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Character.AI Shutdown: Save Your Chats + 5 Alternatives

The Glitch Fixer — Thu, 15 Oct 2026 11:10:56 +0000

Character.AI Shutdown: Save Your Chats + 5 Alternatives

On October 12, 2026, Character.AI — the chatbot platform where millions of people build and chat with AI personas — filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The company says the app keeps running for now, but warns plainly: if no buyer steps in by early December 2026, the platform will be wound down.

If you've spent months building characters and long-running conversations, this is the moment to act. Below: what the filing means for your chats, characters, and subscription, the 5 things to do right now, and the 5 best verified alternatives if the service disappears.

Is Character.AI Shutting Down?

Not yet — but the clock is ticking. The confirmed timeline, from Character.AI's own blog post and court filings:

October 12, 2026: Character Technologies, Inc. filed a voluntary Chapter 11 petition in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, listing liabilities between $50 million and $100 million.
Right now: The service "remains up and running" and paid subscriptions stay active with billing unchanged.
Late November – early December 2026: The court-supervised sale must complete. Disney is lined up as the first ("stalking horse") bidder at $20 million for certain assets plus a non-exclusive license to the technology — not a bid to run the platform as-is.
If no buyer keeps it running: Character.AI says "the platform will be wound down."

Why did it happen? CEO Colin Adams cited "significant legal, regulatory, and operational headwinds" — lawsuits over chatbots' effects on teenagers, state investigations, and the brutal economics of running AI models for millions of daily chatters (creditors include Google, DigitalOcean, and Fireworks.ai).

What Happens to Your Chats, Characters & Subscription

Your chats and characters: Nothing changes for now. But if the platform winds down, conversation history and character definitions stored only on Character.AI's servers could disappear. No public guarantee of a migration path exists.

Your data: The company says your information stays protected under its current privacy policy during the sale. If user data becomes part of a sale, U.S. bankruptcy rules can require court approval and a privacy ombudsman review before personal data changes hands.

Your subscription: Paid plans remain active, billing unchanged. The company promises advance notice of changes. If you pay annually, refunds after a wind-down are not guaranteed — weigh your remaining prepaid time.

Do This NOW: 5 Steps Before Anything Happens

1. Export your data today (don't wait for December)

Character.AI documents a self-service data export — run it now while the service is fully working:

On the web:

Open your Profile.
Click Profile Settings.
Go to Account → Manage Account & Data.
Select Export data and follow the prompts.

In the mobile app: Profile → settings icon → Export my data.

The export delivers an archive (users report a ZIP of JSON files). Open it and confirm your important conversations are actually in there — don't assume.

2. Copy your character definitions manually

The export preserves data, but if a character definition is creative work you care about, save it human-readable too: copy the greeting, description, and definition fields into a text document. Exports can't always be re-imported elsewhere — plain text is your portable backup.

3. Screenshot your best conversations

For the chats that matter most — long-running stories, roleplays you'd hate to lose — screenshot or copy-paste exchanges into a document. Chats load per character (no global chat search), so go character by character, favorites first.

4. Turn off model-training use of your data

While in settings, consider the training opt-out. Mobile app: Settings → Data & Privacy → deselect "Improve the Model for Everyone." Web: Settings → Account → Manage Account & Data → Model Improvement → deselect the same. This stops new content from being used for generative-model training.

5. Don't delete your account yet — but review your subscription

Deleting is permanent and unnecessary right now: the service runs, and a buyer could keep it alive. But review your plan: annual c.ai+ subscribers with months of prepaid time have money at risk if the platform winds down. Monthly subscribers can simply cancel if things worsen.

5 Best Character.AI Alternatives (2026)

If Character.AI goes dark, the five strongest places for character chats — each verified active in 2026:

1. Janitor AI — the closest free replacement

The largest free Character.AI-style alternative with a huge community character library. Chatting on JanitorLLM is free, with optional Janitor+ for more context and priority messages.

2. Chai — best for mobile chatters

Mobile-first chat app with a massive user-made bot library and a social, swipe-and-chat feel. Freemium: free messages with limits, Premium from ~$13.99/month.

3. Talkie — best for voice-led character chat

Voice-driven conversations with characters — talk, not just type. Free with ads, Pro ~$7.99/month.

4. SillyTavern — best for full control (self-hosted)

Free, open-source, runs on your own hardware or server — your chats are truly yours and can't be shut down by anyone. Bring your own model (local or API). Real setup curve, but the most private and future-proof option.

