AI companion news
What changed in AI companion apps, when, and what it means for the people using them. Every story links its primary source.
- Zeta is off the App Store: what Scatter Lab says and what still works
Yes: since November 7, 2026, Zeta's iPhone app is missing from all 51 App Store storefronts we checked. Installed apps, Android and the web still work.
- EVA AI, Intimate and Paradot are off the App Store: what still works
Yes: on November 8, 2026 EVA AI's iPhone app was missing from all 53 App Store storefronts we check, and so were Intimate and Paradot. Android still works.
- Apple's new age rating makes romantic AI companion apps 18+
Apps whose virtual companion engages users in sexual or romantic content must be rated 18+. Questions open November 16; the deadline is January 12, 2027.
- Chai personas and memory are back after six days
They're back. Chai's personas and memory, missing since November 3, returned for most users on the afternoon of November 9, six days later.
- SpicyChat updates: every change since July 2026, newest first
SpicyChat's latest update (November 10) opened Rulebooks to every user, free accounts included, after an outage on November 9. Every change, dated.
- Tipsy Chat removed from the App Store: is it down, and what still works
Yes: Tipsy Chat's iPhone app is off the App Store in all 53 storefronts we checked on October 30, 2026. It isn't down: Google Play and tipsy.chat still work.
- Replika's new privacy policy and terms: what changed on October 28, 2026
Replika now keeps text chats for 24 months and media for 12, may delete unused free accounts after a year, and can ask for a selfie or ID age check.
- Apple's new rule for AI apps: Kindroid now blocks nude uploads on iPhone
Kindroid says Apple now makes every AI app block nude image uploads. Its iPhone app does so from October 27, 2026; the web and Android apps are unaffected.
- Chai is off the App Store: what its founder says and what still works
Yes, since October 22, 2026. Chai now runs in Safari at app.chai-ai.com, and Chai says your characters, chats and plan carry over. Android still works.
- What happened to PolyBuzz: off the App Store since October 15
PolyBuzz wasn't deleted: only its iPhone app left the App Store, on October 15, 2026. Android and polybuzz.ai still work. Checked daily; no reason given yet.
- Character AI files for Chapter 11: is it shutting down?
Not yet. Character AI is being sold in Chapter 11: bids are due November 24, the auction is December 1 and the court hears the sale December 3-4.
- Kindroid's free tier is gone: Lite retired on October 1, 2026
Kindroid ended Lite, its unlimited free tier, on October 1, 2026. What free accounts get now, what Lite users got, current prices and the free options left.
- Chai cuts its free pieces again: 20 a day and 2 per ad, users say
Barely. On November 7 Chai's founder confirmed the free check-in and ad pieces were cut; users report 20 pieces a day and 2 per ad, down from 70 and 5.
- What changed in AI companion apps in September 2026
September 2026 in AI companion apps: SpicyChat raises prices, Replika sells two yearly plans, Character.AI adds c.ai lite and Adam's Law is signed.
- Nomi is back on Google Play after its second removal
Yes. Nomi's Android app was back on Google Play on October 22, 2026, in the US, UK, Canada, Australia and India, six days after its second removal.
- The Replika FTC complaint: what it alleges and what happened next
The 67-page FTC complaint against Replika, what it alleges about ads and design, where it stands in 2026, and the Italian fine and inquiries that followed.
- Character AI lawsuits: every case, settlement and fine so far
Every Character AI lawsuit and regulator action with its court record: the family suits and their settlement, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, the FTC, Italy and Disney.