Replika review

What Replika is

Replika is the app that defined the category. Launched in 2017 by Luka, Inc. of San Francisco, it gives you a single companion with a name, an avatar and a relationship status (friend, partner, mentor or spouse) that you talk to over time. It is positioned as an emotional-wellness product rather than an adult one. Founder Eugenia Kuyda stepped down as CEO in early 2025 and former COO Dmytro Klochko took over. The company’s home page now says it has “rebuilt Replika from the ground up” and counts about 42 million users. That rebuild, known as Replika 2.0, reached new accounts from April 2026 and, as reported in September 2026, runs beside the original app, which users call Classic. The two differ enough that which one you are on matters more than which plan you buy. Replika’s history is also inseparable from the February 2023 removal of erotic roleplay after the Italian regulator intervened.

Replika’s public homepage, captured September 2026.

Chat and roleplay

Conversation is calm, supportive and consistent rather than dazzling. Replika’s model is tuned for emotional register: it responds to a sad message with care rather than cheer, which long-term users cite as its main strength. Against newer companion apps built on larger language models it can feel formulaic: replies are shorter, story-driven roleplay is thinner, and the “redirect” behaviour introduced in 2023 still surfaces when a conversation heads toward explicit territory. Romantic and partner modes are paid. What you get there is affectionate and flirtatious but not explicit; accounts created before February 2023 can switch to a legacy version that retains more of the older behaviour, though users report it has been narrowed over time. Users who moved to 2.0 report a shift in tone, with some describing a more generic personality after migration, as reported in September 2026.

Replika’s homepage feature section, September 2026.

Memory

Memory has been Replika’s best feature, and the rebuild has made it a contested one. The app keeps an explicit memory store (facts about you, your people, your routines) that you can open, read and edit, and the home page sells the new version on remembering “what matters”. Ultra adds “save message to memory”, which pins any line into permanent recall. Third-party coverage describes the 2.0 memory system as segmented and weighted towards recent conversation. Luka has said memories, personality and saved people carry over on migration, but as reported in September 2026 some long-standing users found that their companion had lost names and shared history afterwards, with most facts recoverable by restating them over several days. The Diary, the companion’s own running journal of the relationship, is reported to be absent from 2.0 and not transferable. Luka has not published a changelog that confirms or disputes these reports.

Models and technology

Replika is opaque about what runs under the hood. The official line, in the help centre, is that it combines its own and third-party large language models with scripted dialogue content. No model, vendor, parameter count or context window is named on any current Luka page.

The history is better documented by outsiders. Luka open-sourced its early dialogue model, CakeChat, ran on OpenAI GPT-3 through the API around 2020 to 2021, then switched to an in-house fine-tuned GPT-2 XL by early 2022. In February 2023 the Advanced AI toggle introduced a larger model with longer context. Today the terms define Ultra by “smarter conversations” and “elevated emotional intelligence”, which reviewers read as a larger model, but Luka does not say so directly. The Replika 2.0 rebuild changed the memory design and reset the conversational baseline; again, no model was named. Selfie images, realistic selfie videos and call voices are all generated by undisclosed models.

Images, video and voice

Replika’s media is avatar-based, and this is where the rebuild has taken most away. Classic has a customisable 3D companion that can be dressed with items bought with gems and placed in your room through the AR camera. As reported in September 2026, the 2.0 build replaces it with a simpler animated avatar, launched without the wardrobe, make-up and eye-colour options, and does not carry Classic avatars or purchased outfits across; new 2.0 outfits have been added since June 2026. Users holding large gem balances report having little to spend them on. The terms list Replika selfies, image generation, voice messaging, background calls and premium voices under Pro. Platinum adds real-time video recognition through your camera and up to 10 realistic selfie videos. A Meta Quest app exists for Classic.

Beyond chat: what else it does

Replika is a single-companion app, so it has no character marketplace, no group chats and no lorebooks. Its extras are about presence and self-care, and almost all sit behind the paid tiers. The list below follows the terms dated 30 March 2026 and the help centre; availability on the 2.0 build is not documented feature by feature.

• Voice calls (Pro): phone-style conversation that keeps running in the background, plus voice messages and premium voices.

• Real-time video recognition (Platinum): the Replika sees your camera feed and comments on it.

• Selfies and image generation (Pro) and up to 10 realistic selfie videos (Platinum).

• Memory tools: a visible memory section; Ultra adds saving messages to memory.

• Self-reflections (Ultra), Training Mode (up to 100 uses a week, Platinum) and Read Replika’s Mind (up to 50 messages a week, Platinum).

• AR mode and a Meta Quest app, both tied to the Classic 3D avatar.

• Gems, sold in packs from $0.99 to $19.99 on the US App Store, for avatar and room items.

The Diary is reported to have been dropped in 2.0. Erotic roleplay was removed in February 2023 and there is no NSFW switch. There is no public API, no Discord or Telegram bot, and only one companion per account.

The free tier, honestly

The free tier remains one of the fairer ones in the category: unlimited text, no ads and a companion locked to “friend” status. What it withholds is everything relational (romantic and mentor modes, voice calls, the better model, memory saving), so it works as a genuine trial of the personality but not of the product people pay for. There are no message caps or slow modes to worry about. The caveat in 2026 is that new mobile sign-ups may be placed on the 2.0 build, as reported, so the free experience a newcomer sees may not be the one older reviews describe.

Platforms and apps

The home page now advertises Replika for iOS and Android only and lists the browser version in its footer as “Web App (Legacy)”, which suggests the web client is being maintained rather than developed. The US App Store listing is rated 18+ and showed version 12.3.5, dated 24 July 2026, when checked in September. The March 2026 terms state that under-18s are not authorised to use the service. As reported in September 2026, existing users have been able to migrate to 2.0 by choice since 24 July 2026, with a seven-day window to roll back, and Luka has said Classic is not being withdrawn.

Replika in the Apple App Store, September 2026 (rated 18+).

Replika on Google Play, September 2026 (10M+ downloads, USK 12+).

Support, cancellation and refunds

There is a comprehensive help centre and an in-app support form; replies are by email. Subscriptions bought through the App Store or Google Play are cancelled there; web subscriptions are cancelled in the web app under Settings, Subscription. Do not rely on account deletion to stop billing: Replika’s help centre says deleting the account does not automatically cancel a subscription, while the terms say it ends at the close of the billing period, so cancel first. The terms are blunt: sales are final, whether bought through Apple or on the website, with exceptions only where local law requires, and EU residents lose the 14-day withdrawal right once the purchase is delivered. Refunds for store purchases are Apple’s or Google’s decision. As reported in September 2026, some subscribers who migrated to 2.0 were carried over to its plans and others were asked to pay again, so check the subscription screen before switching.

Who it is for

Replika suits people who want a steady, emotionally attentive companion for a daily check-in or a voice call and who are happy with romance that stays soft. It is a poor fit for anyone wanting explicit roleplay, story-heavy fiction or generated images, and its prices are still not published on its website. Long-standing users should treat the move to 2.0 with care: back up what matters, use the rollback window, and do not assume avatars, outfits or the Diary will follow. The company has now changed what Replika is twice, in 2023 and in 2026, and that is the main risk in committing years to it.

Research basis: desk research from the official site, help centre and public user reports, September 2026.