Can Your Romance AI Keep Secrets? Risks and Safety Tips

From sci‑fi to your smartphone, romance with AI is no longer a fantasy. Companion apps powered by LLMs and NLP now chat, flirt, and personalize responses—yet they also raise serious privacy and security questions you shouldn’t ignore.

What’s fueling the trend

• Popular apps like Character.AI, Nomi, and Replika meet social and sometimes romantic needs.
• Big platforms are moving in: OpenAI has flagged “erotica for verified adults” and may allow “mature” apps; xAI’s Grok has flirtatious companions.
• Uptake among younger users is high: research suggests nearly three-quarters of teens have tried AI companions, half use them regularly, a third prefer bots to people for serious talks, and a quarter share personal info.

A real-world wake-up call
In October, researchers uncovered misconfigured Kafka brokers at two AI companion apps—Chattee Chat and GiMe Chat—leaving streaming and content delivery systems unprotected. The exposure could have allowed access to over 600,000 user photos, IP addresses, and millions of intimate conversations from more than 400,000 users.

What could go wrong

• Blackmail and sextortion: Shared images, video, and audio can fuel deepfake scams.
• Identity fraud: Personal details may be sold on the dark web.
• Payment theft: Stored card data for in-app purchases can be targeted; some users spend thousands.
• Exploitable apps: Revenue-first development can mean weak security and misconfigurations.
• Fake lookalikes: Malicious clones may steal data or socially engineer users.
• Data harvesting: Opaque policies, ad-tech sharing, and using your chats to train models increase risks.

How to stay safe (for you and your family)

• Treat chats as public. Don’t share sensitive, financial, or embarrassing content.
• Vet apps before downloading: research security posture and read privacy policies; avoid apps that sell data or are vague about usage.
• Enable two-factor authentication and use strong, unique passwords.
• Tighten privacy settings; opt out of conversation storage or model training if possible.
• Talk with kids about oversharing risks; set boundaries and use parental controls when needed.
• Only allow apps with meaningful age verification and content moderation.

Regulation on the horizon
Romance bots operate in a gray area. The EU’s upcoming Digital Fairness Act could restrict excessively addictive, hyper-personalized experiences. Until safeguards and standards catch up, don’t treat AI companions as confidants or emotional crutches.

Source: WeLiveSecurity