5. Replika — best for one long-term companion

Strength is long-term memory, mood tracking, and a 3D avatar with voice. Free tier plus Pro from ~$19.99/month.

FAQ

Is Character.AI shutting down?
Not yet. It remains up while a court-supervised sale runs through late November or early December 2026. But the company warns that without a bid allowing continued operations, the platform will be wound down — so a shutdown is possible.

What happens to my Character.AI chats?
Nothing changes for now. If the platform winds down after the sale, anything stored only on its servers could be lost. Export now: Profile Settings → Account → Manage Account & Data → Export data.

How do I export my Character.AI chats?
Web: Profile → Profile Settings → Account → Manage Account & Data → Export data. Mobile app: Profile → settings icon → Export my data. Open the archive and verify your conversations are included.

Can I get a refund on my subscription?
Subscriptions remain active with billing unchanged, and the company promises advance notice of changes. No public refund policy for a wind-down exists — annual subscribers carry the most risk.

What's the best Character.AI alternative?
Janitor AI is the closest free replacement with the largest character library. For mobile: Chai; voice chat: Talkie; maximum privacy: self-hosted SillyTavern; one long-term companion: Replika.

Originally published on The Glitch Fixer — Character.AI Shutdown: Save Your Chats + 5 Alternatives

Muse Wonder: How to Get Access, Pricing & Fixes (2026)

The Glitch Fixer — Thu, 15 Oct 2026 10:52:24 +0000

Meta released its first true frontier AI model on October 12, 2026 — Muse Wonder — and within hours, developers hit the same confusion: where do you actually get it, how much does it cost, and why isn't it working the way the announcement implies? The launch got covered everywhere, but nobody explained the setup or the breakage.

This is the practical guide: what Muse Wonder is, the three access routes, real pricing, and fixes for the six most common setup problems developers are hitting right now.

What Is Muse Wonder?

Muse Wonder is Meta's frontier LLM series, built by Meta's Superintelligence Labs and announced October 12, 2026. Meta calls it the product of over a year of research and infrastructure work, trained at a gigawatt-scale data center called Prometheus. It follows the Muse Spark 1.3 release from April 2026, using the same pretraining and RL approach.

Two variants, built for "personal and professional agentic tasks" — long-running agents that plan work, call tools in parallel, delegate to sub-agents, and recover from errors:

Active Memory — carries important context about you across conversations and pulls it back when relevant, so agents working over days or weeks don't lose the plot.
Active Focus — keeps the agent grinding on a hard goal through blockers: trying alternative approaches, adapting to new information, checking in before consequential actions.

Meta claims "state-of-the-art" on agent, memory, and coding evaluations plus domain expertise in law, finance, and health. Treat Meta's benchmark numbers as vendor-reported until independent runs confirm them.

Muse Wonder vs Muse Wonder Full: Key Differences

The single biggest source of confusion — they are not available through the same channels:

	Muse Wonder	Muse Wonder Full
Model	Standard frontier variant	Maximum-reasoning variant for the hardest, longest jobs
Meta Model API	Available now (`muse-wonder-1.0`)	Not available — no API access at launch
Muse Code	Included	Included (subscriber plans)
Muse app	Rolling out to subscribers first	Rolling out to subscribers first
Reported pricing	$4 / 1M input, $20 / 1M output, $0.20 cached input	No per-token price; subscription-only
AI Index (Artificial Analysis v4.3)	52	56 (2nd globally, behind Claude Opus 5.5 at 58)

Key takeaway: if you want to call the model from your own code, only the standard Muse Wonder is available. Wonder Full — the variant with the headline benchmark scores — is locked behind a Muse Code subscription.

How to Get Muse Wonder Access: 3 Routes

Route 1: The Meta Model API (for developers)

Fastest route for your own applications. The Meta Model API is OpenAI-compatible — most existing code works if you change the base URL and model name:

Go to dev.meta.ai and create an account.
Generate an API key under API keys.
Set up billing — no free tier, so a card is required.
Point your client at https://api.meta.ai/v1 with model muse-wonder-1.0.

Minimal working call:

from openai import OpenAI
client = OpenAI(
    base_url="https://api.meta.ai/v1",
    api_key="YOUR_META_API_KEY",
)
response = client.chat.completions.create(
    model="muse-wonder-1.0",
    messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "Summarize this lease and flag anything unusual."}],
)
print(response.choices[0].message.content)

The API also accepts the Anthropic Messages format (Claude-built tools work too), and the model is listed on OpenRouter as meta/muse-wonder.

