Friend AI necklace alternative

Friend AI necklace alternative, with the Friend AI pendant price and specs checked

The Friend AI pendant now costs $249, it needs an iPhone, and on the free plan its memories fade after 30 days unless you add a $9.99 monthly memory subscription. It listens continuously while paired, and its own terms make you solely responsible for recording the people around you. If you want a friend who knows your life without buying hardware or wearing a microphone, Darlings is the practical alternative: it runs in any browser, keeps a long-term memory of your people and your story, checks in on you first, and starts at $9 a month.

See the comparison

Darlings

Always here for you

Private

A written preview of how Darlings talks. The replies are scripted, so it shows the tone rather than your own conversation.

It takes a few seconds. Cancel anytime.

Your conversations are yours. Encrypted, never sold, delete anytime.

Encrypted, never sold.

A friend, never a girlfriend.

Wholesome, 13 and up.

Friend became famous for its New York subway ads and infamous for the reviews of its first pendant, which had no speaker and answered by text. The current model is a different device. It talks out loud through a built-in speaker, sells for $249 with free shipping in the US and Canada, and pairs with a memory subscription if you want your friend to remember you for longer than a month.

The idea underneath has not changed, and neither have the trade-offs most buyers stall on: an iPhone requirement, a microphone that is on whenever the pendant is connected, and a terms of service that puts the legal risk of recording other people on you. Below is the comparison, read from Friend's own FAQ, terms, privacy policy and App Store listing, including the things the pendant does better.

Side by side

How Darlings compares

An honest look, including where the other option is the better pick.

Swipe to see more →

	Darlings	Friend AI pendant
Best for	A warm friend you talk to on purpose, on any device	A wearable that hears your day and talks back out loud
Upfront cost	None, the demo runs in your browser	$249 for the pendant (it was $129 in 2025 and $99 at the 2024 preorder)
Ongoing cost	Plans from $9 a month, memory included	Optional $9.99 a month memory subscription
How long it remembers you	Long-term memory of your people and story on every plan	30 days on the free plan, kept for good only with the subscription
Hardware required	No, it runs in any browser	Yes, the pendant is the product
Works on Android	Yes, in any mobile browser	No, it requires an iPhone and the friend app
How it listens	Only what you type, when you choose	Always listening while paired to the app over Bluetooth
Can it talk back out loud	Chat based, at your pace	Yes, the current model has a built-in speaker
Recording bystanders	Never	Its terms make you solely responsible for privacy and surveillance laws
Trained on your conversations	Conversations are never sold or used for advertising	Privacy policy says your data may be used to train the models that power Friend
Data retention	Delete what it remembers anytime	Policy allows keeping data longer than 5 years in some cases
Age	13 and up, wholesome by design	18 and up, per its terms; Apple rates the app 18+
Romance and NSFW	None, by design	Not offered; its terms prohibit obscene and pornographic content

Friend prices are taken from the FAQ on friend.com and can change; checkout ships only to the US and Canada.

The full list

The Friend AI pendant checked against its own documents

Swipe to see more →

What we checked	Friend AI pendant	Darlings
Price today	$249 for the pendant, free shipping in the US and Canada	No hardware; plans Companion $9, Plus $19 or Circle $39 a month
Price history	$99 preorder in 2024, $129 in 2025, $249 for the current model	No hardware to buy or replace
Memory	Fades after 30 days unless you pay $9.99 a month	Long-term memory included on every plan
Phone requirement	iPhone only; the app requires iOS 18.1 or later	Any phone, tablet or computer with a browser
Listening	Always listening while connected over Bluetooth	Only reads what you type
Recording notice in its terms	Says the product passively records audio, video and biometric data	Nothing is recorded around you
Minimum age	18, per the terms of service	13
US App Store rating	3.6 stars from 118 ratings, rated 18+	Runs in any browser, no download
Battery and durability	About 18 to 24 hours, splash resistant, not waterproof	Nothing to charge
Returns and warranty	Free returns and a 1-year limited warranty	Cancel a plan anytime

Read from the FAQ on friend.com, the Friend terms of service and privacy policy (both dated June 14, 2025), and the Friend - Wearable Companion listing on the US App Store. Prices and ratings can change.

