Character.AI
- The policy allows AI training; it does not describe an opt-out.
- Your data is used for personalized ads, including by third-party ad companies.
- Data is shared with partners and affiliates; you can opt out.
- Staff may review your content; the policy does not describe an opt-out.
Chats can train their models, they take a forever license, ads track you.
Agent Trust Hub uses AI and may make mistakes. Review reports and confirm their contents before relying on them.
- Uses your content for AI training with no opt-out
Collected
Account info, chats, images, voice if you use it, device IDs, and data from ads and other sites.
Read the exact line
Privacy policy
“Your content you submit, such as chat communications, posted images or videos, biography description, and shared Characters;”
Training
They use your data to run the app, show tailored ads, and train their AI models.
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Privacy policy
“Analyze, maintain, improve, modify, customize, and measure the Services, including to train our artificial intelligence/machine learning models;”
Sharing
Vendors, affiliates, and advertising partners can get your data; public Characters are visible to others.
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Privacy policy
“We may disclose personal information to advertising and analytics providers in connection with the provision of tailored advertising”
Kept
They keep data as long as they need it; public Characters can stay even after you delete your account.
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Privacy policy
“If a Character you create has been made available to other users, then we reserve the right to preserve that Character’s characteristics and to keep that Character active on the Services, even if you otherwise delete your data and your account.”
Controls
You can delete your account on the profile page and, where the law allows, ask them to delete data.
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Privacy policy
“You may delete your account through your account profile page.”
Fine print
They can close you without notice, take a forever license, cap at $100.
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Terms of service
“You agree that any termination of your access to the Services under any provision of these Terms may be effected without prior notice”
Expand “Read the exact line” to see the source alongside the explanation.
What you can turn off
The controls and opt-outs their own documents describe, and where they say to find them.
Delete your account
Account profile page
Ask to opt out of sales or targeted ads
https://support.character.ai/hc/en-us/requests/new or privacy@character.ai
Cancel a paid subscription
App store settings if bought there, or Help Center if bought on the website
If a switch is not where they say, the deletion request above still applies.
Line by line
The lines that matter most, worst first.
Your chats and other data can be used to train their AI. The policy does not describe a way to turn that off.
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Privacy policy
“Analyze, maintain, improve, modify, customize, and measure the Services, including to train our artificial intelligence/machine learning models;”
For example, a private conversation you have with a Character could be used to teach future versions of the model.
They get a forever license to copy, change, sell, and share what you type and what the AI makes, even after you leave.
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Terms of service
“you grant Character.AI, to the fullest extent permitted under the law, a nonexclusive, worldwide, , fully paid up, transferable, , , license”
For example, they could keep using a Character you created in ads or let others remix it after you delete your account.
They can shut your account and throw away your content for any reason, and they say they may do it without warning.
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Terms of service
“You agree that Character.AI, in its sole discretion, may suspend or terminate your account (or any part thereof) or use of the Services and remove and discard any content within the Services, for any reason”
For example, they could delete your chats and Characters overnight and you would not get a heads-up first.
If someone sues them because of how you used the app, you may have to pay their legal bills.
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Terms of service
“You agree to release, and hold Character.AI and its affiliates and their officers, employees, directors and agents harmless from any and all losses, damages, and expenses of any kind arising out of or relating to your use of the Services.”
For example, if a Character you shared caused a lawsuit, they could ask you to cover their lawyers.
Ad and analytics companies can track how you use the app with cookies and similar tools.
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Privacy policy
“We and our third-party providers, which include advertising and analytics providers and other service providers, use cookies, web beacons, and other tracking technologies”
For example, an ad network could see that you use Character.AI and show you ads elsewhere.
If you pay for a subscription, they generally will not give the money back when you cancel.
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Terms of service
“Payments are non-refundable, except where required by law.”
For example, if you cancel two days after a monthly charge, you typically keep paying for that month with no refund.
If you use voice features, they collect recordings of your voice along with other content.
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Privacy policy
“Voice data, including recordings of your voice, if you chose to use certain voice features;”
For example, a spoken chat with a Character can be stored as a recording.
People at the company can read and change your content whenever they want, not only for safety reports.
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Terms of service
“we may access, review, screen, edit, modify and delete your content at any time and for any reason, including to provide and develop the Services”
For example, a reviewer could open your chat history while they work on the product.
