This is the most overlooked line on any comparison table and one of the most consequential. Among the apps we cover:
| App | Where it runs |
|---|---|
| Candy AI | Web, iOS, Android |
| Nomi | Web, iOS, Android |
| Kupid AI | Web, iOS, Android |
| Sweetdream | Web, iOS, Android |
| Replika | Web, iOS, Android |
| Camsoda AI | Web |
| Secret Desires | Web, mobile browser |
| Joi | Web |
Why the split exists
App store guidelines restrict adult and near-adult content tightly, and enforcement is unpredictable. An app whose selling point is a permissive content policy cannot ship that policy through a store without risking removal — and removal takes the whole product down, not the feature.
So the market splits. Apps aiming at the mainstream get a native build and accept the constraints. Apps aiming at the permissive end stay in the browser, where the only policy is their own and their payment processor's. The pattern in the table above is that split, not a difference in engineering budget. It is the same force described in how content filters work.
The trap: same brand, different product
The part that catches people out is that a native build and the website from the same company are frequently not the same product on the same account.
Common differences:
- Content limits are stricter in the store build.
- Tiers and prices differ, because the store takes a cut of in-app purchases and the company prices around it.
- Features arrive later on mobile, because each release waits on review.
- Subscriptions bought in-app are managed by Apple or Google, not by the app, which changes how you cancel and who issues a refund.
If you subscribe through an app store, cancelling happens in your store account, not in the app's settings. This is the single most common reason people believe they cancelled and were charged again — and it matters for how you leave properly.
What browser-only actually costs you
In daily use, three things:
Notifications. A web page cannot reliably nudge you. Whether that is a cost or a feature depends on your view of nudges — an app that pings you to keep a streak alive is optimising engagement, not your evening.
Session persistence. Browsers clear cookies, private windows forget everything, and iOS is aggressive about evicting site data. Being logged out weekly is a habit-killer.
Launch friction. Opening a browser and finding a tab is meaningfully worse than tapping an icon. Adding the site to your home screen closes most of this gap and takes ten seconds — Share → Add to Home Screen on iOS, the menu on Android.
What browser-only gives you
It is not a straight downgrade:
Nothing on your home screen unless you put it there. On a shared or work-adjacent device that is worth more than notifications. The related practicalities are in using a companion on a shared device.
Nothing in your purchase history at Apple or Google.
Billing directly with the company, which means cancelling and refunds are handled by people whose product you are actually using.
Features ship when they ship, with no review queue in the way.
How to choose
Ask where you will actually use it. If the honest answer is "on my phone, in bed, most evenings," a native app is worth real money to you and the web-only options will quietly lose the habit within a fortnight.
If it is "at my desk, deliberately, a few evenings a week," browser-only costs you almost nothing and gives you a cleaner phone.
And if the permissive content policy is the reason you are interested at all, the question is already settled — that product lives in the browser, and Camsoda AI, with its six-step builder and 4.5 in our ranking, is the strongest argument that browser-only is not a compromise.
One practical note on buying
Where both exist, subscribe on the website rather than in the app. You usually pay less, because the company is not handing over a store commission, and you keep cancellation and refunds with the company instead of a platform. The exception is if you specifically want the store's refund process as a backstop — which is a reasonable thing to want, and covered in refunds and chargebacks.
