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How to Set Boundaries for AI Friendship

Start with what you want the conversation to do: discuss a hobby, explore an idea, or talk through an everyday topic. Then name the behavior you want to avoid. A clear instruction can express that preference; it cannot guarantee the response.

Choose a role and tone

A role describes the activity: friend, book discussion partner, or gaming discussion partner. Tone describes how you want to talk: relaxed, direct, playful, or thoughtful. Boundaries describe particular actions, such as avoiding pet names or romantic roleplay.

Original editorial example:

Be a friendly book discussion partner. Ask thoughtful questions about the story, avoid flirting, and address me without pet names.

This is a draft to adapt, not evidence that a particular app will follow it.

Write specific preferences

Use four parts:

  1. Topics: what you want to discuss.
  2. Address: a neutral greeting or an optional nickname.
  3. Boundaries: the behavior you do not want.
  4. Alternative: what to do when the tone changes.

For example: “Let’s talk about cooking and weekend walks. Use neutral forms of address. Do not introduce romance or sexual roleplay. If the tone changes, return to our topic.”

Use the prompt builder to assemble these parts. Read the whole result before using it, especially if you add your own wording.

Keep private details out

A topic such as “weekend walks” is enough for this exercise. You do not need to include your address, workplace, real name, or a private conversation. Use a made-up nickname if you want one. Before pasting anything into another service, decide whether you are comfortable sharing it there.

Choose your stopping point

You can stop at the first unwanted reply. You do not owe the character repeated corrections or an explanation. If you check a setting, you can decide afterwards whether to read another response.

See the limits of this guide for what its prompts and suggestions can—and cannot—do.

Apply the instruction

Nomi documents a Boundaries field in Backstory+. Replika documents a Friend relationship option. Follow the Nomi guide or Replika guide to understand the documented control and its limits. These are different controls; do not assume that a text instruction changes an app’s relationship setting.

If the tone is already unwelcome, use the troubleshooting guide. A recurring problem is a reason to consider stopping, not a requirement to buy another service.

Start chatting on WantYou

WantYou is an 18+ service with romantic and adult content. We have not verified a romance-free mode. Your prompt is not sent to WantYou. All guides and tools

Documentation reviewed September 15, 2026: Nomi Boundaries; Replika relationship status.