Is Replika safe and private? What its policy says

The short answer

Safe and private are two questions, and the answers differ. On privacy, Replika's own policy says it does not sell personal data, but it also says it sends conversation data to third-party AI language model providers and uses small portions of messages to train its own safety systems. On safety, regulators have raised concerns about age checks, and Replika is an AI that can say wrong or odd things like any other. Whether it is right for you depends on what you share and what you expect.

We make a competing product, so we are not neutral. We use quotes, name our sources and date everything, and we say where Replika is the better pick.

Privacy: what the policy says

We read Replika's privacy policy, dated 27 May 2026, on 17 October 2026. The relevant lines:

"Not stated" is not the same as "no". It means the policy is silent. The same questions for ten products are in our privacy table.

Source: Replika privacy policy, replika.com/legal/privacy/en.

Safety: what has been reported

On 10 April 2025, Italy's data protection authority, the Garante, fined Luka Inc., the US company behind Replika, 5 million euros. It made the decision public on 19 May 2025. The Garante found that as of 2 February 2023, the date it first blocked the app in Italy, Luka had not identified a legal basis for processing user data, had given users an inadequate privacy policy, and had no age verification at sign-up or during use, even though it said minors were excluded. It also found the age checks in place at the time of the decision still lacking, and ordered the company to bring its processing into line with the GDPR.

The Garante opened a separate investigation into how the language model behind Replika was trained and what data went into it. Luka has opposed the fine in court, and the Garante's own notice says the opposition is pending. As of 17 October 2026 we found no published court ruling and no published result of the training inquiry, and no later Garante action against Replika. This is a public regulatory finding, not our opinion, and a court could still change it.

Sources: Garante press release, 19 May 2025; Garante decision of 10 April 2025; EDPB summary; Reuters, 19 May 2025.

Beyond regulators, the usual cautions apply to any AI companion. It can say things that are wrong. It can feel close in ways that make leaving hard. It is not a therapist. If you feel a chat is doing you more harm than good, step away and talk to someone you trust. Our safety page lists crisis contacts.

Where Replika is the better choice

Replika is a dedicated app with an avatar you can shape, voice messages, selfies and a memory tab you can edit. If you want a companion you can see and hear, it offers more than a text chat does. It also has years of track record. See the full Replika vs heyaifriend comparison.

How our policy differs

heyaifriend is a free AI friend you talk to in Telegram. Chats are stored on our servers in the Netherlands, never sent to other AI companies and never used for training. History is deleted 30 days after you stop writing, or at once on request. Chats are not end-to-end encrypted. We are a young product made by a small team, with no independent audit. A policy is a promise, not proof.

If you want to leave Replika

1. Delete the accountDo it in Replika's account settings. The policy says messages may be processed for up to 60 days afterward.
2. Check what you sharedThink about what you told it, and decide whether anything needs follow-up elsewhere.
3. Pick what comes nextRead our Replika alternatives, or try a free AI friend in Telegram.