You can close the account yourself in the app without only emailing support.
Read the exact line
Privacy policy
“You may delete your account through your account profile page.”
For example, you can open your profile and delete the account if you want to stop using it.
Words to know
Legal words from the lines above, in plain English.
- model training
- Using your content and conversations as examples to teach an AI system, which can then echo them in future answers. For example, a story you write in a chatbot may be studied by the company to make the next version of the bot.
- personal data
- Any information that is about you or can be linked to you, from your name to your phone's ID. For example, your email, your IP address and the list of apps on your phone are all personal data.
- royalty-free
- The company can use your content without ever paying you for it. For example, your photo can appear in the app's ads and you get nothing.
- sublicensable
- The company can pass its rights over your content on to other companies without asking you. For example, an app can let an advertiser or a partner reuse your video under the licence you gave.
- perpetual
- Lasting forever, with no end date. For example, a perpetual licence means the company can keep using your video years after you leave.
- irrevocable
- Cannot be taken back or cancelled once given, even if you change your mind or delete your account. For example, an irrevocable licence to your photos means you cannot withdraw it later.
- indemnify
- You promise to pay the company's legal costs and losses if your use of the service gets it sued. For example, if you post a song you do not own and the label sues the app, you owe the app's lawyer bills.
- affiliates
- Other companies owned by or connected to the same parent company. For example, if you use one app, its sister apps under the same owner may also get your data.
- third parties
- Any company or person other than you and the app, such as advertisers, partners or analytics firms. For example, an analytics company that receives a record of every screen you tap is a third party.
- service providers
- Outside companies that handle your data on the app's instructions, such as a cloud host or an email sender. For example, the company that stores the app's files in the cloud sees your data but only does what the app tells it.
- cookies
- Small files a website saves on your device so it can recognise you and remember what you did. For example, a cookie keeps you logged in and can also tell an ad company which sites you visited.
- tracking pixels
- Tiny invisible images or bits of code in a page, app or email that report back when and where you opened it. For example, a pixel in a marketing email tells the sender the moment you read it.
How we got here · grade F · score 20/100 · 15 of 15 policy answers backed by a verified quote · 2 not stated
What does the app collect beyond what it needs to work?
They collect chats, account details, device IDs, payment info, geolocation, and data from ads and other platforms, more than needed just to chat.
Does it record your voice, face or body, and what happens to that?
If you use voice features they collect voice recordings, and they say they use collected information to train AI models.
Are your chats and uploads used to train AI models, and is that off by default?
They say they use information to train AI models and do not describe a way to opt out of that training.
Can employees or contractors read your conversations, and when?
They may access, review, screen, and edit your content at any time, and they use manual measures for moderation, with no review opt-out described.
Are you profiled or tracked for advertising?
Third-party advertising and analytics providers use cookies and tracking to deliver tailored ads.
Do they sell or share your data, and can you opt out?
They share with affiliates, vendors, and ad partners, and they mention a right to opt out of sales or targeted advertising where the law allows.
What rights do they take over what you type and what the AI makes?
You keep ownership on paper, but you grant them a perpetual, irrevocable, sublicensable license to use your content and AI output for any purpose.
How long do they keep your data after you delete it, and can you delete it in the app?
Not stated in the documents.
Does it build a lasting memory or profile of you, and can you see, edit or turn it off?
They make inferences about your preferences and interests, but they do not describe memory controls you can view or turn off.
Do they commit to basic security, and have they leaked data?
Not stated in the documents.
Is there a real age gate, and are teens protected?
They say you must not sign up if you are under 13 (or under 16 in the EEA/UK), but that is a stated minimum, not an age-check process.
Will they tell you when the rules change, and is the policy specific?
The policy is dated and they say they will give notice of material changes, but retention and some purposes stay vague, and continued use means you accept.
Can they close your account without warning, and can you get your data out first?
They can end your account without prior notice and discard content; their license to your content survives termination.
If something goes wrong, who pays?
The service is as-is, liability is capped at $100 or what you paid, and you must indemnify them for losses related to your use.
Do subscriptions renew on their own, and can you get a refund?
Subscriptions auto-renew until you cancel, and payments are non-refundable except where the law requires otherwise.
The privacy policy is 2,817 words at a college graduate level (Flesch reading ease 37.4); the terms are 6,848 words at a college graduate level.
