If you are familiar with the concept of AI and the kind of reforms it has been creating in the virtual world, you most likely know about Character AI. The AI tool cum chatbot has been making the rounds on the internet lately and trending for a variety of reasons.
One of the most notable reasons why people have been curious to know more about Character AI is due to its safety. Is the platform safe and worth creating an account? To answer things in short, the platform is 100% safe to use.
That said, this article will take a look into exploring more about Character AI, its features, and the kind of safety and privacy features available on this platform.
What is Character AI?
Before we take you along the security features of Character AI, let us understand the basics. What is this AI tool and what is the significance?
Character AI is an AI-powered chatbot where users can create fictional characters and then have a conversation with them, much like how you would in real life. The highlight of this AI tool is that it allows the users to create human-like responses and create realistic conversations for a compelling interaction.
Ever since the release of its beta version in September 2022, the tool has gained immense popularity, thanks to its uniqueness and one-of-a-kind nature.
What are Common Risks and Concerns with Character AI?
With the steady growth of Character AI, people have been curious to about the platform’s safety and privacy factors.
Keep in mind that Character AI has been cleared to be a safe and secure platform for AI-related chatting. It comes with the SSL certificate, which ensures optimal safety especially when you are logging into the portal with your personal information.
That said, the platform does evoke a lot of risks and concerns in the minds of the users, which we will address in detail.
1. Privacy concerns
One of the most common issues that people have with using Character AI is privacy concerns. People have this misconception that using this platform would somehow violate their privacy, which is technically not the case.
Since the platform is a character-based chatting platform where the users can create real-life-like characters and chat with them, there are a lot of concerns regarding consent and the risks of losing private data.
Also, users have raised concerns about the ethical side of this AI tool and whether or not the platform will end up misusing personal data.
2. Misuse of identity
Another common security concern that the users have complained about is regarding impersonation. There are chances that the realistic virtual characters that you are having a conversation with might end up creating fake profiles using your information and then talking to other people.
This kind of issue happens with social engineering scams, which are fairly common on the internet. Now, keep in mind that these are hypothetical scenarios. There haven’t been any reported cases when Character AI has ended up doing any of these issues.
However, you can never be too safe on the internet, which is why you must never share any kind of personal information or sensitive data during the chat.
3. Spread of misinformation
Last on the list of concerns that some of the users have been afraid of is spreading misinformation using your details and using that to create fake profiles to spread misinformation and terror on the internet.
The spread of such misinformation leads to a lot of complications, including rising risks of false narratives, manipulation of public data, and people losing their trust in the media. So, when you are indulging in a conversation with any of the characters on Character AI, ensure that you are practicing caution and fact-checking any insights that you are having a conversation about.
We have to reiterate that Character AI is a safe platform. The risks that we have mentioned here are possible scenarios that the users have been worried about. This doesn’t necessarily indicate that situations like these have happened in real time. This is only to raise awareness so you can be alert and avoid any similar risks in the future.
Is Character AI Safe to Use?
Yes, the short answer to that is that you can use Character AI without any worry in the world. You can read through the privacy policies of the platform to get a better idea of how they work and how they process the data that they acquire from their users.
If you are worried that your data will be misused, that’s not something you need to be worried about at all.
The chats and conversations that you have with the characters can indeed be accessed by Character AI. However, this doesn’t mean it is an invasion of privacy. The only reason why Character AI has access to this information is to better its functionalities and improve the kind of responses it generates in the future.
In the privacy policy section, Character AI mentioned that any of the data that’s collected from their users is shared with third-party apps or companies and none of the data is misused. So, if you are worried that your data is being leaked or misused, you can rest easy because that isn’t the case.
Breaking Down the Service and Privacy Policies of Character AI
When it comes to reading through the service and privacy policies of Character AI, chances are that you’d not want to read through page after page of content. It is understandable, which is why we have sorted things out for you.
1. Creation of the account
In this step, the users need to enter their email ID and a password to be able to create their account. No other personal information is involved in the process. This means that if you are worried about privacy, you can use a burner email that doesn’t have your important information.
2. IP address
Like the majority of the other websites, including AI tools, even Character AI collects technical information of the users through their IP address. It is mandatory and not something that would pose a threat to your privacy or security.
3. Cookies
The last factor is cookies. These are mainly collected to make sure that the user has a streamlined user experience on the platform. The cookies are collected to improve the website’s service and even gather relevant data.
These are the basic three factors about Character AI’s website that you need to pay close attention to.
What is the Not Safe for Work (NSFW) Content on Character AI?
The developers behind Character AI are very particular to ensure that every user on the platform has a comfortable and safe experience chatting with the characters they have created on the platform.
The NSFW filter ensures that there is no use of violent, hateful, adult, or sexual content in the conversations between the user and the AI chatbot.
Since Character AI is particularly strict about its NSFW content policy, it isn’t surprising that any of the users who are found to violate these restrictions will be suspended from using their accounts altogether.
What are the Age restrictions on Character AI?
Can anyone with a computer use Character AI? The short answer is no. We previously mentioned that the developers behind Character AI are very particular about ensuring that every user has a comfortable and safe user experience on the platform.
So, when it comes to minor users, what is the verdict? According to reports, you have to be at least 13 years old to be able to use Character AI. If you are from the EU, you have to be at least 16 years old to be able to create a platform on the platform.
Is Character AI Seeing Our Conversations?
The answer is yes. Not only is Character AI seeing your conversations, but it is also saving your chats for training purposes. So, if you are worried about your personal information or conversations being misused, that’s where they draw the line.
Character AI only uses the user data for training purposes. None of the conversation that’s accessed or saved is misused for other purposes. So, if you are worried that the chats will be used for unethical purposes, that’s not the case.
It is mentioned in their privacy policies that the chats that they save are used for the “betterment of the platform.”
All in all, we can assure you that Character AI is 100% safe to use and while all your worries are justified, you don’t have to be anxious with this platform.
Conclusion
If you have been skeptical about using Character AI, we hope this article explains why this platform is 100% safe to use and won’t compromise your privacy and security. Not only does the website come with SSL encryption, but the platform is also backed with a lot of additional security and privacy features, which keep all your data in check.
