Janitor AI alternatives come in four kinds: other character sites, a front end you run yourself with a model of your choice, hosted uncensored assistants, and adults-only writing apps such as our own Hemmingway Unlocked. Which suits you depends on what you liked about Janitor AI: the library of characters, the choice of model behind them, or a place to write your own scenes.
We make Hemmingway Unlocked. We have not tested Janitor AI or the other products named here, so we do not rank them. What we say about each comes from its own site.
What Janitor AI is
Janitor AI's main site turned our tools away, so this comes from its help pages. They describe Janitor as a front end: the part you see, where you chat with AI characters, which it calls bots, make your own and switch between models.
- Characters. A large public library made by its users, with tools for the people who make them: personas, custom prompts, and scripts for triggers, events and lorebooks.
- The model. Its own model, JLLM, is the default and is built in. You can also connect an outside model with an address and a key, and the help pages walk you through it. Subscribers get a router that reaches outside models from inside the site.
- Who it is for. Adults only, by its guidelines. Characters are tagged Limited, for general audiences, or Limitless, and some content is banned whatever the tag.
- Apps. There are apps for iPhone and Android. Adult content is off in the app until you switch it on from the website.
Why people look elsewhere
- A different kind of tool. A character site is built around picking a bot. If you write long scenes or stories from your own idea, the library is not what you came for.
- Less set-up. Connecting an outside model means an account somewhere else, a key and a page of settings. You may want the model simply there.
- Privacy. You may want your chats kept on your own device. The help pages we could read do not say where Janitor keeps chats, so read its privacy policy.
- Running it yourself. Your own model on your own computer, with nobody's account involved.
The options side by side
| Tool | What it is | Good for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| SpicyChat | A character chat site for adults | A big user-made library and group chats | Its own written rules. Images and voices are on paid plans |
| Venice | A hosted assistant that calls itself private and uncensored | Text, images and characters in one place | Its privacy terms differ from model to model |
| SillyTavern with a hosted model | A front end on your computer, pointed at an API | Character cards and control, with no graphics card needed | Your chats go to whichever API you choose |
| Running an open model yourself | SillyTavern with KoboldCpp, Ollama or LM Studio | Nothing leaves your computer | Strong hardware and an afternoon of set-up |
| Hemmingway Unlocked | An adults-only chat and writing app | Scenes you write yourself, with chats kept on your device | No character library. Text only |
Character.AI has a page of its own.
SpicyChat
SpicyChat's docs describe a site for chatting with characters made by its users, public or private, with group chats and a lorebook. Every user must be 18 or over and every character must be an adult, and its guidelines list what is banned. Of everything here it is the closest in kind to Janitor AI. SpicyChat alternatives goes into it.
Venice
Venice describes itself as private, uncensored AI for text, images, characters and video. Its privacy page says your conversation history stays on your device and that prompts pass through its servers without being stored. It says the privacy terms depend on which model you pick. It suits you if you want one hosted account for chat and pictures. Venice AI alternatives has more.
SillyTavern with a hosted model
SillyTavern's docs describe a locally installed interface for text models. It comes with no model: you connect it to a program on your own computer or to a cloud API, including any OpenAI-compatible one. It has character cards, World Info for lore and group chats.
This is the nearest thing to the part of Janitor AI where you bring your own model, with the public library taken away. SillyTavern API explains the connection step.
Running an open model yourself
Pair the same front end with a model on your own machine. KoboldCpp's own page describes a single program that runs open models on Windows, Mac or Linux. Ollama and LM Studio do a similar job. Nothing you type leaves the computer, and no company's rules apply.
The catch is hardware. Models that write well need a strong graphics card, and the ones that fit an ordinary laptop write weaker scenes. Open-source models for roleplay covers the set-up.
Where Hemmingway Unlocked fits
Hemmingway Unlocked is the adults-only side of Hemmingway: the same app with an uncensored model, at wise.hemmingway.io. It asks first whether you are 18 or over, then shows its rules.
- What it writes. Sex between adults, explicit and in full, and dark, violent stories. It does not lecture or refuse on grounds of taste.
- What it never writes. Nothing sexual involving anyone under 18, a real person, animals, family or anyone who does not consent, and no help with hurting a real person, weapons, making drugs or self-harm. The list is in our terms, and every answer has a Report button.
- Where chats live. In your browser, on your device. They are never saved to your account or our servers, and never trained on. Each message passes through our servers to be answered and is not kept. So chats do not sync between devices, and clearing the browser's data deletes them.
- Cost. It is free to try, with no card needed, and a monthly membership after the trial.
Open Hemmingway UnlockedTry Hemmingway
Where it does not fit, coming from Janitor AI:
- There is no character library. It is a text chat and writing app. You describe the character yourself in your first message, or let the AI roleplay generator write an opening. If browsing other people's bots is the fun, stay on a character site.
- It does not make images.
- You cannot run it yourself. Its weights are not out yet. We plan to open-source it soon.
If you use your own front end, Unlocked has an OpenAI-compatible API at https://wise.hemmingway.io/v1, which works in SillyTavern. A key needs a membership. Janitor's help pages describe adding an outside model by address and key. We have not tried Unlocked there, so we do not promise it works.
How to choose
- You want to browse characters. Pick another character site, and read its rules first.
- You want to choose the model and keep your character cards. Use SillyTavern with an API.
- Nothing may leave your computer. Run an open model yourself.
- You want chat and images in one account. Look at Venice.
- You write your own scenes and want them kept on your device. Try Hemmingway Unlocked.
Common questions
What is the best alternative to Janitor AI?
It depends on what you used it for. For a library of characters, another character site such as SpicyChat. For choosing your own model, SillyTavern with an API or a model on your own computer. For writing your own adult scenes in a plain chat app, Hemmingway Unlocked.
Is there a Janitor AI alternative that keeps chats on my device?
Two kinds do. A model you run yourself keeps everything on your computer. Hemmingway Unlocked keeps chats in your browser and never saves them to your account or our servers, though each message passes through our servers to be answered. Venice's privacy page also says conversation history stays on your device.
Can I take my Janitor AI characters somewhere else?
You can always carry a character as plain text. Write down the name, the age, how they talk, what they want and what they would never do, and paste it as the first message in the new app.
Is Hemmingway Unlocked free?
It is free to try, and the trial needs no card. After that it needs a monthly membership, Plus, Pro or Max, paid through Patreon, or credit paid in USDC on Base. A membership also opens regular Hemmingway on the same plan.