Replika
The original AI companion — customizable avatar that talks, remembers, and grows.
About
Replika, from Luka, Inc. in San Francisco, is the pioneering AI companion app — launched in 2017 by Eugenia Kuyda, originally built from a late friend's text messages. You create a customizable 3D avatar that acts as friend, partner, or mentor, with text and voice chat, AR mode, mood tracking, journaling prompts, and a leveling system. A 2026 rebuild added proactive check-ins, stronger memory, internet access, video calls, and image generation, with the company claiming 42 million users (unverifiable) and Google Play showing 20 million+ installs at a 4.2-4.4 star rating.
It's free to start with Pro, Ultra, and Platinum in-app upgrades. The honest caveats are significant: founder Kuyda stepped down as CEO (now advisor; Dmytro Klochko runs the company), the spring 2026 model swap degraded long-term memory for existing users per community reports, there's no clean export of your conversation history or memories, and privacy and dependency concerns deserve real attention — the company uses third-party language models and its terms restrict use to adults 18+.
What it can do
- Customizable 3D AI companion with text, voice, and video chat
- Long-term memory of your life, interests, and conversations
- AR mode, mood tracking, journaling, and guided exercises
- Proactive check-ins and relationship progression system
- Avatar, room, and outfit customization
Setup
Download Replika from the App Store or Google Play, or use the web app. Create your avatar, choose a relationship type, and start chatting. Pro/Ultra tiers unlock inside the app for voice calls, advanced models, and memory features.
Prerequisites
iOS, Android, or a browser; must be 18+ per the terms of service.
Use cases
Works with
Trust score — 7/10
Scored 7/10 (metrics tier, metrics-v1). Evidence: Verified via vendor site/docs/GitHub and reputable coverage, wave 68; Trending score 72/100 from researcher assessment.
Sources
Every fact above was checked against these sources. Where a claim comes from the provider and couldn't be independently verified, the text says so.