Character.AI
The terms say do not sign up if you are under 13, or under 16 and a citizen or resident of the EEA or the UK. The Safety Center also says 16 in Europe. Since late November 2025, open-ended chat is not available for under-18s, with other countries still rolling that out when this was checked. Under-18 accounts get a reading-mode experience. Everyone has to pass an age check. This only helps if the birthday on the account is the real one.
Minimum age we could verify: 13. 13, or 16 in the EEA and the UK.
Parental Insights, a weekly email of time and top characters, is started by the teen. That help page was not read directly, so it is not listed as a step.
Confirm the account is in the under-18 experience
Both of you together · ages 13–17 · checked 30 Sep 2026
Open-ended chat is removed for under-18s only when the age check says they are under 18. A wrong birthday skips that protection. The age check uses Persona.
- Open the account together and confirm the birthday is the real one.
- Finish the age check the app asks for.
- If the account can still hold an open-ended chat, it is not in the under-18 state. Stop there and fix the age before anything else.
Block the app on the phone if you do not want it at all
On your phone · ages 5–17 · checked 30 Sep 2026
If you would rather it not be installed, use Apple Screen Time or Google Family Link. That is a device control, not a switch inside Character.AI.
- On an iPhone or iPad, block the install in Screen Time.
- On Android, block the app in Family Link.
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