Are AI Companion Apps Safe? Privacy, Chat Storage and Deletion

How this guide was made. This is a documentation-based guide. On 22 October 2026 we read each company’s own privacy policy, terms, help centre, safety page or US App Store listing, and quote short phrases from them. Some official pages would not open for us: Character.AI’s privacy policy and terms, Janitor AI’s privacy policy and Kindroid’s legal page. Where that happened we say so and rely only on what we could read. Nothing here is hands-on testing, and none of it is legal advice. Policies change, so check the date on any page before relying on it. Our method is explained on how we review.

The short answer

AI companion apps are not secret or sinister by default, but they are not diaries with a lock either. Everything you type is sent to the company’s servers, stored there, and in some cases used to improve the product.

The useful question is not “is it safe?” in general. It is: what does this company say it keeps, for how long, who can see it, and can I make it go away? The answers differ more than most people expect.

This guide sets out what six popular apps say in their own documents, then gives a short checklist anyone can follow today, whether you use these apps yourself or you are a parent trying to understand one.

Why regulators are paying attention

You do not need to be worried to be careful, but it helps to know the subject is being looked at officially. On 11 September 2025 the US Federal Trade Commission announced an inquiry into AI chatbots that act as companions. It sent orders to seven companies, including Character Technologies, the company behind Character.AI.

Among other things, the FTC said it wants to know how these companies disclose “data practices” to users and parents, and whether they use or share personal information from chatbot conversations. That is a fair summary of what this guide checks.

What each app says, app by app

Replika

Replika’s privacy policy (last updated 28 October 2026) says that “while your account is open, we keep your conversation history for 24 months for text messages and 12 months for photos, videos and voice messages”. Media saved to memories, diary or profile is kept as long as the account exists. Profile information, memories and diary are deleted “within 60 days after your account is deleted or closed”. The policy gives no separate figure for chats after deletion. Financial records are kept for 10 years.

On training, it says it uses “small portions of Messages and Content data” to train its own safety algorithms, and that anonymised data “is not used to train third-party large language models”. It also says AI providers it sends conversations to may not use them for their own training.

That sharing sits awkwardly with Replika’s Google Play listing, which says on 29 October 2026: “Your conversations are private and not shared with any third parties.” The policy says Replika shares “the minimum necessary conversation data with third-party providers of artificial-intelligence models” to generate replies. Go by the policy.

You can delete your account in account settings. The terms (28 October 2026) say “account deletion is irreversible and your data is handled as described in the Privacy Policy”. The policy also lists my@replika.com and privacy@replika.com for requests.

The policy notes that sharing with advertising partners “may be considered a ‘sale’ or ‘sharing’” under some laws. Its US state notice is blunter: “We ‘sell’ and ‘share’ your personal information by providing your personal information to certain third parties and through the use of certain online tracking technologies.” You can opt out through “Your Privacy Choices” in the app settings or website footer. The policy says Replika will “never share your conversations” with advertising partners.

On staff access, the policy describes “automated systems and, where necessary, human review” to detect content suggesting a risk of serious harm. Users must be 18 or over. If Replika asks you to verify your age, the policy says the selfie check runs on your device where possible, or otherwise through its provider Incode Technologies. It says biometric data is deleted “in all events within 24 hours” and that Replika keeps only the result.

Nomi

Nomi’s privacy policy (last updated 27 April 2026) says deleting your account through Account Settings deletes your personal information within about 28 days of confirmation. Archived data and information needed for legal proceedings are exceptions.

The policy does not say in plain words that chats train the AI. It does say that after deletion, anything “in our training archives would no longer be attributable to you”, which suggests some user data may sit in those archives. The terms give Nomi a broad licence to use what you type and receive for “updates or enhancements” to its system.

Nomi says it does “not and will not sell or rent” your personal information. The documents do not say whether staff read chats; the terms reserve “the right to investigate your use”. The minimum age is 18, and the policy says the service is for adults only. One practical note: the email on a Nomi account cannot be changed after it is created.

Chai

Chai’s privacy policy (dated 12 October 2026) is the most direct about training. It says data from in-app conversations is used “to enhance and fine tune” its AI models, with personal identifiers removed first.

It is also the longest on retention. Data may be kept for “the duration of the account and five (5) years following its deletion”, mainly for legal claims and obligations. You delete your account in the app under Profile, Settings, Delete Account, or by writing to hello@chai-research.com or dpo@chai-research.com.

The policy says some usage information may be shared with advertising partners if you installed the app through an ad. It says data is accessible only to “specifically authorized staff” but does not say whether staff read chats.

The privacy policy itself does not state a minimum age. Chai’s Safety Center does: “you must be 18 or older”. It adds that every user message “is scanned in real time for self-harm content”, and that age checks use a third-party provider, Persona.

