Can You Get Banned From Character AI? All You Need to Know

What to know

• character.ai has the ability to ban users from their platform. But they more often resort to shadow-banning them on community forums like Reddit and Discord.
• Much of the issue surrounds character.ai’s stringent filters on anything that even reeks of NSFW content, though all it does is limit the potential of its AI platform.
• Users can sign petitions on Change.org to make their voices heard and pressurize character.ai to make the change.

---

Conversations with AI are tons of fun. You can pour your heart out, talk about spicy topics, and even get it to go against its own programming (like ChatGPT’s DAN). Many companies like character.ai are using the capabilities of generative AI to let you create entirely fictional characters that you can interact with. But they are not without their own stringent filters that can throw a monkey wrench mid-conversation, so to speak, especially when talking about all things NSFW.

No doubt, that doesn’t prevent the netizens of the world to exercise free speech and push the boundaries of possibility. But how far will character.ai let you? And can you get banned from character.ai if you persist in your endeavors? The conversation is ongoing, and we weigh in with a few insights. 

Can character.ai ban you?

character.ai, like any other company, can ban you from using its services whenever it feels like it. After all, you are an individual that is using their AI modeling technology for free. And that privilege can just as easily be taken away. Though banning users will cause uproar on community forums like Reddit and Twitter, there’s nothing much that individuals can do if they land in their bad books, even if it is because of a misunderstanding.

In most cases, the reason why character.ai will ban users is if they violate their terms of use, such as soliciting personal information from those under 18, or violating the law, etc. All this is mentioned on their Terms of Service page. But there are various other reasons that aren’t mentioned, such as talking about things NSFW or even suggesting them, that can get you banned.

What does character.ai’s guidelines say?

As it happens, character.ai’s terms of service do mention that “vulgar, obscene, pornographic… or otherwise objectionable” content is not allowed. But what’s worse is that even suggesting in community polls that the developers make their filters less stringent and allow conversations with AI characters that are NSFW is ban worthy. 

A few months back, character.ai posted a long post on Reddit mentioning their take on filters and their plans moving forward. However, the content of the post doesn’t encourage much hope. One look at the comment section will tell you exactly how useless users believe their corporate efforts to be. 

Has character.ai banned users before?

Unfortunately, yes. character.ai has banned users before though most of it has been on community forums such as Reddit.

Whether or not they have done so on character.ai itself is trickier to find. In any case, character.ai will not try to snoop in on users’ private conversations with the AI as that can land them in hot waters. Sure, the AI characters may sometimes tell you that what you’re up to will get you banned. But that is simply not the case because remember – Everything the character says is made up.

With the moderators, however, it’s a different story. 

NSFW filters and other community issues

Much of the issue over banning revolves around users wanting NSFW conversations with the characters, or at least to have the filters made less stringent. There are some other alternatives to character.ai that do allow this. But character.ai believes that doing so may only bring in users who only want to use the platform for NSFW exploits.   

It is not just NSFW content that character.ai is worried about. The filter also keeps at bay violent conversations that may lead younger suggestive individuals to cause real harm to either themselves or others. So, in effect, if your conversations with the AI character are getting heated up, the filters will kick in as soon as the character starts to get to the meat of the matter. 

Stringent filters also slow down the conversations and tend to dumb down the AI, which certainly doesn’t go along with character.ai’s goal of giving “everyone on earth access to their own deeply personalized superintelligence that helps them live their best lives.”

For those who are less fortunate in their lives looking to form some semblance of human connection with others, the filters work only to dash their hopes. Just read this Reddit user’s heart-wrenching comment on character.ai’s follow-up post on filters.  

character.ai shadow-banning users

Besides downright banning users from their platform as well as on community forums, character.ai also shadow bans users from speaking their minds. In essence, if folks at character.ai find that you are saying anything that doesn’t go along with their own agenda, even the most benign comments and posts may get flagged by them so that other users cannot view them or take those conversations forward.

This form of tyranny is troubling, not least because it gives character.ai the power to bend the discussion in any way they like, and there is also no shortage of users who’ve been shadow-banned as such. 

Make a Change: Sign the petition on Change.org

In the absence of any real change, users have taken it upon themselves to bring public pressure upon character.ai. Anyone who’s interested in this issue and wants character.ai to loosen their grip on their filters can navigate to Change.org and sign the petition to remove NSFW filters on AI characters. This, we hope, will bring attention to the problem and force character.ai to stop hindering the potential of what they’ve created. 

character.ai alternatives

In the meantime, if you feel character.ai and all its filters and conversation moderation are getting to be too much, there are a few alternatives that you might want to try out. These include the likes of Chai: Chat with AI Friends which have simple NSFW toggles if you aren’t deterred by or are actively looking for more intimate or ‘spicy’ conversations. 

FAQ

Let’s take a look at a few commonly asked questions about character.ai and its take on filtering content.

Does beta Character AI allow NSFW?

No. As it currently stands, character.ai does not allow any NSFW content. In fact, their filters so tightly control the conversation that anything that even remotely suggests such content will be deleted.

Is Character AI safe?

character.ai claims not to read the private conversations that you have with AI characters. So, in terms of privacy, character.ai is considered safe.

The rigorous and conversation-debilitating filters on character.ai hinder more than just user conversations with AI characters. They trade the true potential of AI for the hope of being a PG-friendly platform. Persistent efforts by vocal parties to bring a change have been banned and shadow-banned before. Nothing seems to be changing for the better, but you can always make your voice heard through petitions.

We hope this guide helped you in understanding the issues surrounding character.ai banning users looking for nothing more than a harmless intimate conversation with AI characters. Until next time! Stay strong.