Character AI Sale: Updates and How to Save Your Chats
Quick answer: Character.AI’s October 12 announcement describes a court-supervised sale process and says the platform remains available; it does not announce a completed acquisition. Request your data through the built-in export, allow three to four weeks for processing, and download it within seven days of the email being sent. Save your records first, then decide whether another companion service fits your needs; an export does not guarantee a transfer.
Source check: first checked on October 22, 2026; rechecked on November 8, 2026 against Character.AI’s official sale update and data download instructions linked below. Cariora’s features and limits were checked against its companion, pricing, safety and privacy pages. We did not complete an export request or test a transfer between services.
What Character AI has confirmed
On October 12, 2026, Character.AI announced a voluntary Chapter 11 process to pursue a court-supervised sale. Its announcement says the platform is still operating. A shutdown is conditional on there being no viable proposal that allows it to continue. The company added a case notice on October 15.
A sale process is not a completed acquisition, and it does not mean the platform has already closed. Check the company’s own updates before acting on screenshots or claims about a buyer, a shutdown date, or changes to your account.
Source: Character.AI’s official sale update.
How to request your Character AI data
Use the platform’s built-in export rather than giving your login details to an unfamiliar backup service. Character.AI’s help page, updated October 8, describes these routes:
On the web
- Open your profile.
- Select Profile Settings.
- Choose Account.
- Open Manage Account & Data.
- Select Export Data.
In the mobile app
- Open your profile.
- Tap the settings icon.
- Go to Legal & Privacy.
- Choose Export Data.
The guide says processing can take three to four weeks. When the email arrives, the download link lasts seven days from when it was sent. Requesting an export is therefore not the same as having a saved copy.
Source: Character.AI’s official data download instructions.
Keep the downloaded archive somewhere private, check that you can open it, and inspect what it contains. Do not assume every chat, image or character field is included until you have checked your own file. Avoid sharing an archive publicly or uploading it to a tool whose data handling you have not reviewed.
A backup is not a transfer
An export helps you retain a record. It does not establish that another service can import the file, recreate a character, or preserve the same conversational behavior. Those are separate capabilities that need to be verified.
Before choosing an alternative, write a short private checklist of what matters to you. You might want an original character with a particular style, a voice you enjoy, a companion that remembers selected details, or simply a familiar place to visit after work. A new product may meet some of those needs without reproducing the old experience.
If you decide to set up a new companion, share only the context you want the new service to receive. A brief summary in your own words may be enough. Leave out other people’s private information and do not hand over a complete archive just because a tool asks for it.
Five questions to ask about an alternative
1. What kind of experience is it designed for?
A character community, a story role-playing tool and an everyday companion can all have a chat box, but they serve different needs. Judge the product against the experience you want, rather than the length of its feature list.
2. Can you understand and control its memory?
Look for a clear explanation of what is remembered and how to correct or remove it. Try a harmless detail, return later and see what happens. No marketing phrase should be treated as a promise of perfect or permanent recall.
3. What does voice actually include?
Distinguish spoken replies, voice input and live calling. Check allowances and costs before subscribing. A room with animated or recorded reactions is not automatically a live video call.
4. What happens to your information?
Read about processing providers, retention, export and deletion. A conversation can be private from other users while still being processed by service providers. Look for specific explanations, not just a privacy badge.
5. Can you test the experience before committing?
Check the current free access, what requires credits, and which features depend on a plan. Test the ordinary interactions you expect to use. A product that makes an impressive demo may still be the wrong fit for your daily routine.
Where Cariora may fit
Best for: Adults who want to create an everyday companion with a chosen look, voice and personality, or prefer a digital dog or cat.
Cariora is worth considering if you are looking for an original adult AI companion with a look, voice and personality you can shape. Its companion rooms combine conversation with on-screen video reactions; they are not live video calls. Available actions, rooms and conversation allowances vary. Preview access requires sign-in, and creating a companion uses credits.
Explore Cariora AI companions.
We also offer digital dogs and cats for people who prefer a virtual pet. Our website describes memory that you can review, edit and delete. Before deciding, look at the current experience and pricing rather than assuming every feature works the same way as another platform.
See the current Cariora experience and review pricing and credits.
Watch out: Creating a companion uses credits, room reactions are filmed clips rather than live video calls, and this guide offers no one-click Character.AI import. Cariora is for adults aged 18 and over and does not allow sexual content or sexual role-play. It is not a therapist or a replacement for medical care. If you want an unrestricted role-playing service, Cariora is not the right match.
Our privacy policy explains that third-party AI providers process content to deliver the service. Review the full policy before sharing personal information. We are not claiming that Cariora is more private than every alternative, or that a different provider eliminates continuity risks.
Read Cariora’s privacy policy.
This guide does not offer a one-click Character.AI migration. Do not assume an exported account can be imported into Cariora or that a character’s history and behavior will carry over. If a particular transfer capability matters to you, verify it before choosing a service.
Which next step should you choose?
| If you want to… | Choose | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Keep a copy of your account data | Character.AI’s built-in export | It is the official route; download and inspect the archive when it arrives. |
| Keep using your existing characters for now | Follow Character.AI’s official updates | The announcement says the platform remains available; a sale process is not a completed acquisition. |
| Try adult everyday companionship | Evaluate Cariora’s companion experience | You can shape a new companion’s look, voice and personality, within its content and credit limits. |
| Preserve the exact history and behavior of an existing character elsewhere | Verify an alternative’s import support before choosing | An export alone does not establish that another service can recreate the character. |
You can request your data, keep using a service that remains available, and take time to evaluate alternatives. Saving your records and choosing a new product are separate decisions.
If adult everyday companionship sounds closer to what you want next, explore Cariora’s companion page, review its limits and costs, and decide whether the experience fits. There is no need to treat a platform announcement as a deadline to buy something.
See whether Cariora fits your needs.
Frequently asked questions
Is Character.AI shutting down after the sale announcement?
The October 12, 2026 announcement says the platform remains available while the company pursues a court-supervised sale. It says the platform would be wound down if no viable proposal allows continued operation, so check the official sale update before treating a shutdown claim as confirmed.
How do I save my Character.AI chats?
Request your account data through Export Data in your profile settings, using the web or mobile steps above. When the archive arrives, download it, check that it opens, and inspect which conversations and other records it actually contains.
How long does a Character.AI data export take?
The official help page says processing can take three to four weeks. The download link expires seven days after the email is sent, so submitting the request is only the first step.
Can I import Character.AI chats into Cariora?
This guide does not provide a one-click import into Cariora. You can use a brief summary in your own words when setting up a new companion, but do not assume the old history, memory or behavior will carry over.
Do I need to switch AI companion apps now?
You can request your data and continue using a service that remains available while you consider alternatives. Compare the ordinary experience, memory controls, voice allowances, privacy terms and costs before committing to another product.