Replika Data Deletion: What the App Deletes, What It Doesn't

Replika’s delete button sits right there in Account Settings, and it looks like the end of the story. It is not. Before you press it, it helps to know what actually disappears, what does not, and which parts of the process the GDPR can reach. This walkthrough is written from Replika’s own help center and privacy policy as of August 2026, no drama and no shortcuts.

The delete button is not the whole story

The short version: Deleting your account permanently removes your profile, chat history, photos, badges, levels and XP, with no undo. It does not cancel your subscription, and Replika’s policy allows it to keep account and financial records for at least 10 years.

According to Replika’s help center, account deletion removes your profile, badges, levels, XP, chat history, photos, and links exchanged with your Replika. The path is Settings, then Account Settings, then Delete Replika. The article is explicit about what follows: the deletion is permanent, with no undo and no restore.

That part is clear. The parts that are easy to miss:

First, the conversation article states plainly that there is no way to delete your entire message history without deleting your account. The only granular option is removing individual Memory entries. If you want the chats gone, the account goes with them.

Second, deleting the account is not deleting the bill. Replika’s billing article says deleting the app or the account does not cancel the subscription, auto-renew is on by default, and subscriptions are managed by Apple or Google. If you bought through Stripe, purchases cannot be restored after deletion. Cancel in the app store first, then delete the account. The reset article covers the same ground.

Third, the retention carve-out. Replika’s privacy policy, last updated 27 May 2026, says that after the contract ends, your profile information, messages, and content are processed for up to 60 days. Account information and financial records are kept for a minimum of 10 years for legal reasons. “Deleted” and “gone from every system” are not the same sentence.

If you want to keep the meaningful parts of the history before you delete anything, this guide on leaving Replika with your memories covers the two real export routes.

What the GDPR actually gives you

The short version: Article 17 of the GDPR is a real right to erasure, and Replika, a US company, says it complies with the GDPR and runs one deletion process for everyone.

Article 17 gives you the right to erasure without undue delay where the data is no longer necessary, where you withdraw consent, where you object, where processing is unlawful, or where a legal obligation requires deletion. In plain words: if there is no longer a legal reason for a company to hold your data, you can ask, and the company has to act.

Replika’s privacy policy identifies Luka, Inc. as the data controller and states GDPR compliance, with a data protection officer, heyData GmbH, plus EU and UK representatives, both via EDPO. That matters for one practical reason: the company runs a single erasure process, so this walkthrough works no matter where you live. California residents get an extra layer from CCPA/CPRA. The CPPA’s FAQ says a business must confirm receipt within 10 business days and respond substantively within 45 calendar days, with one 45-day extension available.

One honest note on timelines. The ICO’s guidance sets the GDPR clock at one calendar month to respond, extendable by two more months for complex requests if you are told why. Those are the deadlines that bind. Anything faster is a bonus.

How to submit a deletion request to Replika, step by step

The short version: Use Replika’s support form with the category “Privacy & Safety”, sent from the email registered to the account, and include what Replika’s template asks for: full name, email, username or User ID, and optionally a screenshot and a purchase receipt.

Replika publishes a GDPR right-to-erasure page with a copy-paste template. The steps:

1. Open the support form.
2. Pick the “Privacy & Safety” category.
3. Fill in the template: your full name, the email registered to the account, and your username or User ID.
4. Add the optional screenshot and proof-of-purchase receipt if you have them.
5. Send it from the email address registered to the account. Requests from other addresses bounce at the verification step.

Replika’s help center says it confirms receipt and responds within one month. Treat that as their stated process rather than a guarantee, and keep the confirmation email either way.

If the form is not working, the privacy policy lists other doors: my@replika.com for data-subject requests, the DPO at datenschutz@heydata.eu, and the EU and UK representatives via EDPO.

What to do if nothing happens

The short version: Re-send citing Article 17 and the one-month deadline, use the ICO’s template erasure letter, and if that fails, complain to your data protection regulator, or the CPPA if you are in California.

One unanswered request is not the end of the road. Re-send, this time citing Article 17 by name and noting the one-month deadline. The ICO’s template erasure letter is a plain copy-paste letter that does this for you.

If the company still does not respond, the next step is a complaint to your data protection regulator: the ICO if you are in the UK, or the CPPA if you are in California. You do not need a lawyer for any of this. Regulators act on individual complaints, and a logged complaint is the kind of paper trail that tends to get a response.

What “deleted for good” really means (the honest part)

The short version: Messages and content are processed for up to 60 days after your account ends, while account and financial records stay for at least 10 years for legal reasons. Replika does not publish details about backups.

Put the retention pieces together and you get an honest picture. The thing you can see, your profile and chat history, goes when the account goes. Behind the scenes, your messages and content are processed for up to 60 days after termination, and account and financial records stay for a minimum of 10 years because the law requires record keeping.

One detail worth knowing: Replika’s privacy policy says third-party AI providers are instructed to delete conversation data, which is processed transiently and contractually deleted promptly. That is the one piece of the chain the policy describes in detail.

Backups are a different story. Replika does not publish details about backup retention or backup deletion, so I will not pretend to know what happens to copies in backups after a deletion request. Nobody outside the company knows, and anyone who tells you otherwise is guessing.

If you have read why the FTC and GDPR will not save your AI chats, you already know the pattern: a deletion request is a request to one company, and it only reaches the copies that company controls. This checklist for checking whether an AI companion app leaked your data and the tracker of documented incidents give you the wider picture. None of that is a reason to skip the request. It is a reason to understand what the request can and cannot do.

The cleanest way to think about it: the GDPR route is your right, and you should use it. And if you ever want a companion whose data is never on a server in the first place, that is what Local Waifu is for.

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