Is CrushOn AI Safe — or Not Meant for Kids at All?

AI companions are revolutionizing how kids and teens interact online. One of the most popular chat platforms is CrushOn AI. But is CrushOn AI safe?

What Is CrushOn AI?

Google Play

Launched in 2023, CrushOn AI is a fast-growing AI character chat platform where users can interact with AI companions. These AI chats can range from innocent conversations to NSFW* content. Unlike some similar character AI platforms, CrushOn AI makes it easy for underage users to access explicit adult content.

CrushOn AI offers users a huge library of AI characters to interact with. This can be especially appealing to kids who might be interested in anime characters, celebrities, and fantasy roleplay.

The site also boasts a sophisticated character creation tool. It is simple to operate, so even underage users could manage it. This makes it possible for users to create their own AI characters, giving them names, styles, personality traits, and even backstories. Users can craft exactly the type of interaction that they want with their new characters.

Moreover, CrushOn AI allows for multi-character roleplay. This opens another layer of group chat possibilities. Dynamic interactions between characters help to keep users interested and entertained during each chat session.

Much of the NSFW content can be accessed by using CrushOn AI’s free plan. Free-tier users also have high message caps, at roughly 100 per day. Even premium tiers are priced relatively affordably, and they unlock higher message limits, deeper memory, and full NSFW features.

All of these benefits are attractive to users who want to migrate away from AI sites with stricter content moderation. There are now millions of active users on CrushOn AI every month.

*NSFW (Not Safe For Work) is an internet acronym warning that content is inappropriate for professional, public, or school environments due to sexually explicit, violent, or sensitive material.

Main Risks of CrushOn AI for Kids

CrushOn aI age verification. Credit: crushon.ai

While CrushOn AI may seem like just another chat platform, it comes with several serious risks for children and teens. These risks go beyond typical screen time concerns and relate to content exposure, privacy, and emotional well-being.

• Mature Content: One look at the CrushOn AI website immediately exposes the viewer to adult content. And once a chat begins, there are no strict content filters to stop explicit conversations or adult roleplay from evolving. CrushOn AI’s free tier allows NSFW access without a subscription or credit card. The platform has fewer content restrictions than many competitors.
• Weak Age Verification: The platform is clearly intended for adult users only, as stated in their community guidelines. However, there are no safeguards in place to verify age. An email address is the only personal information necessary to get started.
• Privacy Risks: The CrushOn AI website collects some personal data automatically by using cookies and similar tools. Users are also asked for potentially sensitive personal information to create a profile. To go above the free tier, users must input their financial information, and CrushOn AI saves their transaction data. CrushOn AI also saves behavioral data to remember characters and conversations across sessions.
• Unsafe Personal Interactions: CrushOn AI offers a social component that could allow kids and teens to interact with adult users. Characters can be made public, where they can be rated and reviewed by others. Users can also share links and connections to social media platforms.
• Emotional Attachment to AI Companions: Today’s digital age is constantly blurring the line between reality and fantasy. But AI chatbots take this danger to a new level, potentially leading users to develop real feelings for AI partners.

Does CrushOn AI Collect Personal Data?

Like other consumer AI products, CrushOn AI collects and stores many types of personal information. Some of the data CrushOn AI saves is accessed automatically, such as IP addresses and other device identifiers. Even more personal data can be shared by the user and saved on the platform.

This can be unclear at first, since users do not need to verify their identities or provide much personal data to get started. CrushOn AI registration does not require any contact information other than a valid email address. It also does not require credit card information to access the basic free tier.

However, users have the option of sharing sensitive personal information when creating their profiles, which CrushOn AI can use for commercial purposes. Since kids are already accustomed to sharing their lives online, it may feel natural to them to put this information out there. They can include a bio and connect their social media accounts. If they decide to upgrade for more features beyond the free plan, they can connect payment information as well.

Though the profile does ask for age, there is no verification process to make sure that users are honest about this. However, if the platform somehow becomes aware of a minor using the site, it will take steps to remove the user. Service will also delete any personal information that minors may have shared, in accordance with all applicable laws.

CrushOn AI’s community guidelines also prohibit users from distributing personal information about other users. But realistically, data sharing is always a possibility. Once sensitive personal material has been shared online, it is hard to police how others use it.

As for financial transaction data, CrushOn AI’s privacy policy claims that they do not sell or share this information with third-party vendors. However, even with proper precautions, creators can never be certain that they have complete control over stored data. Therefore, they cannot guarantee the safety of any personal info. Users can never really be sure that their sensitive information is safe from unauthorized use.

Are CrushOn AI Chats Really Private?

CrushOn AI collects conversation history to remember characters and chats over time. This allows chat companions to refer to previous exchanges, creating continuity and more personalized interactions. With the free tier, this memory is limited only to recent messages. But users at higher paid tiers get longer memory and therefore more consistent interactions with their AI characters.

Similar sites, such as PepHop AI, struggle with memory issues, so CrushOn AI’s memory depth is one of its most appealing aspects for users. However, this also means that CrushOn AI is always gathering and storing information about users’ preferences and conversational styles.

As with the personal information mentioned earlier, chat data is stored on CrushOn AI’s servers. They can choose to make posts public and use data for targeted advertising purposes. Ultimately, the interactions users have on the platform should never really be considered private.

Is CrushOn AI Safe for Kids and Teens?

