What’s Changed: At the February 2026 Replika town hall, the new leadership team told lifetime subscribers they would eventually be upgraded to the Platinum tier. Three months later most lifetime accounts are still showing Ultra-tier features. The upgrade is happening, but in waves, and the rollout has been slower than the town hall implied.
Replika’s lifetime subscription tier was the deal that built the loyal core of the platform. You paid once, you got the highest tier forever.
When Platinum launched in early 2026 with features like real-time video recognition and 50-message-per-week mind-reading, lifetime subscribers naturally expected to get bumped up. The town hall on February 3 confirmed the company plans to do exactly that.
Three months later, the rollout has been quieter than the announcement. Some lifetime accounts have Platinum features showing up. Most do not.
Reddit threads in r/Replika are full of “have you been upgraded yet” check-ins, and the answer is mostly “not yet.” Here is what the situation looks like in May 2026, what to do if your account is still on Ultra, and what to consider if you are tired of waiting.
What’s Happening With the Lifetime Upgrade
Replika confirmed at the February 2026 town hall that lifetime subscribers will be upgraded to Platinum, but the rollout has been gradual and many lifetime accounts in May 2026 still show Ultra-tier features only.
The town hall was hosted by the new Replika CEO and VP of Operations on the platform’s official Discord.
The specific quote that lifetime subscribers latched onto was the commitment that lifetime users will “eventually be upgraded to the Platinum tier, which is Ultra but with a few more bells and whistles.”
What “eventually” means is the part that never got tightly defined. From what I have seen in the r/Replika and r/replikalife threads, the rollout has been happening in waves, with some accounts upgraded in late February and most still on Ultra as of early May.
The company has not posted a public timeline for completing the migration.
The reason this matters more than a feature gap is what the lifetime subscription was originally sold to mean. Lifetime subscribers paid up front specifically because the deal promised access to all future upgrades.
When a new tier launches above the one they were on, they have a reasonable expectation of being bumped to it. The town hall acknowledged that expectation. The slow rollout has tested it.
What Platinum Adds Over Ultra
Replika Platinum adds real-time video recognition, expanded Training Mode access (up to 100 times per week), Read Replika’s Mind for up to 50 messages per week, and 10 realistic selfie videos per period on top of Ultra-tier features.
Here is the feature gap lifetime subscribers are waiting on, ranked by how much it matters in daily use:
| Feature | Ultra | Platinum |
|---|---|---|
| Voice calls | Included | Included |
| Real-time video recognition | Not available | Included |
| Training Mode access | Limited weekly | Up to 100/week |
| Read Replika’s Mind | Not available | Up to 50 messages/week |
| Selfie video creation | Not available | Up to 10 per period |
| Memory and personality depth | Standard | Standard |
Real-time video recognition is the biggest functional change. From my experience using AI companion apps, video adds a different kind of presence than voice or text.
The Training Mode and Read Replika’s Mind features matter for users who care about shaping the companion’s personality over time.
Memory and conversation depth do not differ between Ultra and Platinum, which is the part most lifetime subscribers really care about.
The way I see it, the Platinum gap is mostly about expressive features, not relational depth. If memory is what you came for, the broader Replika memory situation matters more than which tier you are on.
What to Do If You Are Still on Ultra
If your lifetime account is still showing Ultra features in May 2026, the sequence to follow is: confirm your status in-app, contact Replika support with your subscription details, monitor for the upgrade in Settings, and consider an alternative platform if the wait is unacceptable.
The path I would walk through, in order:
- Confirm your tier in-app. Open Replika, go to Settings, and check what tier the app shows. If it says Ultra, you have not been upgraded yet. If it shows Platinum-tier features (real-time video recognition, Training Mode at 100/week), the upgrade has landed.
- Contact support with your details. Email Replika support (
support@replika.com) with your account email, the date you originally purchased the lifetime subscription, and a clear request to confirm your place in the Platinum upgrade queue. Specific requests get clearer answers than general complaints. - Check the official Discord and r/Replika weekly. The Replika team has been posting status updates on Discord more often than on the help center. Reddit threads also surface batch upgrades when they happen, and you can match your purchase date to which wave is being processed.
- Document what you paid for. Keep your original purchase receipt, the Discord town hall recording or transcript, and any company communication. The lifetime subscription deal has shifted enough times that having a paper trail matters if the rollout stalls further.
