2026
Replika Alternatives (2026): 7 Apps Compared on Price, Memory and Group Chats · Alternatives -
Updated for Replika's terms of 28 October 2026: new free-use (section 2.3) and age (section 6.4) wording quoted; the terms no longer name Pro, Ultra or Platinum, so plan names are now attributed to the help centre. Ranking unchanged.
Best Free AI Companion Apps (2026): What Each Free Tier Includes · Best of -
Updated for Replika's privacy policy of 28 October 2026: new retention periods (24 months for text chats, 12 months for media while the account is open; profile data deleted within 60 days of account deletion), its US notice that it 'sell[s]' and 'share[s]' personal information with an opt-out, human review for serious-harm content, Incode age checks, and the conflict with its Google Play privacy claim. No verdict changed.
Are AI Companion Apps Safe? Privacy, Chat Storage and Deletion · Safety -
Updated for Replika's terms of 28 October 2026: they still call account deletion irreversible but no longer say data 'will be removed permanently'; they now refer to the privacy policy instead. No verdict changed.
Are AI Companion Apps Safe? Privacy, Chat Storage and Deletion · Safety -
Platforms corrected: Janitor AI has a US App Store app, SpicyChat has an official Android APK but no App Store app, and Chai's US App Store listing was not found on 29 October 2026.
Character.AI Alternatives (2026): 7 Apps Compared, Free and Paid · Alternatives -
Updated for Replika's terms of 28 October 2026: Replika age rule now quotes the new section 6.4 wording. No verdict changed.
Character.AI Alternatives (2026): 7 Apps Compared, Free and Paid · Alternatives -
Replika moved from 8th to 4th: its help centre, readable on a second check, says chatting will always be free and lists what paying adds
Best Free AI Companion Apps (2026): What Each Free Tier Includes · Best of -
New guide published; free-tier limits, prices and age rules checked on official pages and App Store listings on 27 October 2026
Best Free AI Companion Apps (2026): What Each Free Tier Includes · Best of -
News: Did Character.AI Remove Age Verification? The Rules in 2026
Did Character.AI Remove Age Verification? The Rules in 2026 · What's New -
New guide published; status checks, login, waiting room, slow mode and age assurance fixes checked against Character.AI's help centre, blog and app store listings on 27 October 2026
Character.AI Not Working? Is It Down? Every Error and Fix · Fixes -
News: Character.AI Sale Update: Will It Shut Down? Your Chats and c.ai+
Character.AI Sale Update: Will It Shut Down? Your Chats and c.ai+ · What's New -
New guide published; prices, context sizes, age rules and model options checked on official pages, docs and US App Store listings on 27 October 2026
Janitor AI Alternatives (2026): 5 Options Compared · Alternatives -
Added Character.AI's 12 October 2026 announcement of a court-supervised sale and what it means before choosing a yearly plan
Is c.ai+ Worth It? Character.AI Plus Price, Free vs Paid (2026) · Worth It -
New guide published; privacy policies, terms, help pages and store listings read on 22 October 2026
Are AI Companion Apps Safe? Privacy, Chat Storage and Deletion · Safety -
New guide published; prices, age rules and limits checked on official pages and US App Store listings on 22 October 2026
Character.AI Alternatives (2026): 7 Apps Compared, Free and Paid · Alternatives -
New guide published; features and limits checked against Character.AI's help centre and blog on 22 October 2026
Character.AI Memory Not Working? Why It Forgets and How to Fix It · Fixes -
New guide published; prices and features checked on Character.AI's blog, subscription page and the US App Store on 22 October 2026
Is c.ai+ Worth It? Character.AI Plus Price, Free vs Paid (2026) · Worth It