Character.AI bankruptcy: how to export your chats and delete your account
If you use Character.AI, request a data export now and delete your account only after the export email arrives. Character Technologies filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on October 12, 2026 to sell the business, exports take three to four weeks to process, and the proposed sale timeline runs from a November 20 bid deadline to a December 17 outside closing date. An export requested today should arrive around November 16 to 23, right around the bid deadline, so don’t wait.
This guide covers what the bankruptcy means for your chats, the exact steps to export and delete your data on the web and in the app, how to stop a c.ai+ subscription, and what is still undecided.
Before you start
- You’ll need: access to the email address on your Character.AI account (the export link is sent there).
- Time: 2 minutes to request the export, then a wait of up to 3–4 weeks.
- Applies to: Character.AI on the web, iPhone and Android, free and c.ai+ accounts.
- Order matters: export first, download the file, then delete. Deletion is permanent.
What happened to Character.AI
Character Technologies, the company behind Character.AI, filed a voluntary Chapter 11 case in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware (Case 26-11603) to run a court-supervised sale. CEO Colin Adams cited “significant legal, regulatory and operational headwinds,” according to CBS News. The company faces lawsuits from families of teenagers who died by suicide or harmed themselves after using the platform, and investigations by dozens of states.
Disney is the lead (“stalking horse”) bidder. It has offered $20 million for a non-exclusive, perpetual license to certain Character.AI technology and IP. Reporting from KQED and Tech Times says that bid excludes the app, the brand, user data and conversation logs. Any buyer of those would be someone else.
| Date | What happens |
|---|---|
| Oct 12, 2026 | Chapter 11 filing announced; service and subscriptions keep running |
| Oct 14, 2026 | 40 attorneys general (39 states and D.C.) file conditions for any buyer |
| Oct 30, 2026 | Court hearing on the proposed bidding procedures (the rules for the sale) |
| Nov 20, 2026 | Proposed bid deadline |
| Nov 23, 2026 | Proposed auction |
| Nov 24, 2026 | Proposed sale hearing |
| Dec 17, 2026 | Outside closing date for the Disney deal |
These dates come from the proposed sale schedule reported by Tech Times and SAN; the court can change them, starting with the October 30 hearing. Character.AI’s own FAQ says the platform will be wound down if no suitable buyer appears.
Will your chats be sold?
Nobody can answer that yet. Character.AI says user data “continues to be protected under our Privacy Policy,” but CBS News notes the same policy allows chat transcripts, voice recordings, images and videos to be disclosed in connection with a sale of the company or its assets. When KQED asked whether chats are among the assets for sale, the company pointed to its FAQ instead of answering.
Attorneys general have asked the court to require a “meaningful data deletion window” before any transfer, limits on using chat data for AI training or ads, and real age verification. Those are requests, not court orders. The states have also reserved the right to ask for a consumer privacy ombudsman, an adviser the court can appoint when a sale of personal data conflicts with a company’s privacy policy. The ombudsman reports to the judge but cannot veto a sale. As of late October, no one had formally asked the court to appoint one.
Advocates are pointing to 23andMe, whose customer genetic data changed hands in bankruptcy in 2025 despite objections from more than two dozen states. If you don’t want a new owner to hold your conversations, the only step fully in your control is deleting your account.
How to export your Character.AI chats
On the web
- Sign in at character.ai and open your Profile.
- Select Profile Settings > Account.
- Choose Manage Account & Data, then Export Data.
- Wait for the confirmation that a download link will be emailed to you.
In the mobile app
- Open your Profile and tap the settings (gear) icon.
- Open Legal & Privacy and tap Export Data.
- Look for the Success banner that confirms the request.
The Character.AI help center says exports take 3–4 weeks. The download link goes to your account email and expires 7 days after it is sent, so add a reminder to check your inbox and spam folder. The help page doesn’t say which file format the export uses.
How to delete your Character.AI account
Delete only after you have downloaded the export file. Character.AI says deletion is permanent and lists no recovery window, and it doesn’t say whether a pending export survives deletion.
- Web: Profile > Profile Settings > Account > Manage Account & Data > Delete Account.
- App: Profile > settings icon > Remove Account.
Source: How do I delete my account? on the Character.AI help center.
Cancel c.ai+ before you delete
Deleting the account is not documented as cancelling a paid plan. Cancel billing where you started it:
- iPhone/iPad: Settings > [your name] > Subscriptions > Character.AI > Cancel Subscription.
- Android: Google Play Store > profile picture > Payments & subscriptions > Subscriptions > Character.AI > Cancel subscription.
- Web purchase: Settings > Account > Manage, which emails you a link to the billing portal.
For now the company says subscriptions and billing are unchanged and it will notify subscribers before changes to paid features.
What to do if you’re a parent
Company filings cited by the attorneys general list more than 2.1 million accounts that declared an age under 18. If your child has an account, sign in with them, request the export together if they want to keep anything, and delete the account once the file is saved. Also check the App Store or Google Play subscription list on their device. Our guide to keeping your data out of AI training covers similar settings in ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Copilot if they use other chatbots.
FAQ
Is Character.AI shutting down?
Not yet. The company says the service keeps running during the sale. It will be wound down only if no suitable buyer emerges.
Does deleting my account remove my chats from the sale?
Deletion is the strongest step available to you, but Character.AI hasn’t published how quickly deleted data is purged from backups or whether any data is retained. Treat it as reducing, not guaranteeing, exposure.
What if my export doesn’t arrive before the sale closes?
Keep the account until it arrives, then download and delete. If the link expires, request a new export. You can contact support through the help center if a request seems stuck.
Can I copy chats by hand instead?
Yes, for a few important conversations you can copy text or take screenshots. For anything larger, the official export is the practical route. The same approach applies to other AI tools; see how to turn off personalized ads in ChatGPT for a related privacy check.
We checked the help-center steps on October 20, 2026, and the sale timeline and ombudsman status again on October 26, against CBS News, KQED, Tech Times and SAN. Last checked: October 26, 2026. Menu labels can change between app versions, and the sale schedule depends on the bankruptcy court. We did not run an export ourselves.
Related guides
Sources
- Character.AI Help Center: How do I download my data?
- Character.AI Help Center: How do I delete my account?
- CBS News: Character.ai files for bankruptcy (Oct 13, 2026)
- KQED: Your chatbot just went bankrupt (Oct 14–16, 2026)
- Tech Times: 40 AGs file conditions in the Character.AI case (Oct 15, 2026)
Next step: request your export now, set a calendar reminder for three weeks out, and delete the account the day the file is safely saved.