Janitor AI

Janitor AI’s privacy policy returned an error when we tried to open it, so we cannot report what it says about storing chats, training or human review. The policy does not appear here by choice; we simply could not read it.

Its help centre is clearer on deletion. You go to Settings, the Security tab, then Delete account, and confirm with a six-digit code sent to your email. The article says posts, characters, personas and profile information “will be permanently removed and cannot be recovered”. It does not mention chat history.

Two cautions from the same article: support cannot delete accounts for you, and if you have lost access to your email, they cannot help with deletion. Keep that inbox secure.

Janitor AI is for over-18s. Its age verification page (updated 15 June 2026) says checks in Australia, Brazil and the UK go through a provider called k-ID, which returns only a yes or no on whether you are over 18. It says ID photos are deleted after confirmation and Janitor never sees your ID or face data.

Character.AI

Character.AI’s privacy policy and terms did not load for us; the pages returned an empty shell. We therefore make no claim about what they say on training, retention or human review.

What we could read: its US App Store listing is rated 18+, and its developer-provided privacy label says data such as user content, contact info, identifiers and usage data is linked to you, and that some categories, including location and identifiers, may be used to track you. Apple notes it has not verified these labels.

Character.AI’s blog says it has removed open-ended chat for under-18 users, starting with US users from 24 November 2025, and is rolling out “age assurance technology”. Teens keep some non-chat features. If you are weighing whether to stay, our guides to Character.AI alternatives and whether c.ai+ is worth it may help.

Kindroid

Kindroid’s official legal page would not open for us, so we cannot report its policy on training, retention or deletion. The US App Store listing (developer: Beautifully Incorporated) is rated 18+.

Its developer-provided privacy label lists name, contact info and user ID as linked to you, and says identifiers and usage data may be used to track you across other companies’ apps and websites. The label does not cover what happens to your chats.

The comparison table

What each company’s own documents said on 22 October 2026 (Replika’s rechecked on 29 October 2026). “Not read” means the official page would not open for us; “does not say” means we read it and the point is missing.

Human review: what we could and could not find

Many people’s biggest worry is a stranger reading their most personal chats. The honest answer is that none of the documents we read gives a clear yes or no.

Replika’s privacy policy (28 October 2026) comes closest: it describes “automated systems and, where necessary, human review” to detect content suggesting a risk of serious harm. Chai describes automated scanning for self-harm content and access limited to authorised staff. Replika’s terms say it does not pre-screen content but may remove content and may disclose it “if required to do so by law”. Nomi reserves the right to investigate how you use the service.

In practice, assume that what you type could be seen by someone at the company in some circumstances, such as a safety report, a legal request or a support case. That is a reason for care, not for panic.

Do this today

1. Share less. Do not type your full name, address, workplace, school, passwords, bank or card details, ID numbers or health records into a companion chat. Use a nickname and keep stories about real people vague.
2. Leave out other people’s private details. Your friends and family did not agree to be in someone else’s training data.
3. Use a unique password and a secure email. Several apps tie deletion to your email account. Janitor AI says it cannot delete your account if you lose access to that inbox, and Nomi does not let you change the account email.
4. Find the delete button before you need it. Note the route for your app from the section above. Cancel any subscription in the App Store, Google Play or on the website first, because deleting an account does not always stop billing.
5. Download only the real app. Start from the company’s official website and follow its link to the store. Check that the developer name matches: for example, Character Technologies for Character.AI and Beautifully Incorporated for Kindroid on the US App Store. Be wary of near-identical names, very few reviews, misspelt descriptions or apps asking for payment details outside the store.
6. Read the store privacy label. On the App Store, scroll to App Privacy to see what is linked to you and what may be used for tracking. Remember the developer writes it and Apple does not verify it.
7. If you are a parent, talk first. Most of these services say they are for adults. Ask calmly what your child uses and why, and look at the store rating together. Our age and content policy explains how Aitryvo covers these apps.
8. Make a formal request if you need one. Replika, Chai and others list privacy email addresses. Depending on where you live, you may have legal rights to access or delete your data; the company’s policy and your local data protection authority can tell you which apply.

What we could not confirm

• What Character.AI’s privacy policy and terms say about training, retention, deletion and human review. Both pages loaded empty for us.
• What Janitor AI’s privacy policy says on any point; the page returned an error. Its help centre was readable.
• Anything in Kindroid’s legal page, which would not open. Only its App Store listing was read.
• Whether staff at any of the six companies routinely read individual chats. No document we read says so either way.
• Whether Janitor AI deletes chat history when you delete your account; its help article lists other data but not chats.

For how Aitryvo itself handles your data, see our privacy page. For facts on each app in one place, browse the apps directory.