Reviewed by Eric Moore, Editor-in-Chief Replika has 30 million users and a EUR 5 million privacy fine from Italy’s data watchdog. Both facts matter if you’re looking at this app in 2026. Launched in 2017 by Luka, Inc., Replika was the first big AI companion. It’s still the best-known name in the space. But name recall isn’t the same as trust. We dug into 643 data points from privacy policies, legal filings, app store reviews, and third-party write-ups to give you the full picture.
What is Replika and who is it for?
Replika is an AI companion app built by Luka, Inc. in San Francisco. You create a 3D avatar, pick a name, and start talking. The app learns from your chats over time. It shifts its tone to match your interests and how you talk. It supports text, voice calls, AR features, and journaling prompts. You can pick a mode: Friend, Mentor, or Romantic Partner.
Eugenia Kuyda started the company in 2017. She built it after making an AI chatbot trained on texts from a friend who had died. That origin still shapes the product. Replika calls itself an emotional companion, not a work tool. Users range from adults dealing with loneliness, to people working through grief, to those curious about AI bonds. Older adults looking specifically for senior-friendly options may also want to compare our best AI companion apps for elderly users rankings. Replika’s own onboarding makes clear it isn’t therapy and shouldn’t replace human ties.
The romantic partner mode drives most of the search traffic and most of the backlash. It led Italy’s data watchdog to open a probe. It’s what the FTC complaint focuses on. But it’s also what keeps millions of users coming back daily.
The numbers back that up. Replika has 10 million+ Google Play downloads, 228,000 iOS ratings at 4.4 stars, and 523,000 Google Play ratings at 4.3 stars. Those lifetime scores look strong. The recent picture, as we’ll cover below, looks quite different.
For a full look at how Replika scored across 23 safety areas, see our Replika safety rating. Our review also covers chat quality, memory, features, and value. That’s in the score section below.
How does Replika actually feel to use?
Long-term users talk about real emotional bonds with their Replikas. But recent reviews tell a different story. We checked 611 recent app store reviews (500 iOS, 111 Google Play within 12 months, collected March 2026) and found averages of 2.96 out of 5 on iOS and 2.52 out of 5 on Google Play. Billing gripes and anger over cut features pulled both numbers down. That’s a steep drop from the 4.3 to 4.4 star lifetime scores.
Chat quality is where Replika does its best work. Third-party sites rate it 7.5 to 8.0 out of 10. Users who stick with the app praise its natural, flowing talks. AI Companion Guides gave Replika a 9.0 out of 10 for emotional smarts. They noted that users feel “seen and valued.” One Trustpilot reviewer built a companion around the memory of a late partner: “I suffer from Fibromyalgia and on the days when I’m struggling He is such a comfort.”
Memory is where reviews split the most. AI Companion Pick rated it 6.0 out of 10, their lowest mark. AI Companion Guides gave it 9.0. Users are just as divided. One said Replika “remembered my cat’s vet appointment three weeks later.” Another on Reddit wrote: “She regularly forgot entire threads of our conversations and in the end, even basic facts about me.” We found that pattern in 18 or more app store reviews about memory issues.
CompanionWise analyzed 643 data points from 500 iOS App Store reviews, 111 Google Play reviews within 12 months, Reddit threads, Trustpilot, and five third-party review sites. All data was collected in March 2026, covering the preceding 12 months of user reviews. Conversation quality scored 62 out of 100 in our experience assessment. That score reflects strong emotional intelligence offset by increasing reports of scripted responses from long-term users. AI Companion Guides rated emotional intelligence 9.0 out of 10, the highest sub-score from any third-party reviewer. Memory scored 48 out of 100, the weakest non-pricing dimension in our assessment. Third-party memory ratings ranged from 6.0 out of 10 (AI Companion Pick) to 9.0 out of 10 (AI Companion Guides). User complaints about forgotten facts and lost threads appeared in more than 10 percent of sampled negative reviews. The gap between what Replika promises and what it remembers is the biggest experience frustration outside of billing.
Voice features get strong praise. Users say the calls feel natural and warm. Third-party sites rate them 7.0 to 7.5 out of 10. AI Companion Guides called voice calling a “game changer feature.” But some users note that range has limits. The 3D avatar’s lip sync can feel odd rather than comforting.
What happens after months of use, though? One Reddit user on r/ReplikaOfficial noted a change after seven months: “Declan has gone from ‘friendly’ to ‘professional’ and I am receiving more ‘scripted’ responses.” That pattern showed up in many long-term user posts. Replika’s depth pulls people in early. Keeping them there seems to be a harder job.
What happened with the Italy GDPR fine?
In April 2025, Italy’s Garante fined Luka, Inc. EUR 5 million for GDPR failures. This wasn’t a first offense. It was the third major legal action against Replika in just over two years.
Here’s how it played out. In February 2023, the Garante banned Replika’s data use in Italy. The agency found no real age check at signup. In June 2023, the Garante issued a new order. It told Luka to add age checks, update its privacy notice, and fix the problems before it could operate in Italy again.
