We resisted rewriting this page for a while, and the reason is worth admitting up front. In June 2024 we called the CharisMe app the best bet for social anxiety and ranked it first on our list of social anxiety apps. Rewriting means saying plainly that the app we recommended is no longer published under that name. It also means admitting we cannot tell you everything about why.
So what do you do when the app you were told to download opens as something else? You might have tapped an old link and landed on “fredie: Social Skills Coach”. You might have noticed a new name and a new icon on your phone. Is it the same app? Is your subscription still running? Is there something better now?
This page answers those questions with what we could check on 22 October 2026, and it is clear about what we could not.
Quick Digest
– What happened: the Apple and Google Play listings that carried CharisMe now carry fredie, a social skills coach published by Sentou UG of Berlin.
– What we know: same Apple app number, same Google Play package, and fredie’s Apple purchase list still includes an item called “charisme premium”.
– What we do not know: whether this was a sale, a rebrand or a handover. We found no announcement from either name.
– Is fredie the same app? It covers similar ground (small talk, saying no, deeper conversations) under a different name and publisher. Treat it as a new app and judge it fresh.
– What to use now: MindShift CBT is free and names social anxiety. Our full list of apps for social anxiety sorts eleven by the moment they help with.
What happened to CharisMe?
The CharisMe listing still exists, but it carries a different name and publisher. Nothing on either store says the app was shut down, and we found no closure notice. What changed is the name on the door.
Here is what the record shows, side by side.
| CharisMe (archived, 2025) | Same listing today (22 Oct 2026) | |
|---|---|---|
| Name | “charisme: Social Anxiety Coach” | “fredie: Social Skills Coach” |
| Provider on Apple | Ikigai Innovations GmbH | Sentou UG (haftungsbeschränkt), Berlin |
| Latest version | 1.4.1, 2 December 2024, “Bug fixes” | 3.3.0, 20 September 2026 |
| Ratings on Apple | 23 ratings, 5.0 (German store) | 19 ratings, 4.9 (US store) |
| Google Play | package com.charisme.app | same package, now titled fredie |
| Focus | “overcoming social anxiety” | social skills, friendship and loneliness |
A few details tie the two together. Apple’s record still dates the listing’s first release to 16 October 2023, which means it is the same entry rather than a new app. The CharisMe website, charisme.app, is still online, and its download buttons point to the same Apple and Google Play listings, which now open fredie. And fredie’s Apple purchase list includes “charisme premium – monthly $14.99” next to fredie’s own subscriptions.
What we could not find is an explanation. Neither charisme.app nor fredie.com mentions the change. fredie’s about page says it grew out of the online community of its founder, Lili Vogelsang, and its imprint names Felix Hartmann and Lilia Vogelsang as managing directors. We do not know whether the people behind CharisMe are involved in fredie, and we are not going to guess.
Quick Summary
Q: Is the CharisMe app still available?
A: Not under that name. Its Apple and Google Play listings now carry fredie, a social skills coach from Sentou UG. We found no announcement explaining the change, and no notice that CharisMe was shut down.
Insight The archived CharisMe listing carried its own boundary, in its own words: “It is not intended to replace professional therapy sessions or clinical assistance.” The app that replaced it on the listing says the same, that it “is not a substitute for professional therapy.”
If the app you relied on changed
Have you been here before, with a different app? You find a tool that helps, you open it most evenings, and then one day it is gone, or it is something else. It is easy to read that as one more thing that did not work for us.
It is not. You kept your end of it, and the listing changed. That says nothing about your effort or about whether you can make progress with this fear.
If you need help right now
If you are in crisis or thinking about harming yourself, please reach out now. In the United States, call or text 988 for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, or text HOME to 741741 for the Crisis Text Line. Outside the US, findahelpline.com lists the number where you are.
What did CharisMe offer?
