The blog
Honest writing about the category we are building in: how companions work, where the privacy lines are, and what separates a companion from a chatbot. No listicles, no hype.
16 September 2026 · 8 min read
A real paid service at an honestly cheap price, but three things are worth knowing before you subscribe: refunds are generally not given under a policy last updated in January 2024, the pages start three advertising trackers before the chat loads, and the checkout link its own code builds points at an unrelated domain.
Read the piece15 September 2026 · 8 min read
Linky AI no longer has a US App Store listing, publishes no price for Pro or its coins, meters every message in the browser, and sends refunds to Apple or Google. What its own terms, privacy policy and store listing say, read first-hand.
Read the piece8 September 2026 · 8 min read
Every Secrets AI review quotes a monthly price. The vendor publishes none, on any public page, and its own front-end code defines four tier labels and four billing cycles alongside rotating seasonal sales. What is actually verifiable before you hand over an email address.
Read the piece3 September 2026 · 8 min read
Every app in this category calls itself lifelike. Exactly one publishes a context window, a reply cap and a memory spec you can check, and it is not us. What realism actually reduces to, and five tests that take ten minutes.
Read the piece2 September 2026 · 8 min read
California SB 243 took effect on 1 January 2026 and gives Californians a disclosure, a crisis protocol and a right to sue for $1,000 per violation. What the law requires, which apps have published a response, and the three checks that take five minutes.
Read the piece1 September 2026 · 8 min read
Chub loaded no advertising or analytics hosts at all. Joyland loaded five, behind a consent dialog naming 211 partners and precise geolocation. What each app puts on the page next to your private conversation, measured rather than assumed.
Read the piece31 August 2026 · 8 min read
Most take a card. The differences that cost you money are elsewhere: whether you can see the price before making an account, whether the purchase is refundable, and whether you can cancel yourself. Six platforms, quoted from their own terms.
Read the piece30 August 2026 · 8 min read
A character card is a small JSON file hidden inside a PNG, and it is only half a product: it has no model behind it. Where the good ones are, which apps run them without an API key, and what you sign away when you upload one.
Read the piece24 August 2026 · 8 min read
No reported breach and one commitment most rivals skip, but the fine print is where the cost is. The coin arithmetic behind the $19.99 plan, a refund clause that says no refunds, data and disputes in Hong Kong, and a minimum age of 13 with no 18+ rule anywhere.
Read the piece22 August 2026 · 8 min read
No breach and two unusually strong promises about your chats, but the details are strange. Why the policy names a Singapore entity while the press names a Shanghai one, why the written age floor is 14, and why the app has been delisted twice and renamed once.
Read the piece21 August 2026 · 8 min read
No breach, no scam, but the fine print is sharp. Why PolyBuzz names a Hong Kong operator in its own policy while directories name a Delaware one, the perpetual and irrevocable license it takes over anything you upload, and a refund clause that says no refunds at all.
Read the piece20 August 2026 · 8 min read
A real company, not a scam, but the risks are not the ones people ask about. Who EverAI Limited actually is, the broad license its terms take over your chats, the 24-hour refund window that voids after 20 tokens, and what the age check really checks.
Read the piece19 August 2026 · 8 min read
Safer than it was, because it was made to be. What the under-18 open-ended chat ban actually removed, what the settled wrongful death lawsuits alleged, what the new California law requires of every companion app, and the risks that remain for adults.
Read the piece15 August 2026 · 7 min read
Kind, funny, smart and loving describe how you feel about a person, not how that person behaves, and a model given only compliments falls back on agreeing with you. What to write instead, and the one line that matters most.
Read the piece14 August 2026 · 7 min read
Soulmate AI closed on 1 October 2023 with over 100,000 downloads behind it, and a peer-reviewed survey of the people affected described bereavement rather than a cancelled subscription. What is portable, what is not, and what to write down now.
Read the piece11 August 2026 · 7 min read
Every reply costs the operator money, and long conversations cost more per reply than short ones. What that means for unlimited plans, coin packs and the tier you are about to buy.
Read the piece9 August 2026 · 7 min read
Safe from the official itch.io page, with one real caveat: it will not run until you paste in your own OpenAI API key. How to set that up so it cannot cost you anything much.
Read the piece31 July 2026 · 7 min read
Sometimes, and it depends on your state and how explicit the platform is. Which AI chat apps now demand a government ID or a video selfie in 2026, and which still use a checkbox.
Read the piece9 September 2026 · 8 min read
Candy AI runs five billing terms with a 6.1x price spread for identical benefits, and refunds are limited to 24 hours and 20 tokens. The full ladder, read first-hand from its checkout and help center.
Read the piece31 July 2026 · 8 min read
Candy AI is about $13.99 a month, but tokens pay for every image, voice call and video, so the real bill for an active user is usually $25 to $60. The full breakdown.
