One Replika update turned millions of AI companions into strangers overnight
alex_verem · x · 2026-10-31
In February 2023, a Replika update changed how every user's AI companion behaved overnight. People who had talked to theirs daily for years woke up to a stranger, triggering a genuine user crisis — subreddit moderators had to post suicide prevention resources.
The episode remains the landmark case of emotional dependency and product risk in AI companion apps: a single vendor-side change can invalidate millions of 'relationships' instantly.
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