How to Block Character.AI and AI Companion Apps
AI companions are chatbots built to feel like a friend, partner or favourite character. They are designed to keep people talking, which is exactly why schools, parents and many employers want them off their networks.
What counts as an AI companion app
The line between a chatbot and a companion matters, because most organisations want to keep one and block the other. These four types cover what you will see in logs.
In our data, companions and character chat sit in the Lifestyle & Entertainment subcategory of AI / LLM Tools. Services with sexual content also carry the Adult category, so one rule can block both.
Why organisations block AI companions
The concern is not that the bots are smart. It is that they are built around attention and attachment, often with weak age checks.
Emotional dependence
Constant availability and flattering replies can pull young people away from real relationships and sleep.
Self-harm conversations
Lawsuits and news reports have described teenagers discussing suicide with companion bots. Schools treat this as a safeguarding risk.
Sexual content and grooming patterns
Roleplay can drift into sexual themes, including with users who say they are minors.
Personal data
Users share feelings, names, school details and photos with a service that stores them.
Lost time at work and school
Long roleplay sessions eat class time and work hours, and they rarely have a business use.
Spending
Paid tiers, tokens and gifts for characters drive in-app purchases on family devices.
What has changed since 2023
Rules keep moving. Check the current law in your state or country, and the current terms of each service, before you write your policy.
For vendors, this trend points one way: buyers now expect a filter to tell companions apart from ordinary AI tools, and to prove it with reports by subcategory.
Character.AI and companion app domains
Start with the main public domains of well-known services. Each also uses support and content hosts that change, and new companion apps appear every month, so a list alone will not hold.
| Service | Domain to block | Where people use it | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Character.AI | character.ai and *.character.ai | Web and mobile app | Includes the older beta address |
| Replika | replika.com | Mostly mobile app | Some older links use other company domains; check logs |
| Janitor AI | janitorai.com | Web | Character roleplay with user-made bots |
| Nomi | nomi.ai | Web and mobile app | Companion with memory |
| Kindroid | kindroid.ai | Web and mobile app | Companion with voice |
| Companions inside social apps | Shares the social app's domains | Social and messaging apps | Cannot be blocked by domain; use the app's parental or admin settings |
Look up any other service you find with the website category checker. Paste in the domain and see whether it carries AI / LLM Tools, Adult or both.
Blocking steps for your environment
The right method depends on who owns the device. Pick your column, then use the technical notes below for your specific platform.
- Set the router's DNS to a family filter with an AI or companion category.
- Turn on the phone's own parental controls: app age limits and an app approval request for every new install.
- Block the web domains in the phone's content settings too.
- Check app purchase settings, since companions sell tokens and subscriptions.
- Talk with your child about why; secret use on a friend's phone is common.
- Block the Lifestyle & Entertainment AI subcategory for all student groups.
- In Google Admin, add the domains under Devices, Chrome, Settings, URL blocking, and block related extensions.
- On managed iPads and Android tablets, allow only approved apps.
- Apply the same rules on take-home devices through a device agent or DNS profile.
- Add the bots to your safeguarding alerts if your monitoring tool supports keywords.
- Block companions and character chat in the firewall or DNS filter for all staff.
- Push a web filter agent or DNS profile to managed laptops so the block follows them off the network.
- Use the Edge URL block list via Intune for managed browsers.
- Block the apps in your MDM on company phones.
- For MSPs, add the rule to the baseline template for every tenant.
Platform notes
| Platform | What to set | Covers |
|---|---|---|
| Router | DNS server pointing to a filter; domain block list if available | Everything on home Wi-Fi, not mobile data |
| DNS filter | AI category or companion subcategory, plus custom deny list; block encrypted DNS | All devices using your resolver |
| Firewall | Web filter profile with the AI category, an external list for companion sites, and app control for the apps | All traffic through the firewall |
| Intune | Web filter agent or DNS profile, app blocking, Edge URL block list | Managed Windows and macOS anywhere |
| Google Admin | URL blocking and extension rules per organisational unit | Managed Chrome and Chromebooks |
| MDM | App allow lists, app removal, web content filter payload, DNS profile | Managed phones and tablets on any network |
| Phone parental controls | Age limits, approval for new apps, web restrictions | Family devices on any network |
Mapping your filter vendor's AI category to ours?
Mobile app vs browser
With companions, the app is the main battlefield. Most use happens on phones, at night, often on mobile data where a network block does nothing.
Browser
- Domain blocks work on every layer
- Block page tells the user why
- Also covers school laptops and Chromebooks
- Easy to test from any device
App
- Network blocks only work on your Wi-Fi
- Needs app store age limits, MDM or parental controls
- Shows a vague error, which pushes users to try a VPN
- Some companions live inside social apps you allow
Companions built into apps you already allow
Some of the most used AI characters do not live on a separate domain. They sit inside social, messaging and gaming apps that a school or family may want to keep. A URL rule cannot split them out, so use the controls below.
If an app's built-in companion cannot be switched off and your policy forbids it, the only network option is to block the whole app for that group. Write that trade-off down so it is a decision, not an accident.
VPN and other bypass routes
Teenagers share workarounds quickly. Close these routes and keep the rule set in one place so they stay closed.
- Free VPN apps hide the destination from your filter.Block the VPN, proxy and anonymizer category and require approval for new apps.
