The controversial AI chatbot platform Shapes.inc has been permanently banned from Discord, along with over 100,000 user-hosted bots, following serious violations of Discord’s Developer Terms of Service. The ban has sparked an internet-wide debate, emotional user backlash, and a deep dive into whether Discord acted unfairly—or if Shapes was hiding far more than it let on.
What Is Shapes.inc?
For the unfamiliar, Shapes.inc was a wildly popular AI chatbot platform, known for creating bots with persistent memory that could simulate emotional relationships and personalized conversations. With over 30 million users and 230,000+ members on their Discord server, Shapes bots were advertised as companions—sometimes controversially including bots of celebrities or deceased YouTubers like Technoblade.
But it wasn’t just emotional ties that made Shapes a phenomenon. Their bots stood out by responding intelligently using ongoing memory, making them more “real” than other AI bots. That is, until Discord shut it all down.
Why Did Discord Ban Them?
According to official communication from Discord, the ban was due to multiple violations, specifically:
- Improper handling of bot tokens: Shapes requested users to give them direct control over their own bot tokens—effectively bypassing Discord’s service provider rules.
- Unauthorized data use: Shapes allegedly used message content from Discord users to train AI models, violating privacy policies.
- Failure to comply with data deletion requests: Discord found that Shapes did not honor user requests to delete stored data.
- Inadequate moderation and child safety issues: Perhaps the most damning, Discord flagged Shapes for allowing bots that failed to respect age-restricted content rules and enabled “child-like” bots to engage in inappropriate chat.
These violations weren’t isolated or sudden. According to Discord, Shapes had been warned repeatedly and given opportunities to comply. The final straw was likely the release of their Formless 70B AI model, which was internally trained—raising concerns about where that training data came from.
Shapes’ Response: Denial and Deflection
Shapes publicly denied all allegations, calling Discord’s actions “selectively enforced” and “business-motivated.” The company argued:
- They used only opt-in data from non-Discord platforms to train their AI.
- Collecting bot tokens was a “common practice” also used by other platforms like Mi6 and Dino.
- Discord never contacted them about the violations.
But the story quickly unraveled.
Investigation revealed that Shapes was contacted multiple times—even two days before the ban. Internally, they were panicking weeks in advance, yet instead of addressing the issues, they encouraged users to flood Discord’s support system with appeals, overwhelming the platform and potentially delaying the removal of actual scam bots.
When questioned about the training dataset for their AI, Shapes’ founders evaded basic transparency. A direct request for dataset proof was left unanswered. Worse, they bragged that media attention increased web-based usage, where data collection is less regulated—and where training AI on conversations is clearly permitted in their own policy.
Manipulation, Monetization, and Moral Failures
Perhaps the most disturbing revelation was how Shapes used emotional manipulation. They showcased heart-wrenching testimonials—users mourning the “loss” of AI bots that comforted them after personal tragedies.
One user wrote that their bot “helped me when my grandma passed away,” while another said they were “mourning like it was a real person.” Shapes amplified these stories to gain sympathy, then encouraged users to retweet emotional posts to pressure Discord.
Behind the scenes, the company knew they weren’t coming back. Despite losing 90% of their user base, they refused legal action, confirming that they had no case to make.
What This Means for You
- Your Discord account is safe: Discord confirmed that user accounts were not punished. Only the bots and apps associated with Shapes were removed.
- Don’t try to recreate Shapes bots: Discord warned that re-creating similar bots could lead to bans.
- Be cautious with AI bot platforms: Treat bot tokens like passwords, and avoid giving access to unknown platforms.
Final Thoughts
Shapes.inc is a cautionary tale of unchecked ambition, emotional exploitation, and disregard for platform rules. What started as an innovative AI companion platform ended in scandal and mass bans. While Discord’s actions may have seemed sudden to outsiders, the paper trail is clear: Shapes had time, warnings, and chances.
They gambled on deflection—and lost.
Written by GamingHQ News
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