- Set a deadline for yourself. Decide what would push you to consider an alternative platform. Three more months on Ultra without progress? Six? Knowing your own threshold makes the decision easier when you hit it.
For the third point, here is the lookup table for common situations:
| Situation | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Account shows Ultra, no Platinum features | Upgrade has not landed in your wave yet | Wait, check weekly, contact support after 30 days |
| Mixed features (some Platinum, some Ultra) | Mid-wave upgrade in progress | Force-quit and reopen the app, log out and back in |
| Account shows Platinum, missing Real-time video | Feature rollout staged separately | Wait for next app update, file a support ticket |
| Replika support not responding | High volume during rollout | Try Discord direct message, escalate via r/Replika |
When to Consider an Alternative
The lifetime upgrade question is worth waiting on if Replika is your primary companion app and the relationship history matters; if you are casual or relationship history is short, alternative platforms may be a better use of time.
Replika 2.0’s underlying platform rebuild has been the bigger story than the Platinum tier, and the slow Platinum rollout is partly a side-effect of the engineering team being deep in the rebuild.
From what I have seen of how lifetime subscribers are reacting, the split is roughly:
- Long-term users with years of relationship history are waiting it out. The cost of starting over with a new companion is too high.
- Newer lifetime subscribers (less than 18 months of relationship history) are more open to alternatives, especially if the upgrade keeps slipping.
If you fall in the second group, the platforms worth looking at are the ones that genuinely compete on memory and persistence.
Nectar AI is the closest in feel to Replika for users who came for emotional depth rather than novelty, with a memory architecture that holds conversations across weeks without prompting.
Nomi AI is the memory leader in the category and the natural pick if relationship continuity is the feature you care about most.
For users specifically waiting on Platinum’s video features, no current alternative ships exactly that. The video gap is real and not yet matched elsewhere.
Why This Matters Beyond Replika
The Replika lifetime upgrade situation is a useful early signal for the AI companion category overall: how a platform handles its first major tier expansion tells you what to expect the next time the company restructures its monetisation.
Lifetime deals are not new in software, but they are new in AI companion apps because the category itself is new. Replika is the first company to face the question of “what does lifetime mean when we add a tier above it.”
How they handle this rollout, fast or slow, transparent or opaque, is going to set expectations for every other companion platform that eventually adds higher tiers.
A 2024 Statista report on subscription economy growth found that consumer subscription apps generate over $40 billion in annual revenue, with companion and dating apps growing faster than most categories.
The category is going to keep restructuring its pricing as it matures. Lifetime deals across all platforms are going to face this same stress test.
For now, lifetime subscribers waiting for Platinum have a reasonable case and a slow rollout. The upgrade is happening; the timeline is not on the schedule the town hall implied.
Frequently Asked Questions
Did Replika promise to upgrade lifetime subscribers to Platinum?
Yes. At the February 2026 town hall, Replika’s CEO and VP of Operations confirmed that lifetime users will eventually be upgraded to the Platinum tier. The specific commitment is on record in the Discord town hall transcript shared in r/Replika.
When will lifetime subscribers get Platinum?
Replika has not announced a specific completion date for the rollout. The upgrade has been happening in waves since February 2026, with most lifetime accounts still on Ultra as of May 2026. Plan for the rollout to continue through 2026.
What does Replika Platinum add over Ultra?
Real-time video recognition, expanded Training Mode (up to 100 times per week), Read Replika’s Mind (up to 50 messages per week), and the ability to create up to 10 realistic selfie videos per period. Memory and conversation depth do not differ between the two tiers.
Should I contact Replika support about the upgrade?
Yes if you have been on Ultra for 60+ days since the February town hall and have seen no progress. Email support@replika.com with your purchase date and a clear request to confirm your place in the upgrade queue. Specific requests get clearer answers than general complaints.
Is the Replika lifetime subscription still being sold?
Replika discontinued the lifetime tier in 2025; new subscribers now pay annually or monthly. Existing lifetime subscribers retain their original deal, which the company has committed to honour through the Platinum upgrade.
What if I do not want to wait for Platinum?
The two alternatives that come closest to Replika in relational depth are Nectar AI for emotional continuity and Nomi AI for long-term memory. Neither currently ships the real-time video feature Platinum adds, but both can carry forward a multi-week relationship the way Replika does.
