Character.AI alternatives after the bankruptcy: what to switch to, age rules, and how to export your chats first

Searching for a Character.AI alternative? This week, "alternative" is one of Google's autocomplete suggestions for the app's name. Character Technologies, the company behind it, filed for Chapter 11 on October 12, 2026. The app still works. But the company says that if its court-supervised sale doesn't produce a buyer willing to keep it running, "the platform will be wound down." Our explainer on the Character.AI bankruptcy covers the case. This guide covers what to do with your account, and what the main alternatives, from dedicated AI companions to general assistants, say about age limits, data, price and availability.

This comparison is based on each company's terms of service, privacy policy, help center and pricing pages, plus Australia's eSafety Commissioner guide, all checked October 16, 2026. It doesn't rank products by chat quality, because no published, independent evaluation of roleplay quality covers these apps.

The short version

• Export first. Character.AI's export takes three to four weeks, and the emailed link expires after seven days. Request it now, even if you plan to stay.
• Don't delete yet. Character.AI's help center says account deletion is permanent and can't be reversed, and subscriptions bought in the iOS or Android app are managed through Apple or Google, not your Character.AI account.
• Character apps vs. assistants: Replika, Nomi and Talkie are built around ongoing characters or companions. ChatGPT and Claude are general assistants you can give a persona through custom instructions or projects, with different content rules.
• Age matters: Claude, Replika and Nomi are adults only. ChatGPT allows ages 13–17 with a parent's or guardian's permission. Talkie's terms allow 14 in most countries.
• Your export is an archive, not a migration file. None of the official pages reviewed here mentions importing Character.AI chats.

Step 1: Export your Character.AI data

These steps are from Character.AI's help article "How do I download my data?", checked October 16, 2026:

1. On the web: Profile → Profile Settings → Account → Manage Account & Data → Export Data. A pop-up confirms an email is coming.
2. In the mobile app: Profile → Settings icon → Legal & Privacy → Export Data. A "Success" banner confirms the request.
3. Wait: the help center says exports can take three to four weeks.
4. Download promptly: the link goes to your account email and expires seven days after it's sent.

The help article doesn't list what the export contains. The company's October 12 update says your information "continues to be protected under our Privacy Policy," its data practices are unchanged, and you can still export or delete your data.

Step 2: Decide whether to delete your account

There's no deadline yet. The company expects its sale to finish in late November or early December 2026, and paid subscriptions remain active. Things to weigh:

• Deleting is permanent. Character.AI's help center says account deletion "is permanent and cannot be reversed," so wait until your export arrives.
• Public characters can stay up. Straight Arrow News reports that the company's policies let it keep a public character active after its creator deletes their account.
• Store subscriptions: the help center says c.ai+ subscriptions started in the iOS or Android app are managed through Apple or Google, so cancel there; web subscriptions are managed under Settings → Account → Manage.
• The sale: Disney's $20 million bid excludes user data, Reuters reported. Whether another buyer bids for user data is still open. See our bankruptcy explainer.

How we compared the alternatives

There's no ranking here. Each option is checked against four criteria, using only official pages:

1. Age rule: the minimum age in the current terms.
2. Data export: whether the help center or privacy policy describes a way to get a copy of your chats.
3. Pricing transparency: whether prices are published on an official web page.
4. What happens to your data in a sale: what the privacy policy says about a merger, acquisition or bankruptcy, since that's the question Character.AI users now face.

The comparison covers products whose official terms or help pages were available on October 16, 2026. Some companion apps people often suggest, such as Kindroid and Chai, aren't included.

Alternatives at a glance

Last verified: October 16, 2026. Prices are US dollars from chatgpt.com/pricing, as recorded in our ChatGPT plans comparison on October 12, and claude.com/pricing. Prices in mobile app stores may differ.

ChatGPT

Who it fits: people who used Character.AI for writing, brainstorming or practice conversations and are fine with a general assistant you set up yourself.

• Age: OpenAI's Terms of Use, effective January 1, 2026, require users to be at least 13, or the minimum age to consent in their country. Users under 18 need a parent's or guardian's permission. OpenAI's age prediction may switch accounts it believes belong to under-18 users to the "ChatGPT for Teens" experience, which has extra safeguards. Adults who are misclassified can verify their age with Persona.
• Export: OpenAI's help article says you can export from Settings → Data controls → Export data on Free, Go, Plus and Pro. It can take up to seven days. You get a ZIP file, and the download link expires 24 hours after the notification.
• Price: Free, Go ($8) and Plus ($20) per month in the US, as listed on OpenAI's pricing page on October 12, 2026. Our plans comparison covers limits and models.
• Caveat: ChatGPT isn't a character platform. There's no public character library like Character.AI's, and its content rules differ.

