Character AI on Android: what Google Play reviewers complain about
We classified the 300 newest English-language Google Play reviews of Character AI: Chat, Talk, Text (by Character.AI) in the US store, dated 20 October 2026 to 23 October 2026. Average rating in this sample: 2.17★. Its all-time Google Play rating is 2.2★ from 2.5M ratings. 157 reviews (52%) contained a complaint; the biggest theme was ads (49% of complaining reviews).
Star ratings in this sample
| Stars | Reviews | Share |
|---|---|---|
| 5★ | 62 | 21% |
| 4★ | 15 | 5% |
| 3★ | 17 | 6% |
| 2★ | 23 | 8% |
| 1★ | 183 | 61% |
Complaint themes
| Theme | Reviews | Share of complaints | Avg severity (0–3) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ads | 77 | 49% | 2.2 |
| Bugs | 66 | 42% | 2.5 |
| Feature requests | 48 | 31% | 2.3 |
| Pricing / subscription | 42 | 27% | 2.4 |
| UX / design | 28 | 18% | 2.4 |
| Performance | 24 | 15% | 2.5 |
| Crashes / freezes | 21 | 13% | 2.6 |
A review can count in several themes, so shares add up to more than 100%.
Top issues, ranked by reviews × severity
- Soften the redesign backlash: 95 complaining reviews, avg severity 2.4/3. What to do: Explain the change in-app, restore the most-missed option, or offer a setting for the old behaviour.
“please bring back the old days! This new version changed everything, nothing like how it was published back in the pandemic, right now this version has ads, and now need verification, overpriced premiums and such! i wish you guys fix everything...” (1★, v1.6.2, 2026-10-20) - Reduce ad frequency and length: 71 complaining reviews, avg severity 2.3/3. What to do: Cap ads per session, avoid unskippable video, and never show ads in the middle of a core task.
“I'm using this app for the last 2+ years and everything was fine until it started taking loads of space and giving ads every 15 minutes. I can survive with the ads but there's a few ads that we can skip but most of the ads are non skipable. If I try to skip th…” (1★, v1.17.4, 2026-10-20) - Fix login / account access: 48 complaining reviews, avg severity 2.5/3. What to do: Audit the sign-in flow (SSO, password reset, verification emails) on the latest version; add clear error messages.
“Everything about this app is great! My only problem is this. Recently, it's been logging me out and I can't get back in, even with the right account it's under. Worse, it takes way too long to log me in. Please fix this, and make the app better improved with n…” (5★, v1.17.4, 2026-10-21) - Ease paywall pressure: 28 complaining reviews, avg severity 2.4/3. What to do: Keep core features usable for free users or explain clearly what is paid; show the paywall less often.
“this is ridiculous.. I cannot send a message without getting an ad, I cannot change characters without getting an ad.. it's ridiculous that I should pay just so I can enjoy an app that's supposed to be "free and accessible."” (1★, v1.17.4, 2026-10-20) - Ship the most requested feature: 25 complaining reviews, avg severity 2.2/3. What to do: Read the quotes below for the exact request; consider a public roadmap.
“I really do love this app it's good to take time off and stuff using it the only problem I have is you all are talking about five calls a day for the people is not going to buy it because you know most people is not going to pay for it so why don't you do like…” (5★, v1.17.4, 2026-10-21)
Google Play vs App Store
| Google Play (Android) | App Store (iOS) | |
|---|---|---|
| Reviews in sample | 300 | 300 |
| Dates | 2026-10-20 – 2026-10-23 | 2026-08-21 – 2026-10-22 |
| Avg stars in sample | 2.17★ | 2.11★ |
| Reviews with a complaint | 52% | 68% |
| Biggest complaint theme | Ads | Ads |
Both samples use the same AI classifier. The iOS sample comes from Apple's public review feed across several storefronts and can cover a longer period, so compare themes rather than exact percentages.
Character AI App Store complaints (iOS)
Rating by app version
| Version | Reviews | Avg stars | Share with a complaint |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.17.4 | 142 | 2.5 | 59% |
| 1.17.3 | 9 | 2.9 | 33% |
Versions with fewer than 5 reviews in the sample are left out.
The same report for your Android app
Up to 600 recent Google Play reviews in up to 10 languages, classified into 7 themes and 18 specific issues, with severity, version trend, real quotes and 10 ranked fixes. PDF by email within 24–48 h.
Google Play report €19 €9 iOS + Android bundle €29 €15 Free check
Launch prices until 30 Nov 2026 or the first 20 orders (then €19 / €29 bundle).
Method and limits
Reviews were collected once from the public Google Play listing (newest first, US store, English) with the open-source google-play-scraper library, then each review was classified by an AI model into 7 themes and 18 specific issues with a severity of 0–3; individual labels can be wrong, so check the quotes. Big apps get hundreds of reviews a day, so this is a snapshot of a few days, not the app's full history. Generated 24 October 2026. Not affiliated with Character.AI or Google.
More Google Play complaint reports
- Netflix on Android (18% of 300 reviews with a complaint)
- Reddit on Android (25% of 300 reviews with a complaint)
- Cash App on Android (15% of 300 reviews with a complaint)
- PayPal on Android (53% of 300 reviews with a complaint)
- SwiftKey on Android (30% of 300 reviews with a complaint)
- Pinterest on Android (28% of 300 reviews with a complaint)
- Gemini on Android (10% of 300 reviews with a complaint)
- Messenger on Android (14% of 300 reviews with a complaint)
All Google Play reports · All app complaint reports
FAQ
What do Android users complain about most in Character AI?
In the 300 newest US Google Play reviews (2026-10-20 to 2026-10-23), the most common complaint theme was ads (49% of complaining reviews), and the top specific issue was “soften the redesign backlash” (95 reviews).
How many Character AI Google Play reviews are negative?
157 of 300 recent reviews (52%) contained a complaint. Average rating in this sample: 2.17★.
Do iPhone or Android users complain more about Character AI?
In our samples, 52% of recent Google Play reviews and 68% of recent App Store reviews contained a complaint. The samples cover different periods, so the gap is a signal, not a precise measurement.