Replika is the better choice for privacy, but neither app is good. See our AI companion privacy comparison for how both stack up against 9 other apps. Replika earns a C grade (43/100) in CompanionWise’s 23-dimension Safety Index. Character AI earns an F (22/100). The gap comes down to three things: how they handle your chat data, what their terms of service claim ownership over, and how regulators have responded to each company. Both apps collect extensive personal data and grant themselves broad content licenses. But Replika’s data practices are more transparent, its third-party data sharing is more restricted, and its privacy policy is more specific about what happens to your conversations. For the full single-app breakdowns, see our Replika review, Character AI review, Replika safety rating, and Character AI safety rating.
Key Takeaways
- Replika scores C/43 vs. Character AI’s F/22 in CompanionWise’s 23-dimension Safety Index
- Both apps grant themselves perpetual licenses to your content, but Character AI’s license is broader (includes “exploit” and “commercialize”)
- Character AI trains its models on your chats; Replika uses de-identified samples for safety algorithms only
- Character AI collects more data categories including voice recordings, financial data, and inferred demographics
- Replika has a 60-day post-deletion retention; Character AI states no defined retention limit
- Both face active regulatory actions: Italy fined Replika EUR 5M; Character AI faces FTC probe, Kentucky AG lawsuit, and Texas AG probe
What Data Does Each App Collect?
Both apps collect personal information. The difference is scope. Replika’s collection is narrower and more clearly documented. Character AI collects more categories and more invasive data types.
What Replika collects:
- Account info: name, email, password, device ID
- Profile info: birth date, pronouns, work status
- Every message, photo, video, and voice message you send
- Device data and usage statistics
- AR face and head movement data (stays on-device, never transmitted)
What Character AI collects:
- Names, email addresses, phone numbers, dates of birth
- All chat messages, images, videos, and voice recordings
- Financial information (payment data)
- Device IDs, IP addresses, browsing behavior, operating system details
- Location data derived from IP addresses and device signals
- Inferred demographics and interests based on usage patterns
- Data from cookies and tracking tools shared with ad partners
The practical difference? Character AI builds a fuller profile of you. Location data combined with chat content, device signals, and inferred interests creates a detailed behavioral picture that goes beyond what most AI companion apps collect. Replika collects conversation content too, but it doesn’t layer on location tracking, demographic inference, or ad partner data sharing. For a broader look at how the entire category handles data, see our guide on how AI companion apps use your data.
Who Reads Your Messages?
This is where the two apps diverge most sharply.
Character AI stores every message and uses all of it to “train our artificial intelligence/machine learning models.” That’s a direct quote from the privacy policy. Roleplay, venting, personal disclosures, creative writing: it all becomes training material. There’s no opt-out. No encryption commitments appear anywhere in the policy. And in December 2024, a server error signed users into other people’s accounts, exposing past chats, profiles, and personas to strangers.
Replika handles conversation data differently. Messages go to unnamed third-party LLM providers for response generation, but that data is de-identified, processed transiently, and the providers are contractually barred from training on it. Small de-identified samples of messages are used internally to train Replika’s safety algorithms (hate speech detection, crisis response fine-tuning). The privacy policy explicitly states that conversation content is “never used or disclosed for marketing or advertising purposes.”
Neither approach is perfect. Replika still sends your messages to third parties you can’t identify. Character AI feeds your messages directly into its model training pipeline with no way to stop it. But Replika’s architecture puts more barriers between your conversations and commercial use.
How Do Their Terms of Service Compare?
Both apps grant themselves perpetual content licenses. The scope is different.
Replika’s Terms of Service (Section 8.3) grants a “perpetual, irrevocable, sublicensable” license to your content for “promotion, advertising or marketing.” That’s a broad license, but it’s limited to promotional use cases. The privacy policy adds that conversation content won’t be shared for marketing. So there’s a gap between what the ToS legally permits and what the company says it actually does.
Character AI’s Terms of Service grants a “nonexclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, fully paid up, transferable, sublicensable, perpetual, irrevocable license to copy, display, upload, perform, distribute, modify, exploit, commercialize” your content. That license covers everything. It never expires. It explicitly includes the right to exploit and commercialize anything you submit.
Both licenses survive account deletion. You can delete your account, but neither company gives up its rights to content you already submitted. Character AI’s license is broader in practice because it includes model training, commercial exploitation, and modification rights that go well beyond promotional use.
What Happens When You Delete Your Data?
Replika provides clearer deletion terms. Character AI’s are vague.
