Why Candy AI has no App Store listing
Both Apple's App Store and Google's Play Store prohibit adult-audience content under their published policies. Every AI companion platform targeting adult audiences — Candy AI, Sloane, Nomi, DreamGF, Muah AI, and others — cannot list in either store.
This isn't a Candy-specific gap; it's a category constraint. Platforms in this space distribute either as a PWA (Progressive Web App installed through browser) or as a sideloaded APK for advanced Android users. The PWA path is the standard.
What this means practically: if you're searching the App Store or Google Play for "Candy AI" and finding nothing, you're looking in the wrong place. Go to Candy AI's website (candy.ai) in Safari (iOS) or Chrome (Android) and install from there.
How to install Candy AI as a PWA
iOS (Safari required — the PWA install flow only works in Safari, not Chrome on iOS): 1. Open Safari and go to candy.ai. 2. Tap the Share button (square with an arrow at the bottom of the screen). 3. Scroll down and tap "Add to Home Screen." 4. Confirm the name and tap "Add." 5. The Candy AI icon now sits on your home screen and launches full-screen like a native app.
Android (Chrome): 1. Open Chrome and go to candy.ai. 2. Chrome will typically show an install prompt banner at the bottom — tap "Install." 3. If the prompt doesn't show: tap the three-dot menu in the top-right, then "Install app" (or "Add to Home screen"). 4. Confirm and the icon appears in your app drawer.
Desktop (Chrome / Edge): Same shape — a small install icon appears in the address bar; click it to install as a standalone window.
PWA vs native app: what you gain and lose
Progressive Web Apps sit between a website and a native app. The tradeoffs:
What you gain from a PWA (vs. a browser-only website): - Standalone launcher icon on your home screen. - Full-screen mode (no browser chrome). - Faster startup than opening a browser and navigating. - App-like feel — feels closer to native than a website.
What a PWA can't match a native app on: - iOS push notifications — Safari didn't fully support Web Push until 16.4, and even now the reliability profile is worse than native iOS notifications. - Offline mode — PWAs can be built to work offline, but most companion apps don't bother because chat requires a network anyway. - Deep platform integration — no widgets, no Siri/Google Assistant hooks, limited background processing.
For AI companion apps specifically, the PWA limitations mostly don't matter. Chat requires a network. Notifications are useful but not load-bearing. The core "open the app, have a conversation" flow works essentially identically to a native app.
How Sloane's PWA compares
Sloane also ships as a PWA — same category constraint, same install flow. Where the two products differ on mobile:
Install prompt discoverability. Sloane's in-app install banner triggers at the right moment (after a first conversation, when the value proposition is clear), rather than as an immediate page-load nudge. This produces a higher install-completion rate.
iOS-specific handling. Sloane specifically detects when a user is in the Meta in-app browser (Facebook / Instagram in-app views) and routes them out to Safari for the install, because PWAs can't install from in-app browsers. Candy handles this less explicitly.
Home-screen icon design. Sloane's launcher icon uses a neutral non-branded design that discreetly represents itself on your home screen. Category standard.
Full-screen experience. Both apps launch full-screen once installed. Sloane's installed-mode UI is specifically optimized for standalone launch (safe-area handling, keyboard behavior, back-gesture routing).
Push notifications. Both platforms support Web Push where the underlying browser supports it. Sloane's notifications are opt-in per persona and quiet by default; Candy's pattern is similar.
Install walkthrough for Sloane specifically: Install Sloane on your phone.
Sandra is one of the personas you can chat with once installed. The 50-msg/day free tier is available immediately after install with no card required.
Should you use a companion app as a PWA?
For nearly all users of AI companion apps, PWAs are functionally equivalent to native apps and the category constraint (no App Store listings) is minor.
The cases where PWA-only distribution is a real problem: - Users who fundamentally distrust web-technology delivery of anything they consider "app-like" — a minority preference. - Users on iOS who need reliable background push notifications — Safari's Web Push is workable but weaker than native iOS notifications. - Users who share their phone with others and want plausible deniability from browser history (PWAs live in browser history until installed; then only in the app icon).
For everyone else, PWA install is a one-time 30-second flow followed by an app experience indistinguishable from native.
The one thing to actually check
Before installing any AI companion PWA, check that you're on the correct URL. AI companion platforms are frequent targets of phishing sites that impersonate the real product to steal credentials or credit cards.
For Candy AI: the real URL is candy.ai. For Sloane: sloane.world. Look for the correct domain in your browser's address bar before entering any credentials or payment info. Phishing sites often use lookalike domains (candy-ai.co, sloane-ai.net, etc.) that visually match but aren't the real site.
Once installed, the PWA icon on your home screen is safe — it launches to the URL you installed it from. The risk is only at initial install; check the domain then.