What changed in AI companion apps in September 2026

Every item below is recorded on the change log with its primary source, and the app pages it affects now show the new facts.

Prices

SpicyChat raised every plan. On September 8 all three of SpicyChat's plans went up, monthly and yearly, and SpicyChat published the old and new prices on its own pricing update page. Get a Taste rose by about a fifth, True Supporter by about a third and I'm All In by about a fifth. The SpicyChat review has the new plan table.

Replika's paywall now sells two yearly plans. On iPhone and Android, Replika's in-app paywall offers Plus and Max, both billed yearly, with no monthly option; Max costs about an eighth more than Plus and adds Replika's most advanced model and longer calls. Replika's help center still describes Free, Pro, Ultra and Platinum, without prices, so those names are not what the app sells today. See the Replika review.

Character.AI added a cheaper plan. A new Character.AI Lite subscription appeared on the US App Store between mid-August and early September, sold monthly, and weekly on Android, at about half the monthly price of Character.AI+. Archived copies of the listing date its arrival. See the Character AI review.

CrushOn retired Deluxe. CrushOn's pricing page now marks its Deluxe membership as retired. The ladder is Standard, Premium, Luxe, Elite and Imperial, each sold monthly in the app and yearly on the web. Details are on the CrushOn AI pricing page.

Janitor AI's paid plan reached the App Store. Janitor AI's iOS app, now called Janitor: Interactive Stories, lists janitor+ as an in-app purchase. Janitor AI's free tier is unchanged. See the Janitor AI review.

Removals and closures

Muah AI left the US App Store. Its listing now returns a not-found page; an archived copy from late August shows it live with a full set of in-app purchases. No statement came with the removal, and the service continues on the web. Muah AI joins SpicyChat, whose iOS app Apple removed in 2025, among adult companion apps that now run only in the browser on iPhone.

Avatar.One shut down. The 3D avatar companion site's domain now redirects to an unrelated business, with no notice, export or refund route left for users. Its page on this site is marked retired.

Law

California signed Adam's Law. On September 10 Governor Newsom signed SB 1119, which the governor's office describes as requiring protections around companion chatbots for children, including crisis protocols for suicidal ideation, parental controls and notifications if a child disables safety settings. It is also the first law in the US to require independent child safety audits and annual risk assessments for these products. The bill text makes its main sections operative from July 2027, and the first independent audits are due by the start of 2029. It applies to anyone who makes a companion chatbot available to users in California, and defines a child as anyone under 18.

What it means

The pattern of the month is the same as the year: prices drifting up at the top of the market, a cheaper tier appearing at the bottom, and adult apps losing their place in Apple's store. If you pay for one of these apps, check the renewal price in your account after a change like SpicyChat's, and prefer apps that let you export your chats.