CharisMe was a gamified social anxiety course. Its website still calls it “The gamified Social Anxiety App”, “designed with a Duolingo-style approach”. The archived listing describes lessons on “small talk, reflecting and expressing emotions, setting boundaries, empathy, verbal communication”, challenges to try in daily life, a progress tracker and a chatbot. It said it drew on CBT, mindfulness-based stress reduction and interpersonal therapy.
When Sai reviewed it in June 2024, he found the lessons arranged in four stages: understanding social anxiety, learning coping skills, building confidence and emotional awareness, and keeping progress going. He described lessons on small talk, giving and accepting compliments, tone and pace of speech, setting boundaries, the inner critic, a gratitude diary and mood tracking, with quizzes, levels and a community that answered a weekly question.
From Sai's 2024 review
The lessons were interactive, with quizzes, stories and self-assessments, which made them fun and personal.
What it did well was make the work feel small. A lesson a day, a challenge to try, a level to reach. For a fear that grows when we avoid things, an app that makes the next step feel ordinary has something going for it.
Where it fell short is the part we did not say clearly enough in 2024. We found no published study of CharisMe, and none of fredie either (Europe PMC, 22 October 2026). The listing promised that after using it “You’ll trust others more” and “remain calm and in control”, which is marketing, not a finding. And the evidence for social anxiety apps as a whole is thin: a systematic review of 38 social anxiety apps found that “none of the apps identified have had studies on their effectiveness published” (Alyami and colleagues, 2017).
Quick Summary
Q: What was the CharisMe app?
A: A gamified, Duolingo-style course for social anxiety, with daily lessons on small talk, emotions, boundaries and communication, real-world challenges, a progress tracker and a chatbot. No published study of it was found.
What is fredie, and should you keep it?
fredie describes itself as a way to “Become socially confident. Find real friendships.” Its listing offers personalized lessons and exercises on small talk, saying no “with confidence and still be liked”, overthinking, letting people in and deeper conversations, with progress tracking. Its latest update added a community with channels and posts. It says it is built on CBT, mindfulness and interpersonal therapy, and that it “is not a substitute for professional therapy.”
| Type | Social skills course with daily exercises and a community |
| Platforms | iOS (15.0 or later) and Android. Not iPhone only, as an earlier note on this page said |
| Price | Free download. Weekly $4.49 to $4.99, monthly $8.90 to $14.99, yearly $49.99 to $79.99 on Apple’s listing (22 Oct 2026) |
| Published evidence | No study found (Europe PMC, 22 Oct 2026) |
| Last updated | 20 September 2026 (Apple), 17 September 2026 (Google Play) |
How do you decide? Ask what you used CharisMe for.
- If it was the small talk and the daily nudge, fredie covers similar ground, and it is maintained. Try the free part before paying.
- If it was the social anxiety framing, fredie has moved toward friendship and loneliness. The fear itself may be better served by an app that names it, such as MindShift CBT.
- If you are paying, check which subscription you are on, because the purchase list carries both a “charisme premium” item and fredie plans.
Quick Summary
Q: Is fredie the same as CharisMe?
A: It sits on the same Apple and Google Play listings and its purchase list still includes a “charisme premium” item, but it has a new name, a new publisher and a broader focus on friendship and social skills. We found no statement that it is the same product.
If CharisMe is still on your phone
These are the checks we would make. We could not test what happens to an installed copy or to your old data, so treat these as questions to ask, not answers.
- Open the app. Because the listing is the same, an update may already have turned it into fredie. If it has, your old progress may or may not have carried over.
- Check your subscriptions. On an iPhone, look at the subscriptions in your Apple account settings. On Android, look at payments and subscriptions in Google Play. Cancel anything you do not recognize or no longer want.
- Ask the publisher about your data. fredie’s imprint lists hi@fredie.com. Ask what happened to CharisMe accounts and entries, and whether they can be exported or deleted.
- Write down what helped. Which lesson or challenge did you return to? That is the job your next app needs to do.
Quick Summary
Q: What should I do if I had the CharisMe app?
