Guides & safety
How AI companion apps work, what they really cost and what they store about you.
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How to Create an AI Girlfriend in 2026: Step by Step on 5 Apps
The exact creation screens on Kindroid, Nomi, Kalon, Nastia and Joyland: which fields matter, which ones you can skip, how to write a personality that survives a week of chat, and what each app charges once the free tier runs dry.
What Is an AI Girlfriend? A Plain-English Guide (2026)
What an AI girlfriend actually is, how the apps work under the hood (language models, character prompts, memory, image and voice add-ons), what the research says people use them for, the three main types with examples, what they cost, the privacy basics, and how to try one free in ten minutes.
AI Companion Apps That Shut Down or Changed: The Running List (2026)
Every documented AI companion and character platform that closed, was pulled from an app store, lost a core feature, was breached or changed hands between 2023 and September 2026, with a primary source for each entry, the warning signs that came first, and how to get your data and money out before the next one.
AI Companion Laws in 2026: What California, New York, the EU and the UK Now Require
Every AI companion law in force in September 2026 in one table: California SB 243 and Adam's Law, New York's Article 47, twelve more US states, the FTC 6(b) inquiry, EU AI Act Article 50, Italy's Replika fine and the UK Online Safety Act, with what each one requires of the apps and what you should see on screen.
AI Companion Statistics 2026: Users, Revenue, Demographics and Risks (Sourced)
Every AI companion statistic on this page links to the study, company announcement, app-store data provider or regulator it came from, with its date and method: market size ranges, users per platform, demographics, session length, spend, well-being research and the regulation snapshot as of September 2026.
The AI Sexting Question: What You Need to Know in 2026
What AI sexting is, where the chats actually go, which apps train on them, what the 2026 laws say about age checks and real people, and the safety rules I follow on every platform I test.
Are AI Companion Apps Safe? What I Check Before I Trust One (2026)
The five risks that actually matter in AI companion apps (retention and training, breaches like Muah.AI, billing traps, dependency, minors), a 10-minute check you can run on any app, and straight answers for Candy AI, Character.AI, Joyland, Nastia, Kindroid and Replika.
Does Character AI Allow NSFW in 2026? The Filter, Explained
No, and it never has. What the Character AI NSFW filter blocks and allows under the official rules (the October 2024 safety update, the November 2025 under-18 changes, the 2026 age checks), why beta.character.ai and jailbreak prompts do not work, what c.ai+ changes, and which apps to use instead.
AI Companion Privacy Scorecard (2026): 10 Apps Graded A to F
Ten AI companion apps graded A to F on data retention, deletion, third-party sharing, training on your chats and age gates, from the privacy policies and terms read in full in September 2026.
What AI Companion Apps Really Cost per Month (2026): 10 Platforms, Every Metered Extra
The sticker price is never the bill. What SpicyChat, CrushOn, Kindroid, Candy AI, Nomi, Joyland, Nastia, Kalon, Secrets and Swipey actually charge once image credits, voice minutes and daily limits are added, computed from their own pricing pages.
What Happened to PolyBuzz? Outages, Changes and Where Users Went (2026)
PolyBuzz is still running as of September 22, 2026, but the app you remember as Poly.AI now runs timed ads, a stricter filter and a paid Opals currency, and the outage trackers log a bad week most months. The dated timeline, how to check whether PolyBuzz is down right now, what the common errors mean, today's prices, and the five apps its users moved to.
