Subscribing as a customer would
Each evaluation begins with a new account. The reviewer creates a companion from scratch and purchases the plan a typical reader would be likely to select. A free trial of a few dozen messages demonstrates the onboarding process, but it cannot reveal whether the companion will still recognize the user on day twelve.
The reviewer then uses the app daily and keeps a record of what it retained, what it fabricated, the renewal price, and how easily data could be exported or deleted.
Five consistent criteria
| Criterion | Focus of the assessment |
|---|---|
| Conversation | Coherence over several weeks rather than isolated strong replies |
| Memory | Minor details recalled without prompting |
| Media | Images and voice consistent with a single character |
| Price | Renewal cost, token charges and fair-use limits |
| Controls | Data export, deletion, content settings and age verification |
The published rating is the average of the five criteria, rounded to one decimal place. It is fixed before any correspondence with the provider, and it is not adjusted during the month in response to release notes; any change waits for the next scheduled review.
A dedicated review of pricing
Advertised prices can be misleading. We compare introductory and renewal prices, check whether images consume tokens beyond the subscription, and assess whether the free version is a functional product or merely a preview. These findings are summarized in understanding AI girlfriend app pricing.
Privacy as a scored criterion
Conversations with these apps are personal by nature, so privacy receives particular attention. We read each privacy policy, look for any reference to encryption, and test the export and deletion options directly. Imprecise statements, such as "information may be shared with partners," are noted in the review. We cannot inspect providers' systems, and any conclusion based on inference rather than confirmation is identified as such.
What a rating does not represent
A rating cannot be purchased, and requests for paid placement are declined. Affiliate arrangements, described in our affiliate disclosure, have no bearing on ranking positions. Should an app decline in quality, its rating will be lowered at the following review. Readers who notice outdated information are invited to contact the address in the footer.
The limits of external review
We have no access to providers' servers. We can examine their policies, test every export and deletion feature available to users, and report when their wording lacks clarity. An unclear answer is itself recorded as a finding.
