Character.AI keeps your data for as long as needed for the purposes it was collected, or longer to comply with legal obligations, resolve disputes, or enforce agreements.
This analysis describes what Character.AI's agreement states, permits, or reserves. It does not constitute a legal determination about enforceability. Regulatory applicability and practical outcomes may vary by jurisdiction, enforcement context, and individual circumstances. Read our methodology
This provision establishes the operational framework governing how long Character.AI maintains user data in its systems. It conditions retention duration on both the original collection purpose and user-initiated choices, creating variable retention periods rather than fixed deletion timelines.
Vague retention timelines give Character.AI broad discretion to retain personal data, limiting the practical effect of deletion requests and making it difficult for users to know when their information is actually removed.
How other platforms handle this
We retain personal data for as long as needed to provide our services, comply with our legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce our policies. Retention periods will vary depending on the type of data and the purposes for which we use it.
Microsoft retains personal data for as long as necessary to provide the products and fulfill the transactions you have requested, or for other legitimate purposes such as complying with our legal obligations, resolving disputes, and enforcing our agreements. Because these needs can vary for differen...
We keep information as long as we need it to provide our products and services and fulfil the purposes described in this policy. This is a case-by-case determination that depends on things like the nature of the information, why it is collected and processed, relevant legal or operational retention ...
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"We keep your information for the time necessary for the purposes for which it is processed or as otherwise described at the time the information is collected, unless a shorter retention period is required by law. The length of time for which we retain information depends on the purposes for which we collected and use it and your choices, after which time we may delete and/or aggregate it.— Excerpt from Character.AI's Character.ai Privacy Policy
The absence of defined retention schedules creates exposure under GDPR Article 5(1)(e) (storage limitation principle) and CCPA regulations requiring reasonably necessary retention. Compliance teams should request a formal retention schedule as part of vendor due diligence.
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This provision establishes the operational framework governing how long Character.AI maintains user data in its systems. It conditions retention duration on both the original collection purpose and user-initiated choices, creating variable retention periods rather than fixed deletion timelines.
Vague retention timelines give Character.AI broad discretion to retain personal data, limiting the practical effect of deletion requests and making it difficult for users to know when their information is actually removed.
ConductAtlas has identified this type of provision across 65 platforms. See the full comparison.
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