How to Check an AI Companion's Public Profile and Sharing Settings in 2026

What should you prepare for the audit?

Prepare a redacted test profile, one disposable share example and a simple visibility worksheet.

Do not begin with your real biography or an intimate conversation. Create a neutral test item such as “A fictional travel-planning companion for quiet weekend ideas.” Use a generic avatar or no avatar. List the details you never want exposed: full name, handle, email, workplace, exact location, routine, phone number, private history, financial information and other people's images.

1. Record the profile name, avatar, bio and account identifier as they currently appear.
2. List every place the product lets you create, publish, discover or share content.
3. Prepare one harmless test description and one redacted test image if uploads are necessary.
4. Open a note with columns for setting, current value, audience and evidence.
5. Decide whether the test item will be deleted after the audit.

Expected result: you should have a test that reveals visibility without creating a permanent record of real personal information. If the product requires a real photo, contact list or public biography before showing basic controls, pause and reconsider.

How do you inspect profile and discovery controls?

Check profile visibility, search/discovery, public publishing, follower or community settings and default audience one surface at a time.

1. Open account or profile settings and note the exact visibility options offered.
2. Open character, persona or creator settings and check whether new items default to public.
3. Look for search, discovery, recommendations, community, follower or profile-indexing controls.
4. Review whether an avatar, bio, activity status or username is visible separately from chat content.
5. Save a screenshot or written note of the final setting, without capturing private chat text.

Expected result: you should be able to state what is private, what is discoverable and what is public. If the interface uses vague labels, open the provider's current help or privacy documentation. Do not infer that “unlisted” means private if anyone with a link can still access it.

How do you test a share link safely?

Create a redacted test link, open it without your account and verify the page, metadata, attachments and revocation behavior.

1. Share only the neutral test item, not a real chat or personal photo.
2. Copy the link into a separate browser profile or private window where you are logged out.
3. Check the title, preview text, avatar, author name, timestamps, attachments and related recommendations.
4. Try the link on a second device or network if the product's terms and your situation allow it.
5. Return to the account, revoke or delete the share, then open the old link again.

Expected result: a logged-out viewer should see only what you intended, and a revoked test link should stop exposing the item. If you cannot test the audience, cannot revoke the link or can still see deleted content, do not share real material.

Private browsing can remove local history after a session, but it does not block website activity. Treat the logged-out test as an audience check, not a guarantee about retention, caches or screenshots.

How do you audit uploads and connected accounts?

Check every image, voice sample, file, contact permission and linked sign-in path for information that can identify you or someone else.

Before uploading, inspect the background, reflections, documents, visible addresses, school or workplace clues and other faces. A file can reveal more than its caption. Remove or replace it when possible. Do not upload another person's private image or conversation merely to make a character feel realistic.

1. Open the device permission page and disable access the feature does not need.
2. Review the provider's upload, training, retention, deletion and sharing language.
3. Check connected email, social, calendar, cloud-storage and payment accounts.
4. Remove old connections and confirm whether existing data remains after disconnecting.
5. Use a unique password and multifactor authentication where available.

Expected result: you should know which data is required for the feature, which is optional and which remains after disconnecting. The FTC recommends reviewing account settings and turning off unnecessary permissions; use that as a practical cleanup step, not as proof that the service has no other data sources.

What should you remove or change after testing?

Delete the test item, remove identifying details, revoke old links and re-test the final public view.

1. Replace your real name, handle, location, employer and routine with general wording.
2. Remove public media that contains faces, documents, home details or unique identifiers.
3. Delete or unpublish old personas, community posts, share links and unused profiles.
4. Disconnect integrations you do not need and remove their permissions on the device.
5. Repeat the logged-out test after each change and record the date.

Expected result: the public view contains only information you are comfortable showing to an unknown viewer, and you have evidence that old test links no longer work. If deletion is delayed, incomplete or unclear, treat that as a limitation and keep sensitive content out.

Do not assume that changing a username removes old links, cached previews or screenshots. Search engines, viewers and third-party services can retain copies outside the provider's control. A smaller public profile is easier to monitor and easier to delete.

What should you check before paying for public features?

Confirm exactly what publishing, sharing, storage or media features cost, and verify whether cancellation changes visibility or only billing.

Write down the paid feature you want and its audience requirement. Check the current plan page, billing channel, renewal timing, storage or credit limits, cancellation steps and data-deletion terms. Ask whether a public profile remains online after cancellation, whether links expire, and whether deletion is automatic or requires a separate request. Do not pay to unlock a control you cannot understand.

Use AIDatingGuide's reviews and directory after this audit to compare chat, memory, media, privacy, price and cancellation. Editorial placement or affiliate compensation does not remove the need to verify current product terms.

When should you stop using public sharing?

Stop when the audience, retention or deletion path cannot be verified, or when publishing pressure is part of the product experience.

Use a private chat, a local note or an offline creative tool when you only need brainstorming. Stop immediately if the companion asks for a full identity, private contacts, financial information or another person's intimate material to improve a public profile. FTC romance-scam guidance also warns that online profiles and relationships can be used to create false trust and pressure people for money; a public profile cannot prove who is behind an account.

Escalate a suspected exposed account through the provider's official support path, change credentials from a trusted device and preserve the relevant evidence without reposting it. If you are distressed or at risk, talk to a trusted person or qualified professional instead of relying on the companion to manage the situation.

Summary: a repeatable public-profile privacy audit

Start with a redacted test, inspect every publishing surface, check the logged-out view, revoke old links, minimize permissions and verify deletion before sharing real context.

Run the audit again after a major app update, a new media feature, a plan change or a new connected account. The goal is not to prove that a service is risk-free. It is to keep the audience understandable, the data necessary and the exit path usable.