Frequently asked questions.

Cherizh is an everyday AI companion with living memory. It remembers you, celebrates your wins, and shows up every day — seven AI companions that remember your journey, your patterns, your relationships, and your progress over time. It includes mood tracking with pattern recognition, voice journaling, and the Sit With Me™ silent companionship feature. Built by Kelly Kuo, a senior software engineer with lived experience in emotional crisis.

Kelly Kuo — a senior software engineer and magna cum laude graduate from the University of Texas at Arlington. Kelly built Cherizh because she needed it herself. After years of lying awake at 2 AM with no one to turn to, working two jobs while supporting a family that didn't see her, and navigating emotional crisis alone, she built the AI companion she wished she'd had. This isn't corporate wellness built in a lab. This is technology built by someone who lived the problem.

Yes! Cherizh is live on the App Store. Download it free on iOS. Android is coming soon — sign up at cherizh.com/download to be notified.

Three things set Cherizh apart: (1) Living memory — Cherizh remembers your conversations, relationships, emotional patterns, and identity across every session. Most AI apps forget you when you close them. (2) Seven distinct AI companions that share a unified memory — you choose who shows up for you based on what you need that day. (3) Built by someone with lived crisis experience, not a corporate research team. Every feature exists because the founder needed it and didn't have it.

Seven distinct AI personalities, each with their own communication style and way of understanding you. Some days you need gentle listening. Other days you need truth with love. Sometimes you need motivation; other times you need permission to sit still. You choose who shows up — and all seven share your unified memory, so switching companions doesn't mean starting over.

Sit With Me™ is Cherizh's silent companionship feature. It's for moments when you don't need advice, solutions, or even words — you just need to know someone is there. Whether you're processing emotions, can't sleep, or simply don't want to be alone, Sit With Me provides presence without pressure. Because sometimes the most powerful support is just showing up.

Cherizh uses a 4-layer memory architecture: (1) Conversation memory — what you said, when, and the emotional context. (2) Relationship mapping — the people in your life and how you talk about them. (3) Emotional pattern recognition — mood trends over weeks and months, triggers, and growth. (4) Identity memory — who you are, your values, your journey. This isn't basic chat logging. It's a living understanding that deepens over time.

Voice journaling lets you speak your thoughts out loud instead of typing. Cherizh listens, processes what you're saying, and helps you understand the patterns and emotions in your words. It's designed for moments when typing feels too slow or too effortful — when you just need to talk it out.

Cherizh tracks your emotional state across conversations and check-ins, then uses pattern recognition to identify trends you might not see yourself. It might notice you're anxious every Sunday night, or that your mood lifts after talking about certain people. These insights help you understand your emotional landscape — and they're valuable to share with a therapist if you have one.

Yes. You can customize check-in frequency (daily reminders, weekly nudges, or complete silence), choose which AI companion to talk to, set communication preferences, and adjust how Cherizh responds to you. Cherizh adapts to your needs, not the other way around.

Yes. Cherizh uses AES-256 encryption — the same standard used by banks and government agencies — for all data in transit and at rest. Your data is never sold to third parties, never shared with advertisers, and never used to train AI models. You own your data completely, and you can delete it permanently at any time.

No. Never. Your emotional data is not a product. Cherizh's business model is based on subscriptions, not data monetization. Your conversations, mood data, and personal information are never sold, shared, or made available to third parties under any circumstances.

No. Your conversations and emotional data are never used to train Cherizh's AI models or any third-party AI. Your words stay yours. This is a core architectural decision, not just a policy — the system is designed so your data cannot be fed back into model training.

Yes. You can permanently delete all your data at any time from within the app. When you delete, it's gone — not archived, not retained, not recoverable. Full details are in our privacy policy at cherizh.com/privacy.

Cherizh is designed to comply with CCPA (California Consumer Privacy Act), GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation), and TDPSA (Texas Data Privacy and Security Act). Our privacy policy details your rights under each framework, including data access, deletion, portability, and opt-out rights.

No. Cherizh is for everyday emotional support — the moments between therapy sessions, the 2 AM thoughts, the weight you carry that doesn't feel "bad enough" to burden someone with. If you're experiencing a mental health crisis or have clinical conditions that need treatment, please work with a licensed therapist. Cherizh is designed to complement professional care, not replace it.

Woebot delivers structured CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) exercises through guided conversation — it's a digital wellness coach backed by Stanford research. Cherizh takes a different approach: it's a witnessing-first companion with living memory. Cherizh remembers your story, validates your emotions before problem-solving, and offers seven different companion personalities. Woebot resets each conversation. Both are valuable, but they serve different needs — Woebot for structured symptom management, Cherizh for ongoing emotional support that deepens over time.

Replika is a customizable AI companion focused on open-ended friendship and daily chat — it's the most popular AI companion app globally. Cherizh is purpose-built for emotional wellness with persistent contextual memory, seven distinct companions (vs. Replika's one), mood tracking with pattern recognition, and a privacy-first architecture where your data is never used for AI training. Replika's memory is limited; Cherizh's is foundational.

Wysa combines AI-driven CBT and DBT exercises with optional access to human therapists. It has published clinical evidence showing measurable improvements in depression and anxiety scores. Cherizh is focused on everyday emotional companionship rather than clinical technique delivery — it remembers your journey, provides consistent companionship through seven AI personalities, and offers features like Sit With Me™ for silent presence. Wysa is more clinical; Cherizh is more relational.

Yes, when used appropriately. Research from Stanford, the WHO, and the American Psychological Association shows that AI emotional support tools are effective for mild-to-moderate symptoms and everyday emotional wellness when used as supplements to — not replacements for — professional care. The key factors are privacy protections, clear scope boundaries, and crisis escalation paths. Cherizh is built with all three. Read our full analysis: "Is AI Therapy Safe? What the Research Actually Says" on our blog.

Cherizh offers three tiers: Free (core features), Starter ($14.99/month or $134.99/year), and Pro ($24.99/month or $224.99/year). No hidden fees. No contracts. Cancel anytime. Crisis support resources are always free regardless of your plan.

Yes. Always. Crisis support features, including warm handoff to the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline and other emergency resources, are always free and always accessible within Cherizh. This is a core commitment, not a promotional feature.

Cherizh is available now on iOS. Download it free on the App Store. Android is in development — leave your email at cherizh.com/download to be notified when it launches.

Please contact the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline immediately — call or text 988. Trained crisis counselors are available 24/7. You can also text HOME to 741741 (Crisis Text Line) or call 1-800-950-NAMI (6264) for the NAMI Helpline. Cherizh is for everyday emotional support, not crisis intervention. If you're in danger, please reach out to trained professionals right away.

Cherizh uses pattern-based early warning to recognize when emotional patterns suggest escalating distress — not just a bad day. When it detects potential crisis, it provides a warm handoff to professional resources with context ("What you're describing sounds like it might need more than I can offer right now. Here's who can help"). After a difficult period, Cherizh remembers — you don't have to explain what happened when you come back.

Cherizh requires users to be at least 18 years old. Emotional wellness for minors involves unique clinical and legal considerations that require parental involvement and licensed professional oversight. For teens in crisis, the 988 Lifeline and Crisis Text Line (text HOME to 741741) are available 24/7.