Route 2: Muse Code (for coding — the only way to get Wonder Full)

Muse Code is Meta's coding agent, and currently the only way to access Wonder Full. Subscribe to a Muse Code plan (reported $50 and $200/month tiers) and Wonder Full runs as the default engine.

Route 3: The Muse App (coming — subscribers first)

Meta says Muse Wonder "will soon power experiences in Muse," rolling out to paying subscribers first ($20 or $100 monthly plans reported). No date announced. If you're waiting to try it casually, this is the queue — but don't expect it in your app today.

Muse Wonder Pricing Explained

Meta hasn't published an official pricing page — figures below are reported across multiple outlets, not Meta-confirmed:

API (Muse Wonder): ~$4 per million input tokens, ~$20 per million output tokens, ~$0.20 per million cached input tokens. Roughly equivalent to Claude Opus 5.5's headline rate — though one user reported a single Wonder Full run consuming 38% of a weekly Muse Code allowance, so long agent jobs are compute-heavy.
Muse Code (Wonder Full): reported $50/month and $200/month tiers.
Muse app: reported $20 or $100 monthly plans when the rollout begins.

Budget rule of thumb: per-token pricing looks modest, but agentic workloads burn tokens fast — especially reasoning models on long tasks. Set billing alerts before running agents unattended.

6 Common Muse Wonder Problems & Fixes

1. "Muse Wonder is not available in my country"

API and Muse Code availability is region-dependent. Fix: check Meta's developer docs for the supported-regions list. This is account-region enforcement — a VPN won't reliably fix billed API access.

2. 400 error when setting `reasoning_effort` to "none"

reasoning_effort accepts minimal through max — it does not support none, and sending it returns a 400. Fix: omit reasoning_effort entirely (the model picks a level) or use minimal.

3. "I can't find Wonder Full on the API"

By design, not a bug: Wonder Full is not served through the Meta Model API at launch. No hidden endpoint exists. Fix: subscribe to a Muse Code plan — the only announced route to the Full variant.

4. Reasoning doesn't carry over between turns

On the Chat Completions endpoint, reasoning doesn't persist across turns, making multi-turn agent conversations inconsistent. Fix: use the Responses API with previous_response_id to preserve reasoning context.

5. "Invalid API key" or 401 errors on first call

No free tier — billing must be set up on your Meta developer account or calls fail at auth. Fix: confirm the key was generated under API keys at dev.meta.ai, billing is active, and you're using https://api.meta.ai/v1 as the base URL (not a legacy Meta AI endpoint).

6. Muse app doesn't show Muse Wonder yet

The rollout is announced as forthcoming for subscribers — no date. Fix: nothing to toggle. Paid plans ($20/$100 reported) are first in line; use the API route (Route 1) meanwhile.

Benchmark Snapshot: Wonder Full vs Claude Opus 5.5

Launch-reported figures (vendor-reported where noted — independent confirmation pending):

Benchmark	Muse Wonder Full	Claude Opus 5.5
AI Intelligence Index v4.3	56 (2nd)	58
DeepSWE 1.1 (coding)	79%	74.2%
SWE-Marathon (long tasks)	57.5% (Meta)	46.3% (Meta)
MemoryBench (long-term recall)	Leads (Meta)	Behind

Pattern: Wonder Full leads on long-horizon coding evals but trails Opus 5.5 on the overall index. Meta's safety-evaluation report wasn't published at launch — worth watching before production workloads.

FAQ

How do I get access to Muse Wonder?
Three routes: (1) the Meta Model API at dev.meta.ai (muse-wonder-1.0, OpenAI-compatible, billing required), (2) a Muse Code subscription — the only way to get Wonder Full, (3) the Muse app, rolling out to subscribers first, no date announced.

How much does Muse Wonder cost?
Reported (unconfirmed) API pricing: $4/1M input, $20/1M output, $0.20/1M cached input tokens. Muse Code plans with Wonder Full reported at $50 and $200/month. No official pricing page yet.

What's the difference between Muse Wonder and Wonder Full?
Standard Wonder is available via API and Muse Code. Wonder Full is the maximum-reasoning variant, available only to Muse Code subscribers — not through the API at launch.

Can I use Muse Wonder for free?
No. No free or contributor tier — the API needs billing set up, and Muse Code/app access both require paid subscriptions.

