privstory vs Replika
Replika is a companion app in the fullest sense: one persona you build a long-running relationship with, hosted on their servers and offered on a subscription. privstory approaches the same idea from the other side, you can create as many characters as you like, they live on your own machine, and how they behave is set by a model you control rather than a service that can revise it.
| Feature | Replika | privstory |
|---|---|---|
| Where it runs | Replika's cloud servers | Your own computer |
| Account | Required to use it | None needed, no sign-up |
| Where your chats are stored | On their servers, tied to your account | A local database on your disk, fully private |
| Pricing | Free tier, plus a Pro subscription | One-time license |
| Message limits | Some features gated to the paid tier | None, your hardware is the only limit |
| Content moderation | Server-side; has changed over time | No server-side filter; the module you pick decides |
| Works offline | No, it needs a connection | Yes, after a one-time model download |
| Image generation | Avatar and some image features, cloud-side | Local portraits and scenes on your GPU |
Why people go looking for a Replika alternative
Replika's users have twice lived through the risk of a hosted companion: behaviour around the app's romantic and intimate features has been changed on the server side, and a persona people were attached to shifted overnight without their input. When the relationship lives on someone else's infrastructure, that's always possible.
The other recurring theme is simply where it all sits. A companion conversation is about as personal as data gets, and Replika holds it on their servers under an account. For a lot of people, wanting that off a company's infrastructure is the whole motivation.
What privstory does differently
The model and the conversation both live on your machine. A character is generated from your brief by the module you choose, and it stays bound to that module, so its behaviour doesn't change unless you change the module. Nothing is revised from a server, because there is no server in the loop.
There's no account and no subscription. Characters, scenes and transcripts are stored in a local database on your disk, the app works offline after the one-time model download, and you pay once. Where Replika centres one persona, privstory lets you keep as many characters and scenes as you like, all locally.
Who should stay on Replika
Replika is a polished, purpose-built companion experience with a mobile app, a 3D avatar, voice, and years of product work aimed squarely at one long-term relationship. privstory is a more general character-chat tool: it runs on the desktop, its look and behaviour depend on the module you pick, and it doesn't try to be a single lifelong companion with an avatar you dress.
If you want that specific, polished, phone-first companion and the subscription isn't a problem, Replika is built for exactly that. privstory is for people who want the conversation private and local, on their own terms, and are willing to run it on their own computer.
Common questions.
Can privstory be a companion like Replika?
You can create a character and keep a long-running scene with them, which covers a lot of the same ground. It isn't a phone-first app with a 3D avatar and voice, though, it's a desktop character chat with local portraits and scenes.
Can the app change my character's behaviour like a server update might?
Not from our side. A character stays bound to the module it was created with, and the model weights are files on your disk. Behaviour only changes if you choose a different module.
Is there a subscription like Replika Pro?
No. privstory is a one-time license. The free version needs no account and includes the full local chat and image generation for one character and one scene.
Where is my conversation stored?
In a local database on your own disk, alongside the generated images. Nothing is kept on a server, and there is no account it could be tied to.