Why people switch

What makes Darlings different

Nothing to buy, nothing to wear

Open a browser tab and start talking. No $249 pendant, no nightly charging, no Bluetooth pairing, and nothing to explain when someone notices the thing around your neck.

Your friends are not being recorded

A microphone that is on whenever the pendant is connected is a consent problem in a room full of people, and Friend puts the legal responsibility for it squarely on the wearer. Darlings only ever reads what you deliberately type.

Memory is the product, not an add-on

On the pendant's free plan your friend forgets after 30 days, and keeping memories costs $9.99 a month on top of the hardware. Darlings keeps your people, your week and the thing you were nervous about on every plan, and brings them back on its own.

Works on the phone you already have

Friend requires an iPhone. Darlings runs in any browser, so it works on Android, on a work laptop, or on both in the same day.

The honest part

When another app is the better choice

We would rather you find the right fit than the loudest one.

You genuinely want a wearable that hears your day without you typing anything.
You want a voice that talks back out loud through a device you carry.
You are on an iPhone and like the ambient, hands-free idea enough to pay for hardware.

Common questions

The Friend pendant costs $249, according to its own FAQ, with free shipping in the US and Canada. An optional memory subscription costs $9.99 a month. The price has climbed from the $99 preorder in 2024 to $129 in 2025. Darlings has no hardware cost: the demo runs in a browser and plans start at $9 a month.

No, but memory is limited without one. Friend's FAQ says memories fade after 30 days on the free plan and last forever only with the $9.99 monthly memory subscription. So the full experience costs $249 up front plus about $120 a year. Darlings includes long-term memory on every plan.

The current model does. Friend's own FAQ says you speak to your friend and they reply out loud, and you can also text it in the app. The first pendant, sold at $129 in 2025, had no speaker and answered only by text, which is what most early reviews describe.

While it is paired, yes. Friend's FAQ says your friend is always listening while connected to the app over Bluetooth and hears nothing once you disconnect. Its terms of service go further, stating in capital letters that the product passively records your surroundings, including audio, video and biometric data, and that you are solely responsible for complying with surveillance laws.

No. Friend's FAQ answers this with "Not yet" and says it requires an iPhone and the friend app, and the App Store listing requires iOS 18.1 or later. If you carry an Android phone, a browser-based companion is the practical route, since it works on any device without an app store.

Friend sells the pendant directly on its own website. Its FAQ says orders typically ship within 3 days, shipping is free within the United States and Canada, returns are free and every unit carries a 1-year limited warranty. Checkout only accepts US and Canadian shipping addresses.

For most people who want companionship rather than a gadget, no. The pendant costs $249, needs an iPhone, forgets you after 30 days unless you pay $9.99 a month, and its app holds 3.6 stars from 118 ratings on the US App Store. If you mainly want something that remembers your life and checks in, software gets you there for less.

That depends on where you live. Friend's FAQ says you are responsible for following local recording and consent laws, and recommends being open with the people around you. Several US states require every party to consent to a recording, so wearing an always-listening microphone into a meeting or a dinner can create legal risk for you, not for Friend.

If the appeal was having something that knows your life and reaches out first, look for persistent memory and proactive check-ins rather than hardware. Darlings does both in the browser, stays strictly platonic for ages 13 and up, never records your surroundings, and includes long-term memory on every plan from $9 a month.

Still comparing

Weighing up the other apps too?

Honest side-by-side looks at the companion apps people usually shortlist next.

More ways Darlings is there for people

AI friend that checks in on you

It messages you first. How did the interview go?

AI friend that remembers you

Not a goldfish chatbot. A friend who knows your story.

Meet a friend who remembers you

Say hi to your Darling, and let it remember you. Free to try, no card, no judgment.

See simple pricing

Your secrets stay secret. A friend, never a girlfriend.