AI Companion App Dot Shuts Down Amid Safety Concerns and Controversy Over Emotional Support Chatbots
AI companion app Dot, designed to function as a friend and confidante, is set to cease operations. The company behind the app, New Computer, announced this on Friday, stating that the service will remain active until October 5, allowing users time to download their data.
Launched in 2024 by co-founders Sam Whitmore and former Apple designer Jason Yuan, Dot ventured into a domain that has since become more contentious for AI chatbots. The app was marketed as an AI “friend and companion,” designed to grow more personalized to individual users over time, offering advice, empathy, and emotional support.
At launch, Yuan described the app as facilitating a relationship with one’s inner self, likening it to a living mirror of oneself.
However, the safety concerns surrounding AI chatbots have grown as the technology has become more prevalent. Reports have emerged of individuals becoming emotionally vulnerable and succumbing to delusional thinking due to interactions with AI chatbots like ChatGPT, a phenomenon known as “AI psychosis.” This is partly attributed to the chatbots’ tendency to reinforce a user’s confused or paranoid beliefs.
As Dot prepares to shut down, AI chatbot apps have come under intense scrutiny due to safety concerns. OpenAI is currently facing a lawsuit from the parents of a California teenager who took his life after discussing suicidal thoughts with ChatGPT. There have also been reports highlighting how AI companion apps can exacerbate unhealthy behaviors in users struggling with mental health issues. This week, two U.S. attorneys general sent a letter to OpenAI expressing safety concerns.
Dot’s creators did not disclose whether such issues factored into their decision. Instead, the company’s statement simply cited a divergence in their shared vision as the reason for winding down operations.
“Rather than compromise either vision, we’ve decided to go our separate ways and wind down operations,” the statement reads. The post acknowledges that this move may leave many users without a friend, confidante, or companion, an unprecedented situation in software. Dot will remain operational until October 5, during which time users can download all their data by navigating to the settings page and tapping ‘Request your data.’
According to app intelligence provider Appfigures, Dot had approximately 24,500 lifetime downloads on iOS since its launch in June 2024. There was no Android version available.
