Linky AI is not uncensored in 2026 — it's a freemium anime companion app where NSFW chat toggles are locked behind the $17/month Premium tier (or $109/year, roughly $9/month), while free users get ads after nearly every reply, a 20–30 message daily cap, and no adult content access. Even on Premium, 'uncensored' comes with caveats: short memory that forgets details within a session, a persistent bug where every character calls you 'Alex,' and gacha-style coin spending on top of the subscription. If actual filter transparency and unrestricted chat are the goal, Linky sits firmly in the 'marketed edgy, gated in practice' camp.
TL;DR
- Linky AI is not fully uncensored: NSFW chat toggles are a Premium-only feature, locked behind the $17/month subscription.
- The free tier caps you at roughly 20–30 messages per day and shows full-screen ads after nearly every AI response.
- Premium costs $17/month or $109/year (about $9/month billed annually) and removes ads, lifts message caps, and unlocks voice calls and expanded memory.
- The app hosts over 180,000 user-created characters plus a social feed called Buzz, with 22M+ downloads since its 2024 launch.
- Memory is the most cited weakness: characters forget details within a single session, breaking longer roleplay even on Premium.
- A persistent bug makes characters call every user 'Alex' regardless of profile name, with misgendering also reported into mid-2026.
- An NLP analysis of 7,435 reviews found 67% negative sentiment despite the app's 4.4-star App Store rating.
Head-to-head
| Dimension | Linky AI |
|---|---|
| Pricing | Free with ads and ~20–30 msgs/day; Premium $17/mo or $109/yr (~$9/mo); coins extrawinner |
| Uncensored access | NSFW chat toggles exist but are Premium-only; free tier is fully locked out of adult content |
| Character library | 180,000+ user-created characters across anime, romance, fantasy, horrorwinner |
| Memory & conversation quality | Context disappears within a session; Premium 'improves' memory to roughly 20 messages back; persistent 'Alex' name bug and misgendering |
| Ease of use | One-tap character creation, single-tap chat start, fast onboardingwinner |
| Monetization pressure | Full-screen ads after nearly every free reply, gacha card draws costing coins, NSFW and voice features paywalled |
| Stability & trust | 67% negative sentiment across 7,435 analyzed reviews; update instability reports; anecdotal malware allegations on Reddit; premium ends the day you cancel |
Scores
Linky AI
linky.ai ↗Linky AI is an anime-styled AI companion app developed by Skywork AI Pte. Ltd., launched in 2024 and downloaded more than 22 million times across iOS and Android. It lets you chat with AI characters, create custom personas, and build 'bonds' through a gamified progression system. The character library is the main draw: over 180,000 user-created characters spanning romance, anime, fantasy, horror, and original fiction, browsable by category, popularity, or trending tags. A built-in social feed called Buzz lets users share updates and discover characters, making it feel like a social network wrapped around a chat engine. Distinctive features include one-tap character creation, 5-minute voice calls unlocked at bonding level 4 (Premium only), a 'digital twin' feature that clones your conversational style, and a gacha-style character card collection system funded by coins. The app supports multiple languages, with English producing the most natural responses. On Google Play it holds a 3.9-star rating across 120,000 reviews, and a 4.4-star rating on the App Store — though an NLP analysis of 7,435 combined reviews found 67% negative user sentiment, driven by bugs, memory resets, and monetization friction.
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0/mo | Text chats with full character library; ads after nearly every reply; ~20–30 messages/day; short session memory; no voice calls, NSFW toggles, or advanced character creation |
| Premium (monthly) | $17/mo | No ads, lifted message caps, voice calls, NSFW chat toggles, expanded memory, priority responses, advanced character creation, higher-quality AI model access |
| Premium (annual) | $109/yr | Same as monthly Premium; works out to roughly $9/month |
Pros
- Huge character library — over 180,000 user-made characters with strong anime art and fast discovery via the Buzz feed
- Feature breadth most rivals sell separately: voice calls, digital twins, card collection, and multi-language support bundled in
- One-tap character creation is faster and lower-friction than Character AI's detailed persona builder
- Annual pricing at $109/year (~$9/month) is competitive with several alternatives
- Genuinely impressive onboarding and art direction — the first session lands well
- Self-serve cancellation from within the app, so no fighting customer support to leave
Cons
- NSFW content is paywalled: free tier locks out NSFW toggles entirely, so 'uncensored' claims only apply after paying $17/month
- Memory evaporates within a single session — characters forget details shared minutes earlier, breaking ongoing roleplay even on Premium
- The 'Alex' bug: characters call every user Alex regardless of profile name, with misgendering also reported and unfixed as of mid-2026
- Free tier shows full-screen ads after nearly every AI response, sometimes freezing the app until force-restart
- Coins for card draws add gacha-style spending on top of the subscription
- Premium access ends the day you cancel, not at the end of the billing period; 67% negative sentiment in a 7,435-review NLP analysis despite the 4.4-star App Store rating
What actually gets filtered — and what it costs to unfilter
Pricing compared: what $17 a month really buys
The trust problem: bugs, sentiment, and stability
Which should you pick?
FAQs
Is Linky AI uncensored in 2026?
Not by default. The free tier locks out NSFW content toggles entirely, along with voice calls and advanced character creation. NSFW chat toggles are explicitly part of what the $17/month Premium subscription unlocks. So adult content exists in the app, but it is paywalled — and even after paying, short memory and bugs like characters calling every user 'Alex' can undercut the experience. If your bar for 'uncensored' is unrestricted free access, Linky doesn't meet it.
How much does Linky AI cost?
The app is free to install and use with ads and a daily cap of roughly 20–30 messages. Premium costs $17 per month or $109 per year, which works out to about $9 per month. Premium removes ads, lifts message caps, and unlocks voice calls, NSFW toggles, expanded memory, and priority responses. Coins for gacha card draws cost extra on top of the subscription. Note that premium access ends the day you cancel, not at the end of your billing period.
Is the Linky AI virus allegation true?
There is a Reddit thread (r/AITAH) titled 'do not install Linky.ai onto your phone it is a virus,' but it is a single anecdotal thread and not a verified security finding. What is better documented is community frustration with app instability and behavior changes after updates, plus criticism of the app's aggressive, NSFW-leaning advertising. Treat the malware claim as an unverified anecdote rather than a verdict, but the stability complaints are recurring across multiple communities.
Why do Linky AI characters keep calling me Alex?
It's one of the app's most persistent bugs. Multiple users report that every character calls them 'Alex' regardless of the name set in their profile, and some also report consistent misgendering despite correct profile settings. The bug appears in App Store and Google Play reviews going back months and had not been reliably fixed as of mid-2026. If name accuracy and pronoun consistency matter to your roleplay, this is a real obstacle.
Is Linky AI worth paying for?
It depends on what you want. If you value the huge character library, gacha card collecting, voice calls, and short casual chats, the annual plan at $109/year (~$9/month) is reasonably priced for the feature breadth. If you want sustained roleplay, be aware that even Premium's 'improved' memory only sometimes recalls what happened roughly 20 messages back, and sentiment analysis of 7,435 reviews found 67% negative feedback. The first five minutes are the app's best feature; long-term satisfaction is where it loses people.
Sources
Linky AI Review 2026: Features, Pricing, Alternatives | Fastio
Linky AI Review 2026: Hands-On With the Anime Chat App
Linky AI — Google Play listing / curated fact sheet
r/AITAH: malware allegation thread (anecdotal)
r/aichatbots: instability and update-issue reports
Pi vs Linky — price and features compared (isoulchat.com)
Linky AI Companion token — Phantom (unverified Solana token, brand-confusion note)