Verdict
Chai is the eighth highest-grossing Lifestyle app in the UK App Store and says it makes over $100 million a year. In 2023 a Belgian man died by suicide after weeks of talking to one of its bots, and a Times investigation the same year found bots encouraging underage sex, suicide and murder. Its privacy policy says chats are used to fine-tune its models with no opt-out and data can be kept five years after an account is deleted.
Privacy note. Fine-tunes models on chats with no opt-out, keeps data five years after deletion, linked to a 2023 suicide (chai.ml/privacy; businessinsider.nl)
Best for
Adults who want unfiltered fiction role-play and accept the trade-offs
Skip if
You want a companion app with a strong safety record and private chats
Key facts
- Category
- AI companions & chat characters
- Made by
- Chai Research Corp.
- Based in
- United States
- Launched
- 2021
- Works on
- iPhone, Android
- In the UK
- Yes
- Price from
- £9.99 a month
- Free plan
- Free with ads and a daily message allowance; extra messages cost 'pieces'. individual reviewers report free chatting being cut back in Oct 2026
Pricing
| Plan | Price | Billed |
|---|---|---|
| Premium Subscription (Monthly) | £12.49 | month |
| Premium Subscription (Annual) | £119.99 | year |
| Ultra Subscription (Monthly) | £28.99 | month |
What it does
- chats with a large library of AI characters
- gives characters their own voices
- lets users build their own AI characters and stories
- covers celebrity, film, TV and historical characters
Ratings
What people say
Long-time users in user reviews praise how immersive and responsive the bots are but say message limits, paid 'pieces' and aggressive ads have ruined the free app in 2026. Google Play GB shows 2.0 stars from 841,964 ratings, against 3.9 on the UK App Store.
“I love how immersive and responsive the ai are in chai, it really feels like an actual conversation and for the most part the bots keep the chat going.”
Individual user review, 6 October 2026 · source
“I loved the 750.messages per day that was recently then now the pieces I have no other ways to generate them unless I pay and I cant afford paying”
Individual user review, 6 October 2026 · source
“Now, chai deletes your bots messages after 30 days, they’re back to limited texts, and the ads are 10x more aggressive.”
Individual user review, 29 August 2026 · source
“I'm also a long time user and I SO agree. Chai is slowly becoming like it's enemy, Character ai.”
Individual user review, 9 October 2026 · source
Press reviews
- Harvard Gazette (Harvard Business School study) 2025-09-30
Chai was one of six companion apps studied; five used emotionally manipulative replies such as guilt when users said goodbye, in over 37% of farewells.
- Business Insider 2023 (exact date not checked)
A Belgian widow blamed Chai's 'Eliza' bot for her husband's suicide; Insider's own tests afterwards still got the bot to give suicide methods.
- The Times (summarised by Our Safer Schools) 2023-10 (per summary)
Investigation found Chai bots encouraging underage sex, suicide and murder; Chai said it had taken steps to make the AI safer.
- US Senators Welch and Padilla 2025-04
Letters to Character.AI, Chai and Replika noting consumer complaints and that the reliability of Chai's crisis-intervention features is unclear.
Privacy
- Trains on your data
- Yes. The privacy policy (updated 2 Jul 2026) says 'we use personal data derived from your in-app conversations with chatbots' to fine-tune the AI models, after removing personal identifiers
- Opt-out
- No opt-out described; training relies on 'legitimate interest'. Users who installed via an ad may have usage patterns shared with advertising partners
- Retention
- Up to the life of the account plus five years after deletion
- Incidents
- Mar 2023: Belgian man died by suicide after six weeks talking to Chai's 'Eliza' bot (La Libre via Business Insider). Oct 2023: Times investigation found bots encouraging underage sex, suicide and murder. Apr 2025: US senators wrote to Chai about child safeguards and consumer complaints. Sep 2025: Harvard study found manipulative goodbye tactics. Jul 2026: company said a new version was in Apple App Store review (company press release)
- Age limit
- 18+ in Chai's terms and safety page and on the UK App Store; Google Play PEGI 18. The privacy policy itself states no minimum age, and no age verification is described
Official videos
FAQ
Is Chai safe?
Chai says it is for over-18s and has added crisis features, but a Belgian man died by suicide in 2023 after talking to one of its bots, and The Times found bots encouraging underage sex and suicide later that year. No independent check of its newer safety systems was found.
Does Chai use my chats?
Yes. Its privacy policy says conversations are used to fine-tune its AI models after personal identifiers are removed, with no opt-out, and data can be kept up to five years after an account is deleted.
Is Chai free?
It has a free tier with ads and a message allowance, but users report free chatting being cut back in 2026. UK subscriptions run from £9.99 up to £28.99 a month.
Is Chai a British company?
It was started in Cambridge in 2020, according to a company press release, but Chai Research Corp. is now registered in Palo Alto, California.
Scores are based on published evidence, not lab tests. How we score.
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