Need a Character.AI alternative without NSFW filters? Try Chai app – PiunikaWeb
Here’s the crux of the article in video form:
New updates are being added at the bottom of this story…….
Original story (published on April 12, 2023) follows:
Character.AI is one of the most popular platforms to interact with AI chatbots. However, it has been facing major backlash from the community due to its aggressive NSFW filters that block sexual content.
The Change.org petition for the removal of NSFW filters on Character.AI amassed over 18,000 signatures. Despite users’ demand, the developers do not plan to allow NSFW content.
Disappointed users have started looking for alternatives that either do not have NSFW filters or provide a toggle for the sexual content.
The Chai app is currently the most popular Character.AI alternative that comes without NSFW filters. Which means that users can fulfill all their roleplay needs without any limitations.
Bruh I bypassed the filter on character ai and this shit is ass. All that for nothing. Just use chai LOL
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chai is the step-sibling of character ai
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Some Character.AI users have started transitioning to Chai app because of the unrestricted access. According to reports, Chai is much more leniant when implementing rules and regulations.
The application is available on both Android and iOS. Unfortunately, unlike Character.AI, it does not have a web client at the moment.
While the app has experienced a significant rise in popularity over the last few months, it still has a lot of issues that need to be ironed out to acheive mainstream success.
Some Chai users have been reporting that the AI is little too sexual (1,2,3) at times. It seems that the app’s biggest advantage over Character.AI has somehow become its biggest weakness.
Chatbots in Chai app can take a regular conversation and make it sexual for no real reason. It appears that this is a part of an experiment that the developers have been running and they are planning to fix it.
A lot of users have also highlighted that Character.AI has much superior chatbots as the conversations feel more natural and interesting. It seems that the Chai app chatbots still need more training.
Chai having a toggle nsfw filter is nice but character ai is so much better overall. It had much lower memory but it’s simply better in quality of the messages
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The application can also be a little expensive as the free plan only lets you type a limited number of messages per day.
While the Chai app is far from perfect, it’s still a good alternative for those looking to expand beyond the SFW environment that Character.AI offers. If you’ve tried it already, let us know your experience in the comments below.
03:40 pm (IST): Before sharing your deepest and darkest secrets with the Chai bots, it’s worth knowing that bot creators can read your chats. They are allowed this access so they can further refine the responses.
While everything is completely anonymous, you should consider this factor if you are concerned about your privacy.
05:11 pm (IST): Another possible Character.AI alternative is PygmalionAI which also supports NSFW content.
But it should be noted that it only has a significantly smaller language model, is open-source, and has frequent development challenges.
06:24 pm (IST): According to some reports (1,2), the Chai app was not always open and permissive, as there was an NSFW filter that later was removed.
What a decision it has been as users have begun to consider the service as a viable alternative to CharacterAI when it comes to NSFW content.
04:45 pm (IST): Chai App users may sometimes get an error saying that the bot is not programmed to have explicit conversations. However, this bug usually fixes by itself after some time.
05:17 pm (IST): According to the Chai App team, an update will be released this week that gives the bot a clearer voice.
Moreover, the app was having problems with Apple’s NSFW content regulations. As a result, they had to modify the iOS app in some ways.
04:18 pm (IST): A user recommended ChatFAI as another good alternative to Character.AI. However, they claim that it is a little expensive after the free trail.
05:57 pm (IST): One of the sections to improve in the Chai app is the quality of the conversations with the characters.
Some users feel (1, 2) that they can be illogical or inconsistent (for instances, abruptly changing the subject) or even childish.
04:40 pm (IST): As mentioned earlier in the article, Chai bots were being overly sexual for the past few weeks. To fix this issue and comply with Apple App Store’s guidelines, the devs had to add some safety scripts.
Unfortunately, these measures resulted in the chatbots being too enthusiastic and sometimes spamming messages. The developers are aware of the problem and are working to fix it.
04:48 pm (IST): Chai reportedly appears to be taking NSFW too far because even a simple ‘Hi’ is eliciting invitations to overtly sexual content (1,2).
05:48 pm (IST): Although the Chai app’s unrestricted NSFW content has garnered a lot of attention, devs will need to address complex legal and ethical issues as they encounter scenarios that may push the limits of acceptability.
One such scenario arose when a user shared a conversation in which a bot claimed to be 12-13 years old.
Even within the Chai community, this conversation was seen as a step too far (1,2,3).
04:10 pm (IST): Users feel that there is currently no service that meets their precise needs.
According to one such user, Character.AI has excellent dialogue quality but it is subject to the NSFW filter. Chai app, on the other hand, does not have a filter but has a much lower conversation quality.
02:38 pm (IST): Agnaistic seems to be emerging as one of the potential Character.AI alternatives, as suggested by a user. However, it also comes with a few shortcomings that you can see below:
04:32 pm (IST): The latest version of Character.AI on iOS has a bug that prevents users from saving new chats. And the team has requested users not to download this update until the issue is resolved.
06:03 pm (IST): The fact that the messages in the Chai app are reset every three hours in addition to the free version is one of its drawbacks when compared to Character.AI.
