FriendRex uses artificial intelligence for Rex, our AI companion for movie, TV and anime recommendations. This page explains, in plain language, what Rex does, which AI providers we use, what data is involved, and Rex's limits.
Where AI Is Used
Rex AI chat — you can ask Rex for recommendations, opinions and facts about movies, shows and anime. Rex's replies are generated by a large language model and are labeled as coming from Rex.
Rex recommendations — when you choose Rex instead of the Friend Engine, suggestions are based on your own ratings and watch history rather than on what your friends are watching.
Content moderation on FriendRex is done by people reviewing reports, helped by an automatic keyword filter (not AI). We do not use AI to make moderation decisions about your account.
Our AI Providers
Rex runs on models from three providers. Which one answers a given message depends on your plan, the feature, and availability:
Provider
Used for
Google (Gemini)
Rex chat for free users
OpenAI (GPT-4o family)
Rex chat for Plus and Pro members
Anthropic (Claude)
Some Rex features, and a backup when another provider is unavailable
We reach these providers through their developer APIs. Their handling of the data we send is governed by their API terms.
How Rex Works
Your message is sent to our server, which adds relevant context from your FriendRex profile (for example your ratings, reviews and watch history) and forwards it to one of the providers above.
The provider generates a reply, which our server returns to the app.
Your Rex chat history is kept on your device so you can scroll back through it.
A copy of each message and reply is also logged on our servers (Google Firebase) with your account ID, display name, time and usage counts. Only authorized FriendRex staff can read it. We use it to run Rex, enforce daily message limits, investigate reports and abuse, and monitor cost, quality and safety.
What Rex can use
The message you send and earlier messages in the same Rex conversation
Your FriendRex profile, ratings, reviews and watch history
Movie and TV information from TMDB
What Rex does not receive
Your private messages with other users
Your payment details
Your password or sign-in tokens
Safety and Limits
Rex is instructed never to generate sexual, hateful or violent content, and we test it against prompt-injection attempts. Rex's replies pass through Google's safety filters (on the Gemini path, stricter for teens) and through our own text filter on every provider; unsafe replies are replaced with a safe message. No filter is perfect; if Rex says something inappropriate, please report it to support@friendrex.app.
Accuracy: AI can produce confident but wrong answers, especially about niche titles or very recent releases.
Bias: AI models learn from data that may contain biases, which can show up in suggestions.
Not endorsements: Rex's picks are suggestions, not endorsements. Use your own judgment.
Daily limits: Free accounts get a small number of Rex messages per day; Plus and Pro include more.
AI Training
FriendRex does not use your content, Rex conversations or other personal data to train AI models unless you opt in. See the "No AI Training Without Consent" section of our Privacy Policy.
Teens
Rex is available to users 13 and older. For teens, Rex is told to keep replies age-appropriate, never to ask for personal details, and to point them to a trusted adult or the 988 lifeline if they mention self-harm. Parents or guardians with questions about a teen's use of Rex can contact support@friendrex.app.
Your Choices
Rex is optional. You never have to use it, and you can use the Friend Engine for recommendations instead.
You can clear Rex chat history on your device from the Rex screen.
To access or delete the server copies of your Rex messages, or to exercise GDPR or California privacy rights about AI processing, email privacy@friendrex.app.
Updates
We will update this page when our AI features, providers or data practices change.