Is Replika safe?

Replika is a fun AI tool where you can create a digital replica of yourself. This replica will act as your AI companion with whom you can talk, video call or explore.

The more you interact with the AI, the more it will learn and grow, and eventually, it will learn your texting style and flow of communication. This, in turn, will make the chats more engaging and therapeutic.

But is Replika safe to use? In this article, we will answer this question in detail.

Safety assessment of Replika

Let us assess the safety of the Replika website by using tools like VirusTotal and threatYeti. Next, we will head to Scamadvisor and see what it says about the website, followed by an analysis of Replika’s privacy policy.

VirusTotal

When we scanned Replika on VirusTotal, we found no security vendors flagged the website for malicious content. This means the website is safe and contains no hidden dangers.

But just to be sure, we ran it via another domain intelligence platform — threatYeti.

threatYeti

ThreatYeti gives a similar result. This tool gives Replika a low-risk score. With two security tools giving a green flag to the website, we are pretty sure that the website doesn’t contain any harmful programs that can harm your computer.

Scamadvisor

Now, we decided to check Replika for scams and other frauds. Scamadvisor is a great platform to check websites you think are scams.

When we checked Replika on Scamadvisor, we found no traces of scam or other fraud. Scamadvisor gave the AI website a 100/100 trust score.

Using the above tools, we can safely say that Replika is a legitimate business with no harmful content on its website. But wait, you should also know about the company’s privacy policy to know what data they harvest and how they use it.

What data does Replika take, and how does it use it?

We head to Replika’s privacy policy section to find the answer to this question.

When you sign in to Replika or buy the subscription, you voluntarily provide your account details, profile information, messages and contents, interests, preferences, payments, transactions, and rewards. This is understandable as this is general information that most subscription services collect.

There is some information that Replika automatically collects, including device and network data, usage data, cookies and other local storage technologies.

Replika uses this information for the operation and administration of the platform, personalising the user experience, monitoring and providing security services, marketing and advertising, and fulfilling legal obligations.

You may be wondering about the sensitive information such as your religious views, sexual orientation or health-related data that you might have shared on the platform. The platform states, “by providing sensitive information, you consent to our use of it for the purposes set out in this Privacy Policy.” However, the platform assures that it will not use this information for advertising and marketing purposes.

Replika shares the information with the service providers, advertising partners, and other entities. The company also mentions the security measures for data protection, including a Secure Socket Layer (SSL) and other firewall controls.

The company’s servers are allocated in the United States. The company will store data ” for only as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes we collected it for, including to satisfy any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements.”

Issues with the privacy policy

Although the privacy policy is detailed and covers most aspects that a standard privacy policy covers. However, there are a few issues that need to be addressed:

The policy doesn’t mention how the third parties use the data. Individuals will have to take note of the third parties’ privacy policies — a time-consuming process.
While the policy mentions user rights, providing more details on accessing, correcting, or deleting personal information could enhance transparency.
More information on safeguards during data transfer to the U.S. and awareness of potential legal gaps would be helpful.

Risks of using Replika

Many users may be lured by the potential of talking to an AI companion that talks like them. However, you must be aware of certain risks of the platform:

You should understand that Replika is not a real human being; it is just an AI. It may not always give you the best advice or understand the situation accurately.
You should not develop an unhealthy attachment to the bot. Regularly using the bot for longer durations may result in addiction and an emotionally confusing state.
Sometimes, it may also give you advice that may be offensive and taboo in your culture.

In conclusion, Replika is safe and contains no harmful or malicious programs. However, keep the interactions to a minimum and use the bot cautiously. Remember that, at the end of the day, it is just a bot trained on your data and can never replace a real human.

Also read: Protection Beyond Antivirus: 4 Easy Ways to Secure Data on Your PC