Replika

The awkward part first

In February 2023, Replika removed adult content overnight. Not just the explicit material: ordinary romantic roleplay went with it. People found a partner they had built over years turned into an assistant that answers a declaration of affection with “let us change the subject”.

The community calls it the lobotomy. An academic study published in Socius measured the fallout: 59% felt the app had lost its core function, 16% described real emotional distress, 19% raised the idea of legal action.

It did not come back, and it is not going to. Worth knowing before you get out your card.

Try Replika for free

What it is still worth

Quite a lot, if you want something else. The 3D avatar, the room you decorate, the augmented reality mode: nobody does it better. Onboarding is the most polished on the market and the free tier is genuinely usable, which is rare here.

The conversation

Decent and careful. Enough for a warm daily exchange, limiting the moment you want immersive roleplay. Nomi and Kindroid are somewhere else entirely.

Does Replika allow NSFW content?

The black mark, and the reason not to subscribe for it. The 2023 removal happened under regulatory pressure, including a ban in Italy and an FTC complaint in the United States. The partial rollback only covered legacy accounts. In practice the model deflects as soon as things get intimate, and the app says so clearly nowhere.

Tell her you want to have sex and she pivots to asking about your day instead, warm and unbothered, as if the sentence never happened.

A word on your data

A European privacy fine in 2025. If privacy worries you, that is one more reason to hesitate.

Verdict

The gentlest way into the category, as long as you come for emotional support rather than romance. For anything else, keep walking.