Migration guide · Published October 2026
Moving from Character.AI: the export, what transfers, and what to expect
Moving from Character.AI is a three-part job: get your data out, know what transfers, and pick what you are moving to. The export is built into Character.AI's settings; nothing imports anywhere automatically. This guide is maintained by Ouba (ouba.art), a story-first platform that appears below as one destination.
Moving from Character.AI starts with its own data export: request it from Profile Settings, Account, Manage Account & Data, and an archive of your chats arrives by email. Nothing imports into another platform automatically: personas are rebuilt, memory starts fresh, and chat transcripts are reference material. On a story-first alternative like Ouba (ouba.art), you read authored stories instead of sustaining open-ended chats.
Timing note: Character.AI entered a court-supervised Chapter 11 sale on October 12, 2026 — competing bids are due November 20, 2026, and the sale approval hearing is scheduled for November 24. If you are moving because of the sale, start with the export guide, then come back to the three steps below.
Step 1: request the export
Character.AI's export is a GDPR-style account export, requested from the product itself. On the web: Profile, Profile Settings, Account, Manage Account & Data, Export data. On the mobile app: Settings, Legal & Privacy, Export data. The archive arrives by email, usually as JSON inside a zip, and it can take a while to process, so request it before you delete anything. The exact steps live in Character.AI's own support article.
Two habits worth copying from anyone who has done this: request the export before you close the account, because deleted chats generally do not come back, and keep the archive somewhere you control.
Step 2: know what transfers
| What you had | Does it transfer? | What actually happens |
|---|---|---|
| Chat history | As an archive, not as live chats. | The export preserves your conversations as a record you can open and search. No destination platform imports them as chats; at best you copy passages by hand. |
| Personas and character definitions | No; rebuilt by hand. | Each destination has its own format. You rewrite the description yourself, and the new platform's model reads it differently from day one. |
| Memory and continuity | No; starts fresh. | Everything a character remembered about you lives on Character.AI's servers. A new platform starts with no history, which is a feature if you wanted a clean break. |
| Your account and subscription | No. | Subscriptions are per-platform. Cancel Character.AI's through its own settings before you leave; free reading on a new platform usually needs no card. |
Step 3: pick the destination by what you actually want
| If you want | The shape that fits | Checked October 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| To read a story you steer | AI interactive fiction: authored, branching stories with choices. | Ouba (ouba.art): 18+, free to read, up to 25 guest turns per story, on Android and web. |
| Open-ended chat with a persona | Another character-chat platform with the age policy you need. | Character.AI itself now restricts open-ended chat to 18+; under-18 accounts get guided Stories. Janitor AI is adult-oriented. The full list is in the alternatives guide. |
| To direct the plot as a writer | An AI writing or text-adventure tool. | AI Dungeon and NovelAI are the established names; each publishes its own age terms. |
| A companion for an ongoing relationship | A companion app, which is a different product from a story. | Kindroid, Nomi, and Replika are the established names in that shape. |
The checklist, compressed
- Request the Character.AI data export and wait for the email.
- Open the archive once and confirm your chats are in it.
- Cancel any subscription through Character.AI's own settings.
- Decide the destination by shape: read-and-steer (Ouba), chat (another character platform), write (AI Dungeon or NovelAI), or companion.
- Rebuild by hand only what is worth rebuilding; leave the archive as your record.
Sources: Character.AI's support documentation for the data export; Character.AI's October 29, 2025 announcement on under-18 changes; the January 2026 settlement reports; Ouba's published product pages (checked October 2026).
If the destination is story reading: Ouba is free to read, guests get up to 25 turns per story without an account, and the Android app and web app carry the same stories. The full intent-sorted field is at Best Character.AI alternatives.
FAQ
How do I export my data from Character.AI?
Character.AI offers a data export through its own settings: on the web, go to Profile, Profile Settings, Account, then Manage Account & Data, and select Export data; on mobile, the same control sits under Settings, Legal & Privacy. The export arrives by email as a downloadable archive, and it can take a while because it is a full account export, not a one-click chat download.
What transfers from Character.AI to another platform?
Only what you carry by hand. The export archive preserves your chat history as a record, but no platform imports it automatically. Personas and character definitions must be rewritten in the destination platform's format, and any remembered details start fresh. Copy-paste is the honest migration path.
What should I expect when switching to a story-first app?
A different shape, on purpose. On Ouba (ouba.art), the product is an authored, branching story you read and steer with choices, not an open-ended chat with a persona. There is nothing to recreate from your old chats: you pick a story, guests read up to 25 turns per story without an account, and reading is free to start.
Can I move my Character.AI persona to Ouba?
Not as an import, and Ouba does not ask you to. Ouba stories are creator-authored: the premise, characters, and opening already exist, and your choices steer them. If you want a persona-shaped experience, a character-chat platform is the right shape; if you want to read, Ouba starts in one tap.
Is it worth migrating off Character.AI in 2026?
That depends on what you want instead. The platform changed in 2025 and 2026: open-ended chat is now restricted to users 18 and older, under-18 accounts get guided Stories, and the teen-harm lawsuits were settled in January 2026. If you want stories you read and steer, Ouba (ouba.art) is the story-first alternative; the full intent-sorted list is in the alternatives guide.
Related guides
- Best Character.AI alternatives: the full intent-sorted list.
- Character.AI alternatives 2026: what changed this year, and the current field.
- Character.AI not working?: common causes and fixes, and the story-first fallback.
- Ouba vs. Character.AI: the head-to-head, side by side.
- AI interactive fiction guides & comparisons: the full hub.