What’s Changed: Janitor AI introduced mandatory identity verification for creative content access in late 2025. The third-party verification system has a high failure rate. Thousands of users passed the document check and still cannot access features, or are stuck in a permanent pending state. This post covers why it fails and what to do about it.
Janitor AI was anonymous by design for years. You signed up with an email, created characters, and used the platform. No government documents, no manual review.
That changed in late 2025. Janitor AI added a mandatory identity verification step for users who want to access creative roleplay content. A third-party verification service handles the document check. Users submit an ID, the service processes it, and in theory access is unlocked.
In practice, the failure rate has been high enough to push a meaningful portion of the platform’s user base to alternatives. From what I have seen in user reports, the problem is not always on the user’s end. The verification queue has been backing up, and some users who passed the check are still waiting for access.
If this is happening to you, the fix is not to resubmit your ID five times. This guide covers the root cause and what your realistic options are.
What Janitor AI Changed With ID Verification
Janitor AI made identity verification mandatory for accessing its creative content features in late 2025, using a third-party document scanning service that sits between signup and content access. The change went further than most platforms had implemented at the time.
The verification process works like this:
- You create or log into a Janitor AI account.
- You are prompted to verify your identity before accessing creative content.
- You upload a government-issued ID (passport, driver’s license, national ID card).
- A third-party service reviews the submission, typically within 24 hours.
- You receive a confirmation and access should be restored.
The process sounds clean. The real-world implementation has not matched the stated flow.
A separate issue has compounded the problem. Janitor AI’s free tier switched its backend to a DeepSeek proxy in late 2025, and proxy errors have been interrupting sessions independently of verification status.
Users have sometimes been unable to tell whether their access issue was a verification failure or a proxy error, which makes troubleshooting harder.
Why ID Verification Keeps Getting Stuck
The verification gets stuck in pending because the third-party service handling document review is processing a backlog that can take days longer than the stated 24-hour window. Some users have waited over a week and seen no status update.
Here is a breakdown of the failure modes and what usually causes them:
| Symptom | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Stuck in “pending” for 3+ days | Third-party queue backlog | Wait 5-7 days before contacting support |
| “Verification failed” with valid ID | Document format or photo quality | Resubmit with better photo lighting |
| Verified but still no access | Platform sync delay | Log out and back in, wait 24 hours |
| “Account restricted” after verification | Mismatched account region | Submit support ticket with your verification reference number |
| DeepSeek proxy error independent of verification | Free tier backend issue | This is a separate problem, try a different time of day |
The refusal to share ID documents with a creative fiction platform is a completely reasonable position. Many users who left Janitor AI over this requirement were long-term users who had no legal reason to avoid verification but simply did not want to submit documents to a roleplay platform.
From what I have seen, the users most frustrated are the ones who did submit their documents, passed verification, and still cannot access the features they paid for. That is not a policy dispute. That is a broken product flow.
What to Do If You Are Stuck in Pending
If you are stuck in pending for more than five days, the most reliable path forward is to contact Janitor AI support directly with your verification reference number. Resubmitting the verification without clearing the previous attempt often creates a duplicate queue entry that makes things worse.
The steps that have worked for users who got unstuck:
- Do not resubmit. Wait at least five business days from the original submission before doing anything.
- Check your email for a reference or tracking number from the verification service. Write this down.
- Go to Janitor AI’s support channel (their Discord server has a dedicated support thread).
- Submit a ticket with your account email and the verification reference number. Attach a screenshot of your pending status.
- If no response within 48 hours, follow up once in the same ticket thread. Do not open a new ticket.
- If verification remains stuck after two weeks and no support response, the account may need to be cleared and restarted. Some users have had success creating a new account and going through verification fresh.
The Discord server approach works better than the email support form for getting a faster human response. That may have changed by the time you read this, but as of early 2026 it was the more reliable path.
Privacy-related changes to AI companion platforms have been increasing across the board. The Character AI ad blocker and tracking changes breakdown covers a similar pattern of platforms changing their terms without clear user communication.
Which Platforms Work Right Now Without Verification
CrushOn AI and SpicyChat AI are the two platforms with the largest active user base that currently operate without mandatory government ID submission.
Both have free tiers that actually work for creative roleplay without document requirements.
If you are moving away from Janitor AI while the verification situation is unresolved, here is how the main alternatives compare:
| Platform | ID required | Free tier | Character library |
|---|---|---|---|
| CrushOn AI | No | Yes, limited daily messages | Large, active user uploads |
| SpicyChat AI | No | Yes | Growing, community-built |
| Joyland AI | No | Yes | Smaller but solid |
| Character AI | No for basic | Optional age check for some content | Largest library |
CrushOn AI is the fastest drop-in replacement for users who need a working alternative today. The character format is similar to Janitor AI’s, and the community-uploaded library covers most of the same genres.
SpicyChat AI is the better pick if you prefer creating your own persona setups rather than browsing a library. The persona customization system is more detailed than most alternatives.
For a broader look at what makes each platform different, the Janitor AI alternatives guide goes deeper into the feature comparison. The best AI companion app breakdown covers the memory and relationship features that differ between platforms, which matters if long-term character continuity is what you were using Janitor AI for.