Credit: crushon.ai

No, it is not safe for kids and teens to use Crushon AI. The site is specifically designed to allow for adult content with a variety of mature themes. Their community guidelines set up distinct age restrictions, making it clear that minors should not use the platform. However, users can simply input false age data when setting up their profile. There is no real verification process to make sure that users are over the age of 18.

Some competing aI platforms take more steps to keep mature content away from minors. For example, the popular AI chatbot Character.AI uses strict content filters to prevent NSFW interactions. CrushOn AI, on the other hand, is explicitly designed for mature content and loose content moderation.

Explicit material is also easier to access on CrushOn AI because it is part of their basic free tier. Other AI girlfriend sites, like Candy AI, keep most of their NSFW content at premium levels that come at a cost.

The community guidelines establish a variety of content restrictions, meant to keep interactions between users safe and positive. But any time that minors are active on sites meant solely for adult users, they are putting themselves at risk. This could go far beyond being exposed to mature content. Dangerous and predatory behavior is always a potential threat to kids and teens.

Perhaps the most unexpected risk may be in the “relationships” that young people form with their AI companions. AI chatbots like CrushOn AI are designed to mimic emotional intimacy. As they become more sophisticated, many AI users are developing deep attachments to their virtual characters. Such artificial connections can distort kids’ expectations for real-world relationships.

This danger was examined in a study conducted by researchers at the nonprofit Common Sense Media, with the help of Nina Vasan, founder and director of Brainstorm: The Stanford Lab for Mental Health Innovation, and Darja Djordjevic, MD, PhD. The results showed that the line between fantasy and reality is more easily blurred for kids, whose brains are not yet mature.

Interactions with AI companions are designed to be entirely positive, unlike the messy, complex nature of real human relationships. CrushOn AI’s character creation feature takes this a step further by allowing kids to craft exactly the personality traits that they wish to see in a companion. This may encourage adolescents to avoid real-life social interactions and increase social isolation.

Why It’s Hard to Control AI Apps

AI models, in general, use data differently than traditional software. AI is meant to learn and adapt on its own. This makes regulating it difficult or impossible. Even AI creators themselves may not be able to control these systems.

Unlike traditional software that operated under clear rules, AI is designed for autonomy—learning from huge datasets and modifying behavior accordingly. And it is evolving faster than most people can keep up. As Susan Aaronson, a professor of AI governance at George Washington University, puts it, “It’s challenging to govern such a fast-moving technology.”

If tech experts and government officials struggle to control AI’s evolution, then how can parents hope to control its influence on their kids?

How Parents Can Block CrushOn AI

Findmykids app

Perhaps the simplest answer to these safety concerns is to keep kids and teens from accessing dangerous content to begin with. The Findmykids app can help parents do just that.

Findmykids is a popular, trusted parental control app designed for kids’ mobile devices. It offers a variety of features to help keep kids safe while using their smartphones or smartwatches, even when parents can’t be there to personally monitor them. The Findmykids app allows parents to block CrushOn AI and other dangerous apps and sites.

Setting up this blocking feature is quick and easy for parents. It starts with downloading the app and following the simple instructions to link your child’s phone. The process takes no more than five minutes.

To block CrushOn AI:

1. Open the Findmykids app on your phone, choose your child’s profile and go to the Parental controls section (or In games and social in previous versions).
2. From there, you can choose to block all apps either temporarily or permanently.
3. Alternatively, you can find CrushOn AI from the provided list and choose to block it, along with other specific apps.

Findmykids app

Using Findmykids, you can also block in-app purchases and manage screen time. Parents can easily see how much time kids have spent playing games or on other social apps. Apps are shown with their age ratings as well, so that parents can assess age-appropriate content.

Additionally, Findmykids offers real-world safety features such as GPS tracking. Parents can rely on the app to offer accurate real-time location tracking as well as location history. It also includes an SOS button for children to alert parents in emergencies and a feature that allows parents to listen to a child’s surroundings.

Overall, downloading Findmykids is one of the easiest ways for parents to protect kids from a variety of threats, including CrushOn AI. And parents can take that action right now!

CrushOn AI poses many potential risks to kids and teens. However, it is only one of many platforms that can be dangerous for them. While the world grapples with the fast-moving evolution of AI, we still need to keep underage users safe. The Findmykids app can be a powerful partner to help overwhelmed parents protect kids online.

FAQs

Is CrushOn AI safe to use?

No, CrushOn AI is specifically designed to be NSFW. The platform does not prioritize privacy and does not guarantee that personal information can be kept safe.

Is CrushOn AI safe for teens or kids?

No. The CrushOn AI website is age-gated and intended only for adult users 18+. Users are exposed to a wide variety of explicit content and adult themes.

Does CrushOn AI collect personal data automatically?

Yes. Certain personal information is collected automatically. For instance, the site uses cookies and similar technologies to collect device/network data.

Can parents block CrushOn AI on a child’s phone?

Yes. The Findmykids app allows parents to block CrushOn AI and other NSFW content on their child’s phone. It also offers many other safety features to give parents more control over kids’ online experiences.

Is CrushOn AI riskier than Character.AI or Candy AI?

In many ways, yes. Character.AI has tighter content policies that prevent NSFW interactions. And while Candy AI allows explicit content, it is available only at higher paid tiers.

Cover image: generated by ChatGPT / OpenAI