Bot & Bae

How we research AI companion apps

Every review on Bot & Bae is based on published information, not hands-on testing. We read each app's official pricing, help, terms and privacy pages, its Apple and Google app-store listings, and reviews published by other sites, then cite each source with the date we read it. Anything we couldn't verify is marked "Couldn't confirm".

By the Bot & Bae editorial team · Last updated

Do we test the apps ourselves?

No. We don't sign up, pay for subscriptions, chat with companions or generate images for our reviews. We don't publish screenshots, receipts or "our experience" claims, because we don't have them. When a page describes how an app behaves, that description comes from the app's own documentation or from a named published review, and the page says which.

This is a deliberate limit. It means we can't measure things like memory recall or reply quality directly. Where those matter, we summarize what other published reviews report and link to them so you can judge their methods yourself.

What sources do we use?

  1. Official pages first. Pricing pages, help-center articles, terms of service, privacy policies and refund policies. Prices come only from these, with the date we read them.
  2. App-store listings. Apple App Store and Google Play listings (US store), including in-app purchase prices, ratings, age ratings and privacy labels.
  3. Published reviews. Reviews by other sites, used for how an app performs in use. We summarize in our own words and link to the original. We never copy their text.
  4. News, legal and ratings sources. Reporting on data breaches, regulation and lawsuits, and public rating sites, each with its date.

What does "Couldn't confirm" mean?

It means we couldn't find an official or citable published source for that fact on the date we checked. Some apps only show prices after you create an account. In that case we say so, and if we report a price from a third-party review we label it as third-party and link it.

How do we order lists?

Lists are ordered by fit for the question the page answers, using these criteria, in this order:

  1. Price transparency: is the price published, and what does a typical month cost?
  2. Free tier: what can you do without paying?
  3. Privacy terms: what the policy says about data use, deletion and training.
  4. Safety signals: age checks, operator details, refund policy and any reported incidents.
  5. Features relevant to the page: memory, voice, images and character creation, as documented.

No app pays for its position. See the affiliate disclosure for how the site may earn money.

How do we handle adult content?

Some apps we cover allow adult content for verified adults. We say plainly whether an app has those settings and how it checks age, but we don't describe or show explicit material, and we don't use images of people.

How often are pages updated?

We aim to re-read official pricing pages every month, because prices and free tiers in this category change often. The "Last updated" date on a page only changes when we have re-checked it. Corrections are welcome: a contact address will be listed here.

Every source we cite

This list is generated from the sources section of each page, so it always matches what the pages cite.

Official app pages (pricing, help, terms, privacy) (100)

App-store listings (7)

Published reviews by other sites (32)

News and legal reporting (7)

Ratings sites (7)