Originally published on The Glitch Fixer — Muse Wonder: How to Get Access, Pricing & Fixes (2026)

OpenAI Dots: How to Set Up & Use ChatGPT's Always-On AI Agent (2026)

The Glitch Fixer — Thu, 15 Oct 2026 10:51:40 +0000

On 29 September 2026, OpenAI announced Dots at DevDay — persistent AI agents inside ChatGPT that keep working on your goals between conversations. A Dot isn't a longer chat session: each one gets its own cloud computer and browser, runs on GPT-6 Astra, connects to 4,000+ apps via plugins, and can research, draft, code, and report back while you're away. You reach the same Dot through ChatGPT on desktop and mobile, through Slack and Microsoft Teams, or even by voice call.

The catch: Dots aren't available to everyone, they can't be created on a phone, and plenty of people on eligible plans still can't see them. This guide covers what Dots actually are, who qualifies, the exact setup steps, how the safety controls work, and what to do if Dots are missing from your account.

What Are OpenAI Dots?

An OpenAI Dot is a persistent personal AI agent inside ChatGPT. The difference from ordinary ChatGPT is persistence plus its own machine. Instead of asking ChatGPT to "analyse this month's customer feedback" and getting one answer, you give a Dot ongoing responsibility for the job: it checks connected apps in the background, tracks how the data changes, and reports back with progress.

Each Dot has its own cloud computer, browser, and memory. You give it a goal, connect the apps it needs, set the boundaries in what OpenAI calls Custom Rules, and it keeps making progress between conversations. It can contact you with updates, ask questions when unsure, and hand back decisions needing human judgement. You can open its cloud computer at any time to see what it's doing, and in the desktop app an Activity View shows the steps it has delegated.

Practical examples from OpenAI: keeping a sales proposal updated as requirements change, investigating a newly reported bug when it appears, preparing content as new source material arrives.

Who Can Get OpenAI Dots (and What Do They Cost)?

Dots are still rolling out and limited to paid tiers. Eligibility as of October 2026:

ChatGPT Pro 100 / 200 / 500 ($100 / $200 / $500 per month) — adults only, excluding the EEA, Switzerland, and the UK. Your first Dot is included at no extra cost.
ChatGPT Business Premium ($100 per user per month billed annually, or $125 monthly) — all supported regions.
Enterprise, Edu, and Healthcare — Dots are in beta and off by default; a workspace admin must enable them.
Free, Go ($8), and Plus ($20) plans — not included. OpenAI says it plans to expand access later, with no date.

Talking to your Dot doesn't count against ChatGPT message limits, but the work it starts does: tasks it hands to ChatGPT Work or Codex count as usual. OpenAI has said users will eventually be able to add more Dots or capacity, but pricing hasn't been published.

Rollout is gradual — Dots "may take several days to reach your account" even on an eligible plan. If you qualify and still can't see them, wait a few days before assuming something is broken.

How to Set Up Your First OpenAI Dot (Step by Step)

Dots are created on desktop only — you can't create one on a phone or mobile web. Once it exists, you can message it from the ChatGPT mobile app.

Open the Dots section on desktop. Use the ChatGPT desktop app for macOS or Windows, or go to chatgpt.com/dots in a desktop browser, signed in to an eligible account.
Create your Dot and name it. The name becomes its handle, in the form @yourname-name (e.g. name it "Alfred" → @yourname-alfred). You'll use this handle to mention it in Slack, Teams, and ChatGPT.
Connect your apps in the Plugins tab. Link the apps your Dot needs — email, calendar, docs, project tools. Permissions are shared across ChatGPT, Work, and Codex, so review each connection before approving.
Set your Custom Rules. The most important step: for each Dot you decide what it can do on its own, what needs pre-approval, what it must always ask about first, and what's off-limits. Read the safety section below before skimming this.
Leave local-computer access off unless you need it. Dots can access your own computer, but this is off by default. Only enable it for a specific reason, then turn it back off.
Give it its first job. Start with something bounded and reviewable — "watch this shared document and tell me when the client comments," or "summarise new project emails every morning." Track progress in the Dot's profile: In progress, Scheduled, Completed lists.

After setup, reach your Dot anywhere: message it in ChatGPT (desktop or mobile), tag its handle in Slack or Teams, or call it by voice. Texting support is currently limited to a small Pro beta in the US.

Set Custom Rules Before You Connect Everything

A Dot's background research is read-only by default — it can't send messages or change anything in your apps while idly watching. Anything with outside effects goes through rules you define:

Take action — the Dot acts on its own.
Act if pre-approved — it acts only on pre-approved items.
Ask first — it must check with you every time.
Hand off — it stops and gives the step back to you.