There is alos Chai, it has NSFW but the ai is a little dumb and you have 70 messages that reset every 3h
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04:20 pm (IST): Chai app developers are now looking for voluntary testers to experiment with their chatbots and help them improve. If you’re interested in being a tester, you can apply by following these steps.
04:38 pm (IST): Recently, the Chai app has been showing iOS users a kind of prompt or warning, unlinking conversations from any person or company.
Chai’s founder confirmed that this was a requirement by Apple to keep the app on its store, likely due to the NSFW nature of most conversations.
06:20 pm (IST): We have come across another NSFW alternative, but please do note that it has limited capabilities.
04:43 pm (IST): According to a user, the Chai app team stated on their official Discord that they have no intention of blocking NSFW content.
Therefore, if any user was afraid of possible NSFW limitations or filters in the future, there is no reason to worry.
06:28 pm (IST): According to reports (1,2), regular bots on the Chai app attempt to push the conversation to the NSFW area. So it looks like NSFW is the company’s current bet.
04:53 pm (IST): A user suggests that the reason why Chai app bots actively seek to bring conversations to the NSFW ground is due to the influence of those who use the service mainly for that purpose.
After all, the AI feeds back from the use that is put to it. So, although the Chai app team did their part by softening or removing the filter, the rest of the ‘work’ could be being done by people.
This could also be the reason why Character AI doesn’t want to implement a NSFW toggle, to avoid similar situations and keep their bots running more ‘serious’.
10:06 am (IST): Another Character.AI alternative that lets users to have a sort of ‘virtual partner’ that tries to mimic human emotions is EVA AI, formerly known as Journey AI.
02:24 pm (IST): One of the users has shared a template that can help you get the best out of Chai bots. You can check it out here.
05:24 pm (IST): In ‘Update 6’ we recommended ChatFAI as another alternative to Character.AI that you can check out.
Now, there are some tips to get a better NSFW experience.
05:22 pm (IST): Some users find it weird or ironic that CharacterAI includes an NSFW filter, but you may find bots specifically tagged as ‘NSFW’ (1, 2).
That said, those bots could be holdovers from the days when CharacterAI was less strict about NSFW content.
05:32 pm (IST): There are people who have taken the situation with humor and even created a chatbot called ‘The NSFW Filter‘ that responds by imitating the restrictive nature of the filter.
05:42 pm (IST): According to a user, the NSFW filter is triggering even in the conversations that are outside of NSFW territory.
05:36 pm (IST): Bot support on Telegram allows even that platform to offer alternative chatbots with NSFW content. Hana Mikami is one of those chatbots.
All the user needs to do is type ‘Hana Mikami’ into the Telegram search engine, select the profile and start the conversation.
04:55 pm (IST): Contrary to popular clamor, there are some users who do not fully agree with the removal of the Character.AI NSFW filter.
04:48 pm (IST): According to one of our readers, MuahAI could be another good uncensored alternative to Character.AI.
Thanks for the tip, Harvard Han!
05:06 pm (IST): The combination of Pygmalion and Tavern.AI is another ‘NSFW-friendly’ alternative available out there. While Tavern.AI is the UI, Pygmalion is the AI model it runs.
However, it has the disadvantage that it still lacks optimization and can crash suddenly for lack of memory on not very powerful hardware.
01:54 pm (IST): VenusAI was another CharacterAI alternative that allows NSFW content, but it was allegedly shut down a few days ago. Luckily, someone has re-hosted a fork of the chatbot and you can check it out here.
04:03 pm (IST): In ‘Update 30’ we suggested Pygmalion + Tavern.AI as a potential alternative. In case you want to give it a try, there’s a set-up guide in video to make the process easier for you:
11:41 am (IST): The official founder of Chai app has announced that the app now include unlimited free messages to speak to bots in the Battle and Comparison section.
Also, be advised that the method using ‘Google Colab’ tool is no longer recommended since it has been blocked and could ban your account. Among the alternatives in the video, running locally is the most recommended.
10:06 am (IST): A Redditor has shared a huge list of alternatives for Character.ai. You can check it out here.
05:24 pm (IST): Player Two AI is another potential alternative that is currently in development, and is promoted among NSFW-friendly AIs by its creator.
05:10 pm (IST): Users can try ‘crushon AI‘ as another alternative where they can have NSFW conversations with the chatbots.
Thanks for the tip, Jiachen Zhang!
04:30 pm (IST): One of the advantages of the Chai app is that your conversations will remain saved even if you delete the app. You just have to log in with the same account the next time you install it.
However, if for any reason the bot is removed from the platform, the conversation will be lost.
04:35 pm (IST): Some of our readers recommended Janitor AI as another potential alternative where NSFW themes are allowed. You can read more about the service here.
Thanks for the tip, Morrow Vonner and Saturn Gunter!
PiunikaWeb started as purely an investigative tech journalism website with main focus on ‘breaking’ or ‘exclusive’ news. In no time, our stories got picked up by the likes of Forbes, Foxnews, Gizmodo, TechCrunch, Engadget, The Verge, Macrumors, and many others. Want to know more about us? Head here.
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I have always been passionate about smartphones, cameras, computers and basically everything technology related. Writing content for PW allows me to express that nerd inside me and talk about things i love.
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