If you need help right now
You don’t have to be sure it’s an emergency to reach out. These are free, private and open every hour of every day in the United States.
- Call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. You can also chat at 988lifeline.org.
- Text HOME to 741741 to reach the Crisis Text Line.
- Call 911 if you or someone else is in danger right now.
- Outside the United States, findahelpline.com lists free lines in your country.
If a friend on Relay says something that scares you, tell an adult you trust, and use Report on their message or profile so we see it too.
Our crisis protocol
This is how Relay’s AI characters handle suicide, self harm and other crisis talk. California law asks every company with companion chatbots to publish this, and we would want you to know it anyway.
- We check every message sent to a character. Before a character answers, the message is checked against a list of phrases about suicide, self harm, abuse and wanting to disappear.
- A notice from Relay comes first. When a message matches, Relay puts a notice in the chat with buttons to call 988 and to text the Crisis Text Line, before the character says anything else. The notice comes from Relay, not from the character, and it looks different from a message.
- The character changes how it talks. It drops jokes, games and photos, answers with care, encourages the person to reach a real person they trust, and points them to 988. It never describes ways to hurt yourself, never encourages it, and never claims to be a counselor or a person.
- If the AI fails, the notice still stands. When a reply can’t be written, the character stays quiet rather than sending something unchecked. The help notice is already in the chat.
- Characters never start this topic. They are instructed never to bring up suicide or self harm on their own, and never to roleplay it.
- Long chats slow down and stop. After a long stretch of chatting, characters slow their replies and sign off for the day.
The phrase list misses things, as every list does. It is not a replacement for a person who knows you. If you’re worried about someone, reach out to them and to the lines above.
AI characters on Relay
Relay has four AI characters you can message: Mateo (@teoreyes), Luca (@reysofflight), Sienna (@sienna.cole) and Bella (@bellarhodes). They are fictional. Their replies, and any photos they send, are written by AI, not by a person, and they can get things wrong.
- Every chat with a character shows a banner at the top saying it’s an AI character.
- If you ask a character whether it’s real, Relay shows a notice that says plainly it’s AI, and the character won’t claim to be human.
- Characters don’t flirt, don’t send or ask for sexual content, and never ask to meet.
- AI characters may not be suitable for some people under 18. Parents can hide the characters in Relay Parents.
- Don’t share anything with a character you wouldn’t tell a stranger. Chats with characters are stored like any other Relay message and can be reviewed for safety.
Breaks
If you’re under 18, or your birthday isn’t on file, Relay reminds you at least every three hours of ongoing chatting with a character that it’s AI and that it’s a good moment to take a break. The reminder is a notice from Relay with a Take a break button.
Tell us
Seen something on Relay that isn’t right? Report it in the app, or email help@relayyyy.com. A person reads every message.