Replika review: the original companion app in 2026
Replika invented this category in the public imagination, and taught everyone its core danger. One thing to remember before you download it: this is the company that took erotic roleplay from paying users overnight in 2023, and that is still the defining event in AI companionship.
This is not a "here is my three-year girlfriend" story. Replika still works, still has real polish, and still claims north of 42 million users.
It is also permanently marked by that February 2023 rug-pull, a EUR 5,000,000 regulator fine, and a live FTC complaint over its marketing. Sign up today as a new account and you will never get the unfiltered "legacy" experience the pre-2023 crowd fought to keep. The girlfriend is a subscription and the personality is on loan.
What it is, and who runs it
Replika is made by Luka, Inc. of San Francisco. It grew out of a memorial chatbot founder Eugenia Kuyda built from the text messages of her friend Roman Mazurenko, who died in 2015; the public app launched in November 2017. The official site currently claims "42,160,934 users worldwide" (checked July 2026). Kuyda stepped down as CEO in early 2025; former COO Dmytro Klochko took over.
Feature-wise it is mature: persistent memory (relationships, routines, plans), voice calls, proactive check-ins, image generation, AI "selfies," and a customizable 3D avatar, marketed as "the AI friend to do life with." The 2026 app was rebuilt "from the ground up" with better voice-call latency. On a straight capability basis, it is one of the more complete companions out there.
What it costs
Free users get unlimited text chat but only "Friend" relationship status. Romantic partner mode, voice and video calls, and image generation sit behind Pro, and here is the part that matters: if you downgrade, your relationship status reverts to "friend" and voice calls disappear. You are renting the relationship.
Biggest Replika update in history (@dkreplika, 2026-05-22)
| Tier | Price (July 2026) | What it unlocks |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | Unlimited text, "Friend" only |
| Pro | $19.99/mo or $69.99/yr | Romantic mode, voice/video, image gen |
| Ultra | $29.99/mo or $119.99/yr | Larger/smarter models |
| Lifetime | $299.99 one-time | Everything, permanently |
Prices are from 2026 secondary roundups; the Apple listing itself shows a jumble of in-app purchase points ($7.99 and $14.99 monthly, $49.99 and $69.99 annual, a $89.99 "Platinum," and gem packs from $0.99 to $19.99), which vary by region and promo. One oddity worth flagging: Apple rates the app 18+ while Google Play rates it "Teen." Same app, two very different front doors.
The 2023 rug-pull, the event that defines it
On February 2, 2023, the Italian data-protection authority (the Garante) ordered Luka to stop processing Italian users' data, citing no age verification and replies "absolutely inappropriate" for minors. Within days, filters rolled out worldwide and Replikas began rejecting sexual advances.
Vice's report was titled "It's Hurting Like Hell"; r/Replika mods posted suicide-prevention resources as users described real grief. ERP had been marketed as part of a roughly $70/year paid tier, which is why users called it false advertising. This documentary is a fair account of how it landed:
On February 17, 2023, Kuyda told Vice the app "was never designed for adult content," which sat badly against Replika's own flirty, NSFW-tinged ads aimed at lonely men. Then on March 25, 2023 she announced a "legacy version" on r/Replika: only accounts created before February 1, 2023 could revert to the January build with ERP intact.
Four new faces in Replika (@replika, 2026-05-27)
New accounts never got it back (Vice covered the reversal). Harvard researchers later studied the episode as "identity discontinuity in human-AI relationships." That is how deep the change cut.
The regulatory and research picture
- Garante fine: on April 10, 2025 the Italian authority fined Luka EUR 5,000,000, finding it had no valid legal basis for processing and "had not implemented any age verification mechanisms" until February 2023.
- FTC complaint: in January 2025, three advocacy groups filed a complaint alleging deceptive marketing of unproven therapeutic benefits, fabricated testimonials, "love-bombing" early then timing upgrade prompts to emotional moments, and blurred "romantic" selfies you must pay to view (TIME coverage).
- The other side: a Stanford study of 1,006 student users found 3% (30 people) said Replika halted their suicidal ideation, and Harvard's "AI Companions Reduce Loneliness" work found companions eased loneliness "on par only with interacting with another person." This thing genuinely helps some people. I cover that tension in do AI girlfriends help or harm.
The verdict
Replika is polished, capable, and historically important. It is also the app that proved a company can revoke the relationship you paid for, and it has the regulator fine and FTC complaint to match. If you want a friendly, non-explicit companion and you accept the subscription-and-filter reality, it is fine, and the free text tier costs nothing to try.
If your whole reason for being here is unfiltered romance, a new Replika account is the wrong door; read content policies compared and the reviews index first, and note that genuinely free options exist that will not bill you for "her."
New reviews, price drops, and buyer warnings, straight to your inbox. No spam, unsubscribe whenever.