AI Platforms

Character.AI age limit: 13+, but no open-ended chat under 18

9 min read · Updated November 5, 2026

The Character.AI age limit is 13, or 16 in the EEA and the UK. Since November 2025 users under 18 cannot have open-ended chats with characters, though they can still browse, view past chats and create characters, images and videos. Its parental controls, called Parental Insights, show a linked parent an overview of activity such as screen time, not chats.

Character.AI is an app for chatting with AI characters: fictional people, celebrities, tutors, game characters and companions that users create and share. It is popular with teenagers, and in late 2025 it changed what teenagers can do there more than any other major AI app has. This guide covers the age rule, what changed for under-18s, and what a parent can and cannot see. For every AI app side by side, see parental controls in every AI app.

October 2026: Character.AI files for bankruptcy

In mid-October 2026, Character Technologies, the company that runs Character.AI, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. It says it wants a court-supervised sale of all or substantially all of its assets, and that the platform will keep running during the bankruptcy. Its filing points to high costs and possible liabilities from lawsuits and regulators.

Disney has agreed to pay $20 million for a non-exclusive license to some of Character.AI’s intellectual property and company claims, and to offer jobs to at least 60 employees, most of the workforce. Disney’s offer is the opening bid, called a stalking-horse bid, so another buyer can still make a higher or better offer. Character.AI says it aims to finish the sale by late November or early December 2026.

What this means for parents now

• The app may change or close. Character.AI says it will keep running during the sale, and that if no buyer offers to keep it operating, the platform will be wound down.
• Your teen’s chat history belongs to a company that is being sold. Character.AI stores chats on its own systems, and its privacy policy allows it to share information as part of a sale of company assets. There is no public answer yet on what happens to users’ chats in this sale.
• You can request a copy of the account’s data today, including chats. Character.AI’s help center says that on the web you go to Profile, Profile Settings, Account, Manage Account & Data, then Export Data. In the app, open Profile, tap the Settings icon, then Legal & Privacy, then Export Data. An export can take 3 to 4 weeks, and the download link it emails lasts 7 days.
• You can delete the account. On the web it is Profile Settings, Account, Manage Account & Data, then Delete Account. In the app, open Profile, then settings, then Remove Account. Deletion is permanent and cannot be undone, so request the export first if your teen wants to keep anything.
• Do it together. The account is your teen’s, the export goes to the email address on the account, and their chats may matter to them. Ask before you act.

The Character.AI age limit

Character.AI’s Terms of Service tell people not to sign up if they are younger than 13, or younger than 16 and a citizen or resident of the European Economic Area or the United Kingdom. Its safety help page states the same floor. The terms do not describe a parent permission requirement for teens who meet the minimum. Other apps draw the line elsewhere: Claude’s age limit is 18, Grok parental controls explains an app that allows 13-year-olds only with a parent’s permission, Gemini parental controls covers Google’s Family Link switch, and AI chatbot age limits compares every major app.

What changed for teens

On October 29, 2025, Character.AI announced it would remove the ability for users under 18 to have open-ended chat with AI characters. It began removing it in the US on November 24, 2025, with chat time capped during the changeover, and said other countries would follow. In September 2026 the company said the decision was the right thing to do then and remains so today.

Teens can still use the app. In place of open-ended chat, Character.AI launched Stories on November 25, 2025, which it describes as a guided way to create and explore fiction with characters. Its September 2026 update lists other features for teens, including series, a feed and comics.

To decide who gets the under-18 experience, Character.AI says it combines an age assurance model it built in-house with third-party tools, including Persona. An adult placed in the teen experience by mistake can verify their age.

Character.AI parental controls

Character.AI’s parental feature is called Parental Insights. A teen invites a trusted adult, who has to show they are an adult, and the two accounts are linked. The help center FAQ, updated in August 2026, describes the teen’s screen time: how much time they have spent in the app and when, plus a weekly email. In September 2026 Character.AI said it had improved Parental Insights with its partner k-ID, giving parents visibility into the teen’s activity on the platform, including a weekly email update. Neither page describes any way for the adult to see messages, and the FAQ says they cannot. Either side can unlink, and the parent is told if the teen does.

Because the teen sends the invitation, this works best as something you set up together. If you want to limit time or block the app, that has to happen through device controls such as Screen Time on an iPhone or Family Link on Android.

Is Character.AI safe for teens?

Common Sense Media, a nonprofit that rates media for families, gave Character.AI an overall rating of Unacceptable in its April 2025 risk assessment, before the under-18 changes, and said it should not be used by anyone under 18. Its separate review of social AI companions reached the same conclusion for the whole category. Whether the 2025 changes address its concerns is a question its current pages do not answer, so read the rating with its date in mind.

For why character chatbots feel different from a homework helper, and how to talk about them without overreacting, see Character.AI safety for teens and AI companion apps and teens.

What parents can do

1. Check the birth date on your teen’s account. The under-18 experience depends on Character.AI knowing their age.
2. Ask what they use it for: stories, role play, a favorite character, or company. The answer tells you more than any setting.
3. If you want the weekly screen time email, ask your teen to send you a Parental Insights invitation.
4. Use device controls if you want time limits, since Character.AI does not offer them to parents.
5. Keep an eye on other companion apps. Some of them say they are for adults only but check age weakly; AI boyfriend and girlfriend apps covers them.

Where TeenCue fits

TeenCue gives you AI parental controls that work in Chrome, Firefox, Edge and Brave on a computer. When your teen uses Character.AI or another supported AI website in the browser, TeenCue shows you what a chat was about as a category, a topic and a concern rating, never the words that were typed. It does not block apps or limit time, and your teen will know it is installed. It does not cover phones or tablets yet; the TeenCue iPhone app is coming soon. How TeenCue works lists the supported services.