Former Character.AI Users - Moved To Other Chatbots & Why

Left Character.AI for another chatbot? I’d love to hear about it Hi everyone :) The mods kindly gave me permission before I posted this I’m Effie Webb, a reporter at The Bureau of Investigative Journalism in London where I cover AI. I previously worked at Business Insider. I wanted to post in the Character AI Runaways subreddit because I’m reporting on AI companion chatbots and I’d really like to hear from people who’ve moved from Character.AI to somewhere else. That could be after the under-18 ban, because of filter or content changes, because the app started feeling different, or just because another platform worked better for you. I’m interested in what made you leave and where you ended up. Maybe that was Janitor, Polybuzz, Shapes, Nomi, Kindroid, Replika, something custom or self-hosted, or a mix of a few. I’d also love to hear how it compares day to day. Mixed experiences are very welcome too. Maybe the new platform is better in some ways and worse in others. If you’d be up for chatting I’m happy to talk over DM here, email, Signal, WhatsApp, phone, or video call. Whatever feels easiest - I can also speak off the record and I’m happy to keep conversations anonymous. Happy to answer any questions or to send questions over DM or email first. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/effie-webb-ab2994193/ Author page: https://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/profile/EffieWebb Recent piece for context: https://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2025-10-22/gang-leaders-school-shooters-and-bestie-epstein-meet-character.ais-chatbot-companions Thanks so much x