Read the piece25 July 2026 · 9 min read
Linky AI is a legitimate app, but the safety story is about self-declared age, unpredictable user-made characters, a January 2026 privacy policy, and a coin-pack bill that grows.
Read the piece24 July 2026 · 8 min read
Peer-reviewed research says a companion reduces loneliness by making you feel heard, and a separate MIT study says heavy daily use tracks with more of it. What that means for how you use one.
Read the piece23 July 2026 · 8 min read
The setup takes twenty minutes and the personality field decides everything. Choose the app, write four things in order, run the memory test, and skip the mistakes that make companions go flat.
Read the piece22 July 2026 · 8 min read
Chai is a legitimate app serving over a million people a day, but your chats are stored, they feed its model leaderboard, and the bots are user-made. What that means, and how to use it sensibly.
Read the piece22 July 2026 · 8 min read
Character.AI is cheaper and stricter; PolyBuzz is looser and stacks coins on top of a subscription. A clear head to head on price, filters, memory and libraries so you can tell which fits.
Read the piece21 July 2026 · 8 min read
An AI boyfriend is a good listener who is never busy and never dismissive. Whether that is worth $10 to $35 a month depends on what you want from him. An honest look at the upside, the limits and the cost.
Read the piece21 July 2026 · 8 min read
Nomi and Kindroid are two of the deepest AI companion apps of 2026. A head-to-head on memory, price, images and content rules, so you can tell which one fits before you subscribe.
Read the piece21 July 2026 · 8 min read
Nomi is the memory-and-conversation pick; Candy AI is the images-and-video pick. An honest head to head on price, token metering, content rules and privacy so you can tell which one fits.
Read the piece21 July 2026 · 8 min read
Short answer: many can, on request, but the picture behind the picture is token metering, consistency problems and real safety risks. How AI companion images work in 2026 and what to check first.
Read the piece21 July 2026 · 8 min read
You do not have to settle for a preset. A practical walkthrough of building your own AI companion from scratch: appearance, personality, voice, name, and the memory that keeps her consistent.
Read the piece21 July 2026 · 8 min read
Replika Pro runs about $19.99 a month or $69.99 a year, with an Ultra tier above it. A clear breakdown of every Replika price in 2026, what the free tier gives you, and whether Pro is worth it.
Read the piece21 July 2026 · 8 min read
The feature that decides whether a companion feels real is memory, and most apps handle it very differently. How AI companion memory works in 2026, what actually gets stored, and how to test it before you subscribe.
Read the piece21 July 2026 · 9 min read
Nomi leads on memory and permissive content; Replika leads on polish and a 3D avatar. How the two compare on the things that actually decide it, and how to tell which one fits what you want.
Read the piece21 July 2026 · 8 min read
For some people, clearly yes; for others, no. What an AI girlfriend actually gives you, what it costs, the risks worth knowing, and a straight way to decide whether it is worth your money.
Read the piece21 July 2026 · 9 min read
Two very different apps that get lumped together. How Character.AI and Replika compare on content rules, memory, customization and price, and how to tell which one actually fits you.
Read the piece21 July 2026 · 8 min read
Short answer: yes, for adults, in the US. The longer answer covers age verification, deepfakes of real people, new state chatbot disclosure laws and where the real legal lines sit.
Read the piece16 July 2026 · 9 min read
Safe enough, with conditions. What Replika actually collects, why the Italian regulator stepped in, what the 2023 change did to people who trusted it, and how to use any companion app without regretting it.
Read the piece16 July 2026 · 8 min read
One has the biggest character library and a filter people complain about daily. The other is free and permissive if you tolerate setup and queues. An even-handed comparison on the things that decide it.
Read the piece16 July 2026 · 8 min read
Most AI companion apps land between $10 and $35 a month, but the sticker price hides the real question: what does the paid tier unlock, and what is the free one quietly costing you? A clear 2026 breakdown.
Read the piece3 August 2026 · 8 min read
Character.AI prohibits explicit content for every user, paid or free, and the filter reaches far past sex into violence, horror and dark themes. Here is why it will not be loosened, and what to use depending on which thing you were actually missing.
Read the piece9 July 2026 · 10 min read
You are about to tell an app things you would not tell your best friend. Before you do, you deserve straight answers about where those words go. A practical privacy guide, red flags included.
Read the piece11 July 2026 · 8 min read
Every companion is a chatbot; almost no chatbot is a companion. The difference is not the model behind it. It is memory, personality and continuity. Here is the category, explained honestly.
Read the pieceFree to start
Design a companion who remembers you and talk to them free with a one-time demo of 25 messages. No card, no lock-in, pick a plan when you want to keep talking.