Character AI users are able to see each others' chat histories

Occurred: December 2024

Character AI users are able to see the entire chat history, personas and personal identifiable information of other people on the platform.

What happened

Character AI users took to Reddit to report that they had been signed into strangers' accounts and had been able to see a slew of information about them. 

Multiple users accessed an account in the name of "Adrian" - for which the victim was mercilessly mocked on Reddit.

Why it happened

Character AI acknowledged the problem though failed to divulge its nature, cause or impacts. 

The company told Futurism: "We take matters such as these very seriously," a spokesperson said. "We became aware of an issue on the platform and were able to quickly correct it. We're investigating further and will let you know when we have more information to share." 

What it means

The incident is the latest in a string of technical, content moderation and other issues to hit Character AI in recent weeks, including the high-profile suicide of one of its users and the discovery of multiple paedophile chatbots. 

Commentators point out that Character AI apparent inability to handle these issues is likely due to its failure to put any meaningful governance in place, especially now that its founders have jumped ship to Google.

Personal data

Personal data, also known as personal information or personally identifiable information (PII), is any information related to an identifiable person. 

Source: Wikipedia 🔗

System 🤖

Operator:
Developer: Character AI
Country: Global
Sector: Media/entertainment/sports/arts
Purpose: Create characters
Technology: Chatbot; Generative AI; Machine learning
Issue: Confidentiality; Privacy; Security

Page info
Type: Incident
Published: December 2024