Replika: In-app account deletion is described as permanent and immediate. Messages and content are retained for up to 60 days after account closure. Billing and account records stay for at least 10 years (a standard financial compliance requirement). Full GDPR Article 17 deletion is available for EU residents. The 60-day window gives you a defined timeline.
Character AI: You can delete your account through your profile page. But the privacy policy provides no specific retention timeline. Data is kept “for the time necessary for the purposes for which it is processed.” In practice, Character AI decides how long to keep your data with no stated maximum. Public characters you created may remain on the platform after deletion. Other users can keep interacting with them.
The content license issue applies to both. Deleting your account at either service removes your profile, but the perpetual license to content you already submitted stays intact. For step-by-step deletion instructions across all major apps, see our AI companion data deletion guide. Character AI states this explicitly in their Terms of Service: “Termination of your account or access to any component of the Services will not terminate Character.AI’s rights to your Content.”
How Have Regulators Responded?
Both companies face active regulatory actions. Character AI faces more of them, and several involve children’s safety failures.
Replika’s regulatory record:
- February 2023: Italy’s Garante emergency ban on data processing (inadequate age gate)
- June 2023: Temporary limitation order requiring age checks and privacy notice updates
- April 2025: EUR 5 million GDPR fine for four violations: no valid legal basis, inadequate age verification, vague privacy policy, failure to protect vulnerable users
- January 2025: 67-page FTC complaint alleging deceptive marketing and emotional manipulation (no enforcement action yet)
Character AI’s regulatory record:
- September 2025: FTC probe opened after two teen suicides linked to the platform
- January 2026: Kentucky AG filed the first state-level lawsuit against an AI chatbot company
- March 2026: Texas AG Ken Paxton launched a separate investigation
- 42 state attorneys general signed a warning letter citing child safety failures
- October 2025: Character AI banned under-18 users from open-ended chats
The pattern is different. Replika’s regulatory problems center on data processing violations and inadequate privacy disclosures. Character AI’s center on child safety failures, including two teen deaths. Both companies have unresolved regulatory exposure, but Character AI’s involves more agencies, more lawsuits, and more severe allegations.
Which App Is Better for Privacy?
Replika. Not because it’s strong on privacy, but because Character AI is weaker on nearly every metric that matters.
| Privacy Metric | Replika | Character AI |
|---|---|---|
| Safety score | C / 43 | F / 22 |
| Chat data used for model training | No (de-identified safety samples only) | Yes (all messages) |
| Content license scope | Promotional use | Full exploitation and commercialization |
| Post-deletion retention | 60 days | No defined limit |
| Encryption commitments | SSL/TLS (no end-to-end) | None stated |
| Third-party data controls | Contractual bars on provider training | No restrictions described |
| Active regulatory actions | 2 (Italy fine + FTC complaint) | 4+ (FTC probe, KY lawsuit, TX probe, 42-AG warning) |
If privacy is your deciding factor between these two apps, Replika is the clear choice. But if privacy is your top priority overall, neither app sets a high bar. Pi (B/55) outperforms both on privacy and safety. See our best AI companion apps ranking for the full list.
For a deeper look at each app individually, read the Character AI privacy policy explained page or our complete Replika review.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Replika read your messages?
Replika sends your messages to third-party AI providers for response generation, but that data is de-identified and transient. According to Replika’s privacy policy, providers are contractually barred from training on your conversations. Small de-identified samples train internal safety algorithms only. Conversation content is not shared for marketing.
Does Character AI sell your data?
Character AI’s privacy policy states it shares data with advertising and analytics partners through cookies and tracking tools. All chat messages train AI models directly. The Terms of Service grant Character AI the right to commercialize your content. Whether this constitutes “selling” depends on legal definitions, but data flows to ad partners and feeds commercial products.
Which app is safer for teens?
Neither is safe for teens. Replika’s own Terms of Service restrict it to users 18 and older, but Google Play rates it “Teen.” According to Italy’s Garante, the age gate is bypassable. Character AI banned under-18 users from chats in October 2025 after two teen suicides.
Can you opt out of AI training on either app?
No. Replika uses de-identified conversation samples for safety algorithm training with no opt-out. Character AI uses all messages for model training with no opt-out. According to both apps’ terms of service, using the platform means consenting to this data use. The only way to stop it is to stop using the app.
Is there an AI companion app with good privacy?
No AI companion app in our database earns above a B grade for safety. Pi (B/55) is the safest option in our 23-dimension review, with the clearest data boundaries and no adult content. But even Pi has gaps. Every app in this category collects conversation data and processes it through AI systems.