How to report abuse or harmful chats on Character.AI
A UK parent's walkthrough for reporting Character.AI characters, chats and accounts, with CEOP, NSPCC and police escalation routes.
Character.AI lets users chat with AI personas. The risks come from the bots themselves rather than other users: explicit content, suicide and self-harm dialogue, encouragement to isolate, and parasocial dependency. Reports go to Character.AI's safety team and can be escalated externally if there has been any real-world harm.
If a child has been encouraged to self-harm or there are signs of immediate distress, call 999. Otherwise save the evidence and use the steps below.
How to report inside the app
Save evidence
Screenshot the conversation, copy the character's name and URL, and note the date and time in UK time.
Report a message
Long-press the AI message → Report → choose category (Self-harm, Sexual content, Hate, etc.). The message and full conversation are flagged.
Report a character
Open the character profile → three dots → Report character → describe the harm. Include if it is targeting a young user.
Block the character
After reporting, block the character so it does not appear in suggestions again.
Turn on Parent Insights
If you have linked Parent Insights, you will get a weekly summary of usage time, characters chatted with, and any high-risk content flagged.
Escalate externally if there was real-world harm
If a child has been told how to self-harm, where to find sexual material, or has been targeted with grooming-style prompts, report to CEOP (ceop.police.uk) and call 101. NSPCC: 0808 800 5000. Childline: 0800 1111. Immediate danger: 999.
Talk with the child about what happened
Reassure them. Make clear the bot is not a real friend and cannot be trusted with private feelings. Agree what they will do next time it gets weird.
Evidence to save
- Screenshots of the AI's responses, with character name visible.
- URL of the character.
- Date and time in UK time.
- What prompt the child sent before the bot's harmful reply.
- How long the conversation went on for.
Save evidence BEFORE blocking the account: once blocked you may lose access to the messages.
What not to do
- Do not delete the conversation before reporting; the report relies on it.
- Do not punish the child for the conversation; they may stop telling you.
- Do not assume the bot is harmless because it is "just AI"; AI-encouraged self-harm has caused real harm.
- Do not let the child carry on chatting to the same character if it has crossed a line.
Frequently Asked Questions
This guidance is for informational purposes. It is not a substitute for emergency services or professional safeguarding support. If a child is in immediate danger, call 999 (UK) or 911 (US) now.