OpenAI also hard-codes two guardrails: password changes and money movement always stay human, and a separate Auto-review system examines planned actions before they run. On prompt injection, OpenAI reports no scored successes in 16,600 generated attack emails — but scope problems grow as task chains get longer. Practical takeaway: start conservative (Ask first on anything consequential) and review consequential work, especially early on.

Why Don't I See Dots in My ChatGPT Account?

The most common Dots problem right now — the fix depends on which applies:

You're on Free, Go ($8), or Plus ($20). Dots aren't included on these plans at launch. No setting will surface them.
You're in the EEA, UK, or Switzerland on a Pro plan. Dots are excluded for Pro users in these regions. Business Premium users in all supported regions are eligible.
Your account is eligible but the rollout hasn't reached you. OpenAI confirms this can take several days. Check back periodically; nothing to fix on your end.
You're on mobile. Dots can't be created from the mobile app or mobile web. Use a desktop browser or the desktop app.
Your Enterprise/Edu/Healthcare workspace hasn't enabled it. Off by default — ask your workspace admin to enable the beta.
You're under 18. Dots require an adult account.

FAQ

What is OpenAI Dots?
Always-on AI agents in ChatGPT, announced at DevDay on 29 September 2026. Each Dot runs on GPT-6 Astra with its own cloud computer and browser, connects to 4,000+ apps, and keeps working toward your goals between conversations — reporting back through ChatGPT, voice, Slack, or Microsoft Teams.

Which ChatGPT plans include Dots?
Pro 100/200/500 (adults, excluding the EEA, Switzerland, and the UK), Business Premium (all supported regions), and Enterprise/Edu/Healthcare where an admin enables the beta. Free, Go, and Plus don't include Dots at launch.

How much do OpenAI Dots cost?
Your first Dot is included with an eligible plan. Pro costs $100, $200, or $500/month; Business Premium is $100 per user/month billed annually ($125 monthly). Pricing for additional Dots hasn't been published.

Can I create a Dot on my phone?
No. Creation requires the ChatGPT desktop app (macOS/Windows) or desktop web. After creation you can message your Dot from the mobile app.

Is Dots available in Europe and the UK?
Not for Pro users — excluded in the EEA, Switzerland, and the UK at launch. Business Premium users in all supported regions are eligible.

Is ChatGPT Agent the same as OpenAI Dots?
No. The old Agent mode is discontinued; Dots are persistent assistants that can start Work and Codex tasks and keep working on ongoing goals between conversations.

Originally published on The Glitch Fixer — OpenAI Dots: How to Set Up & Use ChatGPT's AI Agent (2026)

DEV Community: The Glitch Fixer

Character.AI Shutdown: Save Your Chats + 5 Alternatives

Character.AI Shutdown: Save Your Chats + 5 Alternatives

Is Character.AI Shutting Down?

What Happens to Your Chats, Characters & Subscription

Do This NOW: 5 Steps Before Anything Happens

1. Export your data today (don't wait for December)

2. Copy your character definitions manually

3. Screenshot your best conversations

4. Turn off model-training use of your data

5. Don't delete your account yet — but review your subscription

5 Best Character.AI Alternatives (2026)

1. Janitor AI — the closest free replacement

2. Chai — best for mobile chatters

3. Talkie — best for voice-led character chat

4. SillyTavern — best for full control (self-hosted)

5. Replika — best for one long-term companion

FAQ

Muse Wonder: How to Get Access, Pricing & Fixes (2026)

What Is Muse Wonder?

Muse Wonder vs Muse Wonder Full: Key Differences

How to Get Muse Wonder Access: 3 Routes

Route 1: The Meta Model API (for developers)

Route 2: Muse Code (for coding — the only way to get Wonder Full)

Route 3: The Muse App (coming — subscribers first)

Muse Wonder Pricing Explained

6 Common Muse Wonder Problems & Fixes

1. "Muse Wonder is not available in my country"

2. 400 error when setting reasoning_effort to "none"

3. "I can't find Wonder Full on the API"

4. Reasoning doesn't carry over between turns

5. "Invalid API key" or 401 errors on first call

6. Muse app doesn't show Muse Wonder yet

Benchmark Snapshot: Wonder Full vs Claude Opus 5.5

FAQ

OpenAI Dots: How to Set Up & Use ChatGPT's Always-On AI Agent (2026)

What Are OpenAI Dots?

Who Can Get OpenAI Dots (and What Do They Cost)?

How to Set Up Your First OpenAI Dot (Step by Step)

Set Custom Rules Before You Connect Everything

Why Don't I See Dots in My ChatGPT Account?

FAQ

2. 400 error when setting `reasoning_effort` to "none"