Your device
What the Friend knows about you
Friend is an always-listening wearable AI companion pendant (a necklace) made by the startup Friend, founded by Avi Schiffmann. Unlike the productivity recorders in this cohort, it is an emotional-companion device that texts the wearer. It is shipping to the US, Canada, and EU at $129 (it launched as a $99 preorder in 2024). A roughly $1M New York subway advertising campaign in late 2025 became a flashpoint for public backlash against consumer AI. Friend raised about $2.5M at a $50M valuation (led by Caffeinated Capital, with Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas as an individual angel); the friend.com domain was purchased for about $1.8M. The registry records it at commercial maturity, correcting the dispatch's preliminary research/promised label: it is verifiably shipping.
Track the Friend and we will tell you the moment its privacy, price, or safety record changes.
Track this device →What it knows about you
4 findings on record · 4 verified against primary sources
What it collects about you
Where your data goes
What you can control
What it collects about you
The data this device picks up.
Recording you
The pendant's microphone is always on and cannot be turned off, continuously recording ambient audio and video including bystanders. The privacy policy shifts legal responsibility for recording consent onto you.
Your body data
Explicitly collects your face and voice recognition data as biometric identifiers, which may trigger laws like Illinois' BIPA that require written consent before collecting such data.
Where your data goes
Who else can see it once it leaves the device.
Training their AI
Friend uses your data including ambient recordings to train its AI models. Data used for AI training may not be fully deletable even if you submit a deletion request.
What you can control
Your say over the data it holds.
How long they keep it
Your data may be kept for more than five years if legal, technical, or regulatory reasons prevent deletion. All data is processed in the US regardless of where you live.
The full record
- Pricing
- $99 preorder (2024) -> $129 current retail; one-time, no subscription at launch
- Function
- always-listening AI companion that texts the wearer (emotional companionship, NOT productivity)
- Form Factor
- wearable AI companion pendant (necklace)