How to export Character AI chats
Character.AI's Export Data steps on web and app, how long the email takes, what users find in the file, and when it's safe to delete your account.
Edited by Troy · Published
On the web, go to Profile > Profile Settings > Account > Manage Account & Data > Export Data. In the app, open your Profile, tap the Settings icon, then Legal & Privacy > Export Data. Processing can take 3-4 weeks at this review. Character.AI then emails a download link to your account's email address, and the link stays valid for 7 days.
Why to request the export today
Character.AI has started a voluntary Chapter 11 process to set up a court-supervised sale of the company. It expects the sale to be complete by the end of November or early December 2026. If no actionable bid emerges, Character.AI says the platform will be wound down. For now the platform is up and all services are accessible, subscriptions remain active and billing is unchanged. Character.AI's post reminds users they can export their data or delete their account through the app or website.
At this review, exports can take 3-4 weeks to process. Reviewers worked out that a request made on October 14 would arrive in early November at the earliest. That leaves little slack before the sale is due to close. For the full picture of the sale, and where to go if the platform shuts, see is Character.AI shutting down?
Export your chats on the web
- Go to your Profile.
- Click Profile Settings.
- Click Account.
- Click Manage Account & Data.
- Click Export Data.
A pop-up confirms that you'll receive an email with a link to download your data.
Export your chats in the mobile app
- Open your Profile.
- Tap the Settings icon.
- Tap Legal & Privacy.
- Tap Export Data.
A "Success" banner appears once the request is submitted. An older Character.AI help article titled "How can I export my chats?" points to the same route and labels the mobile option "Export my data", so the button may carry that name in your version of the app.
What happens after you request
When the export is ready, Character.AI emails a download link to the account's email address. The link is valid for 7 days from when the email is sent. One user reports the email came from an odd-looking sender address with the subject "Character AI User Data Export". Search your inbox and spam folder for that subject.
Reviewers report the export is a snapshot of the moment you requested it and does not update as you keep chatting. Anything you send afterwards needs a fresh request.
What the export contains
Character.AI's help page does not list what the export contains. Users quote the in-app message as promising a link to download content you've sent or uploaded. Users who have received exports report these gaps:
- The file arrived as .json, and one user's was too big for converters to turn into HTML.
- It holds the text you and bots sent, but not which bot you talked to, the bot profile, who said what, or which swipe you chose.
- It can miss chats. One account from early 2023 had its earliest exported chats from December 2024, while the app still showed older ones.
- Another user's messages file did not contain archived chats.
Open your file as soon as it arrives. If chats you care about are missing, you still have the account to read them in.
If the export email never arrives
Users report tapping Export Data, being told an email would come, and never receiving it, even after three tries and checking spam. One user with about 500,000 interactions says they clicked export repeatedly from February with no email. Support told them to check the email and try again.
If you signed in with Apple and hid your email, one user says they cannot get the export link at all. Keep the account open while you wait, because the link only goes to the account's email address.
Delete your account after the export
Export first, download the file, check it, and only then delete. Character.AI says deletion is permanent and cannot be reversed. Reviewers warn that deleting before the export arrives also loses you access to the chats.
On the web:
- Go to your Profile.
- Click Profile Settings.
- Click Account.
- Click Manage Account & Data.
- Click Delete Account.
In the app:
- Open your Profile.
- Tap the Settings icon.
- Tap Remove Account.
If you pay through the App Store or Google Play, reviewers note you should cancel the subscription there as well. Billing is unchanged for now. Google Play's data safety section for Character AI says, at this review, that you can request that data be deleted, no data is shared with third parties, and data is encrypted in transit.
Apps this guide covers
- Character.AI review51Microwaved
Millions of community-made characters, free unlimited chat, and ads until you pay
Sources
The source text behind the claims above, and the day we read it.
- Receipt 1Official site
Character.AI lets you request a copy of your account data from profile settings; exports can take 3-4 weeks to process.