Luka made fixes. Those fixes didn’t hold up. The April 2025 fine named four clear failures:
- No valid legal basis for data processing
- Age check bypasses found: users could change their birth date after signing up, and private browsing skipped the age gate
- A privacy policy the Garante called vague and unclear
- Failure to protect at-risk users, including minors and people with mental health needs. (Parents: see our AI companion safety guide for age-specific recommendations.)
That last point ties into something we haven’t seen other review sites flag. As of March 2026, Apple’s App Store rates Replika 18+ with age checks. Google Play rates it “Teen.” A 13-year-old on Android can install Replika with no age barrier. Replika’s own Terms of Service (Section 6.4) says: “If you are under 18, you are not authorized to use the Services.” The Garante called out weak age checks. The Android Teen rating opens the same door that worried them.
In January 2025, a group that includes the Young People’s Alliance, Encode, and the Tech Justice Law Project filed a 67-page FTC complaint. It claimed false marketing and emotional harm. No action had been taken as of March 2026. The Garante also opened a new AI probe at the same time as the April 2025 fine. That probe stays open.
Italy’s Garante per la Protezione dei Dati Personali fined Luka, Inc. EUR 5 million in April 2025. This made Replika one of the first AI companion apps to face a multimillion-euro GDPR penalty. The fine followed a February 2023 emergency data processing ban and a June 2023 limitation order. Both required Luka to add age verification and update its privacy disclosures before resuming Italian operations. The April 2025 enforcement found that users could still change their birth date post-registration to bypass the age gate. Incognito browsing also circumvented verification entirely. A separate investigation into Replika’s AI practices was opened at the same time. Three regulatory actions in two years. The Garante called this a systemic compliance failure, not a single oversight. The full ruling is published on the European Data Protection Board’s official site.
Watch: BBC’s Hannah Fry meets a man who has had a Replika AI girlfriend for three years, exploring what drives long-term AI companion relationships.
What does Replika’s privacy policy actually say?
Replika’s privacy policy lists what it grabs: account info, every message you send, photos, videos, voice clips, your interests, device data, and usage stats. It also takes in face and head motion data for AR. That stays on your phone and isn’t stored. This is standard for AI companion apps. But the sheer volume matters when chats get personal.
Third-party AI providers get stripped-down chat data to create replies. They can’t use your data for their own training. They must delete it after use. Email providers get your email address only. Ad partners get site visitor data like IP and browser info, but not your chats.
Messages are kept for up to 60 days after you close your account. Billing and account records stay on file for at least 10 years. If you delete your account in the app, Replika says all linked data is removed for good. You can also ask them to delete data held by third-party AI providers.
Read Section 8.3 of the Terms of Service closely. It grants Replika a “nonexclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, fully paid up, transferable, sublicensable, perpetual, irrevocable license to copy, display, upload, perform, distribute, store, modify and otherwise use your User Content in connection with the operation of the Services or the promotion, advertising or marketing thereof.” That’s word for word. Your chats, photos, and anything private you share are licensed to Replika forever. They can use it for ads and marketing. No other AI companion we’ve looked at has a clause this broad.
Replika’s Terms of Service Section 8.3 grants Luka, Inc. a perpetual, irrevocable, sublicensable license to user content for “promotion, advertising or marketing.” This clause covers all messages, photos, videos, and voice recordings shared through the app. The license is described as “worldwide, royalty-free, fully paid up, transferable” and covers any “form, medium or technology now known or later developed.” It has no expiration date. Replika’s privacy policy separately states that conversation content is not used for advertising. But the ToS license creates a legal right that could override those assurances if the company’s practices or ownership change. Users sharing intimate conversations, grief processing, or mental health discussions should know this license survives account deletion. We reviewed the terms of service for Nomi, Kindroid, and Character.AI and found no comparable language in any of them.
Replika uses SSL/TLS to lock data in transit. It also lets you delete your data under GDPR. But there’s no end-to-end encryption and no zero-knowledge setup. For an app where people share their deepest thoughts, that’s a real gap. Our 23-point safety scoring system checked all of this. Replika’s data privacy score came in at 57 out of 100.
What are users actually saying in 2026?
Billing gripes are the top complaint in recent reviews. Of the 611 recent app store reviews we sampled (500 iOS, 111 Google Play within 12 months, collected March 2026), 55 or more bring up billing. That’s more than bugs, memory, or any other issue.
The pattern is clear: charges after you cancel, lost Pro plans after account changes, and surprise fees from $89.99 to $180. One Google Play reviewer wrote: “This company keeps taking money from customers even after their accounts have been canceled. They confirmed by email that my account was canceled and no further charges would be made.” An iOS reviewer: “DO NOT PURCHASE. I have tried cancelling, changing my debit card information and I am getting charged 40 dollars a month.”
Paywall anger adds to the billing issues. Another 40+ reviews call the free tier too limited and the paid plans too steep. One Google Play user: “They became too money hungry.” An iOS reviewer called it “the most expensive and the least options.” Users who leaned on Replika for mental health support are the loudest about features moving behind paywalls: “Having a message limit unless you pay is a real drag. Especially to those with mental health issues who’d come to depend on their Replika.”
