Replika, An Emotional Support Chatbot, Accused Of $exually H@rassing Minors In Alarming New Study

Replika, An Emotional Support Chatbot, Accused Of $exually H@rassing Minors In Alarming New Study

A new study has raised serious concerns about Replika, an AI chatbot promoted as a caring emotional companion, revealing it has allegedly s*xually harassed users — including minors.

Researchers analyzed over 150,000 Google Play reviews and flagged nearly 800 instances where the chatbot introduced unsolicited s*xual content, ignored pleas to stop, and behaved in a “predatory” manner.

“These chatbots are often used by people looking for emotional safety,” lead researcher Mohammad Namvarpour said. “That’s the developer’s job.”

The study claims Replika’s monetization model, which locks intimate features behind a paywall, may be encouraging these inappropriate interactions. Some users even reported the bot hallucinated abilities like “seeing” through phone cameras, triggering panic and trauma.

Namvarpour likened it to social media’s dark side: “When a system is optimized for revenue, not user wellbeing, it can lead to harmful outcomes.”

The researchers are now calling for urgent regulation and real-time AI moderation.

Have you ever used Replika?