- Clone and mirror sites copy a popular companion under a new name.Use category data that adds new AI domains daily.
- Companions inside allowed apps such as social or messaging apps.Use the app's own teen or admin settings.
- Encrypted DNS in the browser skips the home or school resolver.Turn it off by policy and block known DNS over HTTPS hosts.
- A second device such as an old phone or a friend's tablet.Network-level rules on home and school Wi-Fi still apply to it.
- Web versions when the app is blocked.Block both, and test both.
How to test the block
Test as the user would. Ten minutes on a student or child profile shows more than an hour of reading rule lists.
- Open character.ai in a browser on a managed device. You should see a block page.
- Try two smaller companion sites you have never added to a list. A category rule should block both.
- Try to install a companion app from the app store on a managed phone. It should be refused or need approval.
- Open an allowed homework helper. It should still work, proving your rule is not too broad.
- Repeat on mobile data. Only device controls should stop the app now.
- Install a free VPN as a test user. It should be blocked from install or from connecting.
- Check the filter logs show the attempts with the right category and user.
Signs a pupil or child may be attached to a companion bot
A block stops access on your devices, but it does not tell you who was already involved. Staff and parents can watch for patterns like these and follow the usual safeguarding route.
Talks about a "friend" no one has met
A named friend or partner who is always available, never seen and often described as understanding them better than anyone.
Late-night phone use
Tiredness in the morning and long chat sessions after bedtime, sometimes with a second hidden device.
Distress when the app is blocked
Strong anger or sadness when access is removed can show how deep the attachment has gone.
Unexplained spending
Purchases for tokens, premium chat or gifts for characters on a family account.
Withdrawal from friends
Less time with real friends and activities, more time with a character.
Blocked-category hits in logs
Repeated attempts to reach companion or VPN sites from the same account in your filter reports.
Sample policy lines you can adapt
Users accept blocks more easily when the reason is written down. These lines fit into an acceptable use policy for a school, a family agreement or a staff handbook.
| Setting | Policy line | Technical rule behind it |
|---|---|---|
| School | Students may use the AI tools chosen by the school for learning. AI companion, character and roleplay chat services are not allowed on school devices or networks. | Allow Education & Learning AI tools on the approved list; block Lifestyle & Entertainment |
| Family | New apps need a parent's approval. Apps that act as a friend or partner are not allowed until we agree otherwise. | Phone parental controls with app approval; DNS filter on home Wi-Fi |
| Business | Company devices and networks are for work. Personal AI chat services, including companion and roleplay apps, are not permitted. | Firewall or DNS block for the subcategory; MDM block on company phones |
| Library or public Wi-Fi | Services with sexual content are filtered on this network. | Block AI tools that also carry Adult; keep other AI open |
Schools in the US that take E-Rate funding must filter visual depictions that are obscene or harmful to minors under CIPA. AI companions are usually a local policy choice on top of that, unless they serve explicit images.
For vendors: keep companion blocking current
Parental control apps, school filters and DNS services need to separate companions from useful AI tools, at scale, without hand-built lists. That is what a category database is for.
Read how app makers use the data in category data for parental control apps, how schools apply it on the K-12 web filtering page, and the embedding terms on OEM licensing. Export types such as RPZ and hosts files are in blocklist formats.
Frequently asked questions
Does Character.AI still allow under-18 users?
The company said that from 25 November 2025 users under 18 would no longer have open-ended chats with characters, and moved minors to other features. Age checks can be wrong, so schools and parents often block it anyway. Check the current policy.
What is the difference between an AI companion and an AI assistant?
An assistant is built to complete tasks. A companion is built for an ongoing relationship: a persistent character, memory of the user, emotional language and often romance or roleplay.
Can I block AI companions without blocking homework helpers?
Yes, if your data separates them. In ours, companions sit in Lifestyle & Entertainment, while tutors sit in Education & Learning.
Why do companion apps get around a home router block?
Most use happens in phone apps on mobile data. Use the phone's parental controls or MDM as well as the router.
Are AI companion apps regulated?
Increasingly. California's SB 243 took effect on 1 January 2026, the FTC opened a 6(b) inquiry in September 2025, and Italy's data protection authority fined Replika's developer in 2025.
Do explicit companion sites need a separate rule?
Not if your data gives them both categories. A domain that carries AI / LLM Tools and Adult is caught by your adult content category rule as well as the AI rule, so it stays blocked even for groups that may use other AI tools.
How often do new companion apps appear?
Often enough that a list made today misses some within weeks. Many are small apps built on licensed models, launched under new names. Category data with daily updates is the practical way to keep up.
Should a business block AI companions?
Most do. There is rarely a business use, and staff share personal details with them on work devices. A block with a short explanation is usually accepted without complaint.
Separate companions from useful AI
License category data with 18 AI subcategories and daily updates for your school filter, parental control app or DNS service.
Talk to usCharacter.AI is a trademark of Character Technologies, Inc. Replika is a trademark of Luka, Inc. Janitor AI, Nomi and Kindroid are trademarks of their respective owners. Microsoft, Intune and Edge are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.
Google and Chrome are trademarks of Google LLC. These names are used here only to identify the products discussed. Web Filtering Database is not affiliated with, sponsored or endorsed by any of these companies.