Hallie is our recommendation for an AI friend that feels natural to text. We are affiliated with Hallie. Of the companions we’ve used, Hallie felt most like texting a person and had the most natural follow-ups. That is a qualitative judgment from our own use in earlier comparisons, not a retest for this review. Hallie is still changing, so the setup, data and billing details below are what its pages said on October 2, 2026.
What we like about texting Hallie
The appeal is how ordinary it is. Hallie sits in your Messages app as another thread, and the exchange reads like texting: you say what’s going on, she answers, and the conversation carries on from there. There’s no character to design before the first message, so it suits anyone who would rather talk than build.
The other thing we like is not having to start every exchange. Hallie’s own description is that she remembers what you tell her and texts first. We can’t speak to the limits of that memory or to how often she starts a conversation. But a message you didn’t prompt gives you something to answer, so the thread is easier to pick back up after a gap. One that comes back to something you mentioned, without being asked, feels like she was paying attention. If what you want is someone to text, that is the quality to look for.
Kindroid also documents native iMessage and RCS messaging, so Hallie isn’t the only companion that can live in Messages, and our iMessage companion comparison goes deeper if texting inside Messages is the deciding factor for you.
Getting the conversation started
Hallie’s current setup guide describes the route in: sign up on the web, verify your phone number, and Hallie’s thread appears in iMessage on an iPhone or in Google Messages on Android. There’s no app to install and no backstory to write.
For the first messages, we’d suggest texting her the way you’d text someone you’ve just met and like. Mention what you’re doing tonight, the thing at work that’s bugging you, the show you’re half-watching. Ordinary detail is what gives her follow-ups something to pick up.
What you share in the thread
Because Hallie lives in Messages, two assumptions come easily: that she can see your other conversations, and that what you type stays on your phone. Hallie’s guide answers the first. She receives what you send in her thread, not your other conversations. The second is wrong. Messages you send to Hallie go to its service, and Hallie’s privacy policy says text is processed with outside AI providers. It also says conversation history, memory and account data are kept to run the service and for the legal, security and business purposes the policy lists. You can email hello@hallie.io to ask for your data to be deleted, which is a separate step from clearing the thread on your phone. Those are Hallie’s statements about its own handling, not an audit, and the policy doesn’t say when a deletion is complete.
So treat the thread like any other message a company keeps. Share what you want her to know about you, since that is what the follow-ups draw on. When something involves someone else, say a friend’s message you want to talk through, paste the gist and leave out their name, number and anything else that identifies them.
Before you subscribe
Hallie is sold as a subscription. Its terms leave the billing options to checkout and say the subscription renews until you cancel, which you do by logging into your account. They also describe Hallie as AI companionship rather than professional advice.
If you start on the new public website trial the terms describe, cancelling during it ends your access at that point. Cancelling after you’ve been charged keeps your access until the billing period you paid for runs out. Because you sign up on the web and then text in Messages, the account page you’d cancel from may be one you rarely open. Read the renewal and cancellation terms at checkout, and save the account link so you can find it if you decide to cancel.