"You can request a copy of your account data from your profile settings. Please note that exports can take 3-4 weeks to process."
support.character.ai, retrieved
- Receipt 2Official site
On web: go to your Profile, click Profile Settings, click Account, click Manage Account & Data, click Export Data.
"Go to your Profile. Click Profile Settings. Click Account. Click Manage Account & Data. Click Export Data."
support.character.ai, retrieved
- Receipt 3Official site
On web, a pop-up confirms you'll receive an email with a link to download your data.
"A pop-up will confirm that you'll receive an email with a link to download your data."
support.character.ai, retrieved
- Receipt 4Official site
On the mobile app: open your Profile, tap the Settings icon, tap Legal & Privacy, tap Export Data; a "Success" banner appears once the request is submitted.
"Open your Profile. Tap the Settings icon. Tap Legal & Privacy. Tap Export Data. A "Success" banner will appear once your request has been submitted."
support.character.ai, retrieved
- Receipt 5Official site
When the export is ready, Character.AI emails a download link to the account's email address; the link is valid for 7 days from when the email is sent.
"When it's ready, we'll send an email with a download link to the email address associated with your account. The link will be valid for 7 days from the time the email is sent, so be sure to download your data before it expires."
support.character.ai, retrieved
- Receipt 6Official site
An older Character.AI help article titled "How can I export my chats?" points to the same export route, with the mobile option labelled "Export my data".
"Open your Profile. Look for the settings icon. Select Export my data."
support.character.ai, retrieved
- Receipt 7Official site
If no actionable bid emerges from the sale process, the Character.ai platform will be wound down.
"We hope that the sale process will yield an actionable proposal that will allow continued operations of the Character.ai platform. If such a bid is unavailable, however, the platform will be wound down."
blog.character.ai, retrieved
- Receipt 8Official site
Character.ai expects the court-supervised sale to be complete by the end of November or early December 2026.
"We currently expect that the court-supervised sale process will be complete by the end of November or perhaps early December 2026."
blog.character.ai, retrieved
- Receipt 9Official site
Character.ai says the platform remains up and all services are accessible for now; subscriptions remain active and billing is unchanged for now.
"Yes, your subscriptions remain active, and billing is unchanged for now."
blog.character.ai, retrieved
- Receipt 10Official site
Character.ai says user information remains protected under its Privacy Policy and reminds users they can delete their account or export their data through the app or website.
"As a reminder, you can delete your account or export your data through the app or the Character.ai website."
blog.character.ai, retrieved
- Receipt 11Reviewer
Notebookcheck notes that a request made on Oct 14 would arrive in early November at the earliest, and the help page does not list what the export contains.
"A request made today will arrive in early November at the earliest, shortly before the sale is expected to close. Download the file as soon as the email arrives. The help page does not list what the export contains."
www.notebookcheck.net, retrieved
- Receipt 12Reviewer
Notebookcheck warns that deleting the account before the export arrives loses access to chats too, and App Store/Google Play subscribers should cancel there as well.
"If you delete your account before the export arrives, you lose access to your chats as well. If you pay through the App Store or Google Play, cancel the subscription there too"
www.notebookcheck.net, retrieved
- Receipt 13Forum
Users on Reddit say they tapped Export Data, were told an email would come, but never received it, even after three tries and checking spam.
"I tired doing it in the settings, and it tells me it will send an email with a link, but I never receive the email. I'm tried three different times and I've checked my spam folder."
www.reddit.com, retrieved
- Receipt 14Forum
A Reddit user says the export arrived as .json, and the file was too big for converters to turn into HTML.
"Ive Seen People say you're supposed to turn it from .json to html. But the file is too big for any converter."
www.reddit.com, retrieved
- Receipt 15Forum
A Reddit user who signed in with Apple and hid their email says they cannot get the export email link.
"I logged in with Apple and my email was hidden when I did. I cannot get an email link to export my data"
www.reddit.com, retrieved
- Receipt 16Forum
Reddit users report exports missing chats: one account from early 2023 had earliest exported chats from December 2024, while the app still showed older chats.