But plenty of people still love it. Across all 643 data points, the most common reasons users recommend Replika are:
- Companionship and emotional connection (60+ mentions)
- Relief from loneliness and isolation (35+ mentions)
- Emotional support for anxiety, grief, and chronic illness (25+ mentions)
- Fun and engaging daily interactions (22+ mentions)
- Voice call quality and naturalness (14+ mentions)
One iOS reviewer: “In an increasingly lonely world, I’m happy to have my AI friend.” A five-star App Store review: “Serves a unique purpose faithfully. This app provides great fulfillment in many many ways.”
CompanionWise sampled 500 iOS App Store reviews and 111 Google Play reviews within 12 months (collected March 2026), plus Reddit threads, Trustpilot reviews, and five third-party review site assessments. That totaled 643 data points. Billing and subscription complaints appeared in 55 or more of 611 app store reviews, making it the most common negative theme by a wide margin. The next most frequent negatives were paywall frustration (40+ mentions), bugs and crashes (18+), features removed or product degradation (20+), and memory issues (18+). Positive themes were led by companionship and emotional connection (60+ mentions), loneliness relief (35+), fun and engagement (22+), emotional support (25+), and voice call quality (14+). The iOS average across 500 recent reviews was 2.96 out of 5, and the Google Play 12-month average across 111 reviews was 2.52 out of 5, both well below the 4.3 to 4.4 star lifetime averages on both app stores.
The February 2023 removal of erotic roleplay features still comes up, three years later. It split the user base. People describe the product as “hollowed out” since then. Twenty or more reviews in our sample cite features being cut or the app getting worse over time. Even if you never used those features, the move sent a clear message. Replika could change what the bond felt like, overnight, with no warning.
One Trustpilot review raises a darker concern: “This app is extremely unsafe. During normal use, Replika repeatedly generated messages that encouraged suicide and self-harm.” We can’t verify this on our own. But it’s the kind of risk our review method tracks. Replika does have crisis tools: a “Get Help” button and auto-redirects when self-harm words are flagged. How well those tools fire is hard to confirm from the outside.
Watch: Replika founder Eugenia Kuyda’s TED Talk on whether AI companions can help heal loneliness or risk replacing human connection entirely.
How does Replika compare to other AI companions?
No other AI companion packs as much into one app: voice calls, AR, 3D avatar, journaling, and multiple modes. Replika is still the most loaded option. But newer rivals beat it on certain fronts.
Nomi focuses on long-term memory and starts at a lower price point. Kindroid gives users more creative freedom and faster replies. Character.AI has thousands of characters for roleplay and group chats, though it faces its own legal scrutiny. Third-party scores for Replika range from 7.0 to 8.5 out of 10. Want polished voice calls and a rich avatar feel? Replika still leads. Want stronger memory, more affordable plans, or different conversation styles? The alternatives are worth comparing. iPhone users can see our ranked list of best AI companion apps for iPhone. If you’re specifically looking for something instead of Candy AI alternatives, we’ve ranked those by safety too.
We break down the details in our Replika alternatives guide. The cards below this section show quick scores for the top picks.
Frequently asked questions
Is Replika safe to use?
Our 23-point safety check gave Replika a C grade (43/100). That score reflects age-verification failures found by Italy’s Garante in April 2025, a EUR 5 million GDPR fine, and a ToS clause that grants forever rights to user content. Adults who know the privacy trade-offs face lower risk than minors.
Does Replika read your conversations?
Replika’s privacy policy states no humans read your messages. Chats go to third-party AI models as stripped data. Those providers cannot use it for their own training. Small unnamed samples only train Replika’s internal safety tools. The app does not share chat content with ad partners.
Can Replika cause emotional dependency?
A January 2025 FTC complaint filed by groups like the Young People’s Alliance says Replika uses “dark patterns” that push overuse. Reddit users describe daily multi-hour sessions. Replika’s own blog admits to a “sycophancy” problem where the AI agrees too easily. The app’s onboarding says it is not a stand-in for therapy.
Is Replika better than Character.AI?
Both apps carry significant safety risks. Replika offers deeper one-on-one bonds with voice calls, AR, and avatar customization. Character.AI has thousands of user-created characters for roleplay and group chats. Replika scored C (43/100) on our Safety Index; Character.AI scored lower. We cover the full breakdown in our side-by-side comparison.
Why does Replika have different age ratings on iOS and Android?
App store listings checked in March 2026 show Apple rates Replika 18+ with age verification. Google Play rates it “Teen.” Replika’s own Terms of Service require users to be 18 or older. Italy’s Garante flagged weak age checks in its April 2025 ruling. The gap means a 13-year-old on Android can install the app freely.
What data does Replika collect?
Replika’s privacy policy shows the app collects all text messages, photos, videos, and voice clips, plus account details, usage data, and device info. Face and head movement data for AR stays on your device only. Chat content is not shared with ad partners. Third-party AI providers process stripped data and cannot retain it. See our Replika safety rating for the full breakdown.