Voice privacy: what to check

Your microphone

A call needs your microphone, so the permission is the first thing to get right.

• In a browser, the site asks the first time you call. Allow it only on the app's own address, and check the address bar before you do. You can withdraw the permission at any time in the browser's site settings.
• In a phone app, the permission sits in your phone's settings for that app. Turn it off if you stop using calls.
• Watch the indicator. Phones and browsers show when a microphone is in use. If it is still on after you hang up, close the tab or the app.

heyGF.AI, Secrets AI, Candy AI and OurDream run in the browser. Kindroid, Nomi, Replika and Character.AI also have phone apps. Choosing between a phone app and the browser.

What a call can leave behind

Depending on the app, a call can leave an audio recording, a written transcript, a summary, or new memories about you. A companion needs some record to remember you next time, and every one of these is personal data. What an app keeps, and for how long, belongs in its privacy policy. We do not summarise other apps' policies here, because they change; read the current one before your first call.

On heyGF.AI, a summary of each call joins your chat history when you hang up. That is how she remembers the call afterwards, and it means a call becomes part of your conversation record, like your messages.

Questions to put to any privacy policy

1. Does the app keep audio of calls, a transcript, a summary, or more than one?
2. How long does it keep them, and can you delete them?
3. Is what you say used to train AI models?
4. Which outside companies receive your audio or text to run the service?
5. What happens to your data if the company is sold?

The last question has a current example. Character.AI, whose calls are free, began a Chapter 11 sale process on 12 October 2026, and its sale notice of 5 November does not say what happens to users or their data.

heyGF.AI's privacy practices

heyGF.AI's privacy policy says your data is encrypted both in transit and at rest, and that it does not sell personal information. You can delete your account yourself from Settings, and ask by email for your personal information to be permanently deleted. The app is for adults only. How heyGF.AI calls work.

Habits that keep calls private

• Wear headphones. Her side of the call stays in your ears instead of filling the room.
• Choose the room. Your microphone hears what is around you, other people included.
• Keep identifying details out. Tell her about your day and your plans; leave out your full name, address, workplace and card numbers.
• Close the tab when you finish. An open call or chat in a browser is one tap away for anyone holding your phone.
• Check your notifications. Previews on a lock screen can show more than you want.

For habits that make the call itself better, see how to get a better call.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

All checked 11 November 2026.

1. heyGF.AI: its privacy policy and the product itself.
2. Character.AI: Chapter 11 announcement, sale notice, Character Calls, plans and platforms.
3. Where each app runs: Secrets AI installing the app, Candy AI apps, OurDream mobile app, Kindroid kindroid.ai, Nomi platforms, Replika replika.com.