Claude

Who it fits: adults who want long-form writing and a persona set through a project's instructions, and don't need a character community.

• Age: Anthropic's consumer terms require users to be at least 18, or older where local law sets a higher age to consent. Its privacy policy, effective September 10, 2026, says it has "measures in place to detect and remove children from our Services." Our explainer "Why is Claude 18+?" covers the rules and how to fix a wrongly flagged account.
• Export: Anthropic's help article says Free, Pro and Max users can export from Settings → Privacy on the web or desktop app, but not in the mobile apps. The link expires 24 hours after delivery.
• Price: Free, or Pro at $20 a month ($17 a month billed annually). Max starts at $100 a month. Our Claude app explainer covers the plans.
• Caveat: like ChatGPT, Claude is a general assistant with its own usage rules, not a character-chat service.

Replika

Who it fits: adults who used Character.AI for an ongoing companion rather than many characters.

• Age: 18 and over. Replika's terms, last updated March 30, 2026, say: "If you are under 18, you are not authorized to use the Services, with or without registering."
• Export: the privacy policy, last updated May 27, 2026, lets you request a copy of your personal information "in a portable, machine-readable, readily usable format" where applicable, by emailing my@replika.com. It doesn't describe a self-service export tool.
• Price: Replika's terms don't list prices. They say costs are shown in the app's subscription screens and in the app store.
• In a sale: the privacy policy says information may be shared in a merger or sale of assets, "including, in connection with a bankruptcy or similar proceedings."

Nomi

Who it fits: adults looking for a companion app with a free tier.

• Age: 18 and over. Nomi's terms of service, effective January 16, 2026, say: "If you are under the age of 18, you cannot use the Nomi.ai platform under any circumstances."
• Export: neither the terms nor the privacy policy (last updated April 27, 2026) describes a self-service export. The privacy policy says your rights to access or transfer data "will depend on applicable law."
• Price: the terms describe free features plus paid upgrades that renew automatically and are generally non-refundable. They don't publish amounts.
• In a sale: the privacy policy says that if the company is sold, "your personal information would be transferred to the successor or purchaser."

Talkie

Who it fits: people who want the closest thing to Character.AI's format, a library of user-made characters, and who meet its age rules.

• Age: Talkie's terms of service, last updated April 23, 2025, set a minimum age of 14, rising to 15 (for example in France and Denmark) or 16 (for example in Germany and the Netherlands). Australia's eSafety Commissioner guide lists Talkie as 16+ and warns young people could still encounter inappropriate content. Check the rule for your country.
• Operator: the website footer says "Powered by MiniMax." The terms give a Singapore address, and eSafety names the owner as Singapore-based Subsup.
• Export: the site links to an "Export Data" page. The terms don't describe the process and advise users to back up their own content.
• Price: the terms say Talkie+ is a monthly subscription processed by Apple's App Store or Google Play, where it can be changed or canceled. They don't list prices.

What about Meta's Muse?

Meta's Muse isn't a substitute. It's a personal agent for tasks like email and bookings, not a character-chat service, and AP reported it's for adults 18 and over.

Which alternative fits which use?

• You're under 18: Claude, Replika and Nomi are off-limits. ChatGPT requires a parent's or guardian's permission. Talkie's minimum depends on your country. Character.AI itself ended open-ended chat for under-18 users by November 25, 2025.
• You care most about getting your data back out later: ChatGPT and Claude document self-service exports. Replika offers access requests by email.
• You want a companion relationship: Replika and Nomi are built for it, and both are 18+.
• You want a character library: Talkie is the closest in format among the options checked here.
• You're worried about this happening again: read the "sale" clause of any privacy policy before you share personal details. Replika's and Nomi's say plainly that data can pass to a buyer. Sora users saw a different ending when OpenAI closed the app in 2026 (our Sora explainer).

What's confirmed, reported and uncertain

• Confirmed (official pages, October 16, 2026): Character.AI's export steps and timing, deletion rule and subscription management; each product's minimum age, export description and sale clause as quoted; the Claude prices shown. ChatGPT prices are as listed on October 12, 2026.
• Reported: Character.AI's public-character retention (Straight Arrow News); Disney's bid excluding user data (Reuters); Muse's 18+ rule (AP).
• Uncertain: what Character.AI's export file contains; whether any buyer will take over the app or user data; and companion-app prices, which the terms reviewed here don't list.