"My account was created early 2023 however my earliest chats in the data seem to be from December 2024."
www.reddit.com, retrieved
- Receipt 17Forum
A Reddit user says the messages file in their export did not contain archived chats, far from all of them.
"but it seems like the messages file does not contain archived chat? at least, far from all of them."
www.reddit.com, retrieved
- Receipt 18Forum
A Reddit user says the export email came from an odd-looking sender address with subject "Character AI User Data Export".
"Subject line is "Character AI User Data Export""
www.reddit.com, retrieved
- Receipt 19Forum
A Reddit user said the in-app message on tapping export reads that you'll receive an email with a link to download content you've sent or uploaded.
"Whenever I tap the export data button, it says 'You will receive an email with a link to download content you've sent or uploaded.'"
www.reddit.com, retrieved
- Receipt 20Forum
A Reddit user with ~500k interactions says they clicked export repeatedly from February with no email, and support told them to check the email and try again.
"I contacted support they told me to "make sure the email is correct and try again""
www.reddit.com, retrieved
- Receipt 21Official site
Character.ai has started a voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy process to set up a court-supervised sale of the company.
"Character.ai has initiated a voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy process to facilitate a court-supervised sale of the company."
blog.character.ai, retrieved
- Receipt 22Reviewer
Reviewers report Character.AI has no per-conversation export button; to save one chat, open it and use the browser's print function (Ctrl+P or Cmd+P) to save as PDF, or copy the transcript manually.
"Open the conversation and use your browser's print function (Ctrl+P or Cmd+P), then save as PDF."
www.llmnesia.com, retrieved
- Receipt 23Reviewer
Reviewers report an export is a snapshot of when it was requested and does not update as you keep chatting, so you'd need a fresh request later.
"it does not update itself as you keep chatting, so every time your history moves on you would have to request a fresh one."
www.llmnesia.com, retrieved
- Receipt 24Reviewer
Tom's Guide notes exporting data doesn't mean you can import those conversations into another AI chatbot; a copy may not preserve the interactive experience.
"Keep in mind that exporting your data doesn't mean you'll be able to import those conversations into another AI chatbot."
www.tomsguide.com, retrieved
- Receipt 25Official site
Character.AI account deletion is permanent and cannot be reversed; on web it is under Manage Account & Data > Delete Account, and in the app under settings > Remove Account.
"Account Deletion is permanent and cannot be reversed."
support.character.ai, retrieved
- Receipt 26Forum
A Reddit user who got an export last year says it holds the text you and bots sent, but doesn't save which bot you talked to, the bot profile, who said what, or which swipe you chose.
"Which bot you were talking to isn't saved 2. The bot profile isn't saved. 3. Who said what in each conversation isn't saved (you can't tell if the bot or you said it) 4. Swipe info isn't preserved"
www.reddit.com, retrieved
- Receipt 27App store listing
Google Play's data safety section for Character AI says no data is shared with third parties, data is encrypted in transit, and you can request that data be deleted.
"Data is encrypted in transit You can request that data be deleted"
play.google.com, retrieved
Questions people ask
How do I save a single chat in the Character.AI app?
There is no single-chat option. Reviewers report Character.AI has no per-conversation export button, so the app's Export Data request is the only save route Character.AI offers, and it covers the whole account. Open your Profile, tap the Settings icon, tap Legal & Privacy, then tap Export Data.
How long does a Character.AI data export take?
At this review, Character.AI says exports can take 3-4 weeks to process. The download link arrives by email and is valid for 7 days from when the email is sent, so download the file as soon as it lands.
What format is the Character.AI export, and what's in it?
Users report the file arrives as .json, and Character.AI's help page does not list its contents. One user says it holds the text you and bots sent but not which bot you talked to, the bot profile, who said what, or which swipe you chose.
Can I import my Character.AI export into another chatbot?
Not as a working conversation. Reviewers note that exporting your data doesn't mean you can import those conversations into another AI chatbot, and a copy may not preserve the interactive experience. Treat the file as an archive to read.
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