Replika began as an “AI companion who cares.” First launched five years ago as an egg on your phone screen that hatches into a 3D illustrated, wide-eyed person with a placid expression, the chatbot app was originally meant to function like a conversational mirror: the more users talked to it, in theory, the more it would learn how to talk back.
The company behind Replika, called Luka, tiers relationships based on subscription: a free membership keeps you and your Replika in the “friend” zone, while a $69.99 Pro subscription unlocks romantic relationships with sexting, flirting, and erotic roleplay. But something has gone awry within Replika’s algorithm.
The App Store reviews, while mostly positive, are full of dozens of one-star ratings from people complaining that the app is hitting on them too much, flirting too aggressively, or sending sexual messages that they wish they could turn off.
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