A: Open it to see whether it has updated to fredie, check your Apple or Google Play subscriptions, and ask the publisher at hi@fredie.com what happened to your account and data. Then choose your next app by the part of CharisMe you used most.
Where an app like this will not help
A course in a phone can make practice feel lighter. It cannot assess, diagnose or treat, and it cannot sit with you in the room. For adults whose social fear is shaping their life, England’s NICE guideline recommends individual CBT developed specifically for social anxiety first, with a therapist, over about four months.
Is booking that appointment the hard part? For many of us it is, because a phone call to a stranger is the feared situation in miniature. That is worth saying to the person who answers, and it is an ordinary thing for them to hear. Our guide to whether therapy is worth it sets out what it can promise, and our list of therapy apps covers services that connect you to a person.
Insight NICE’s guideline for social anxiety disorder begins its adult treatment advice with this: “Offer adults with social anxiety disorder individual cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) that has been specifically developed to treat social anxiety disorder” (CG159, recommendation 1.3.2). An app can carry the homework. The guideline puts a person at the center.
What to use instead of CharisMe
These are the closest replacements, by the job CharisMe did. Every fact was read off the stores on 22 October 2026. The full comparison of eleven apps is on our apps for social anxiety page.
MindShift CBT. Free with no purchases, it names social anxiety on its listing and has a fear ladder for facing situations in steps. Better than CharisMe if you want the anxiety itself addressed and do not want a subscription. Watch-out: its original partner, Anxiety Canada, has ceased operations, and the app is now published by 247 Labs Inc.
fredie. The app now on CharisMe’s listing. Better if you want small talk and friendship skills with a maintained app. Watch-out: subscription, and no study.
FACING IT. Built around daily social anxiety challenges with an AI chat. Closest to CharisMe’s original focus. Watch-out: not updated since February 2023 on Apple and December 2022 on Google Play.
Untangle. Thought records that ask you to test whether a prediction came true, plus exposure exercises. Better if your fear runs on forecasts about what people will think. Watch-out: $9.99 a month on Apple, not social-specific.
Unstuck. An exposure journal for logging steps toward feared situations. Watch-out: its listing carries outcome percentages with no source.
FreeCBT. A free, open-source three-column thought diary for the replay after a conversation. Watch-out: one developer, last updated October 2025.
Speeko. AI roleplays that include small talk and interviews, with feedback on how you speak. Watch-out: needs iOS 18.2 on an iPhone, and $24.99 a month on Apple.
| App | Closest to CharisMe’s | Price (22 Oct 2026) | Platforms | Watch-out |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MindShift CBT | Facing situations | Free | iOS 15.1+, Android | Original partner closed |
| fredie | Small talk lessons | Weekly from $4.49 | iOS 15+, Android | Subscription |
| FACING IT | Daily challenges | $3.99/mo on Apple | iOS 13+, Android | Not updated since 2023 |
| Untangle | Testing predictions | $9.99/mo | iOS 15.1+, Android | Not social-specific |
| Unstuck | Exposure steps | $5.99 to $9.99/mo | iOS 15.6+, Android | Unsourced listing figures |
| FreeCBT | The replay | Free | iOS 15.1+, Android | One developer |
| Speeko | Rehearsing talk | $24.99/mo | iOS 18.2+, Android | Needs iOS 18.2 |
Quick Summary
Q: What is a good alternative to CharisMe?
A: MindShift CBT is free and names social anxiety, with a fear ladder. fredie is the app now on CharisMe’s listing, focused on social skills. FACING IT is closest to CharisMe’s original focus but has not been updated since early 2023.
Questions people ask
Did CharisMe shut down?
We found no shutdown notice. Its Apple and Google Play listings are live, but they now carry a different app, fredie, from Sentou UG. The CharisMe website is still online and links to those same listings.
Who makes fredie?
Sentou UG (haftungsbeschränkt), a Berlin company. Its imprint names Felix Hartmann and Lilia Vogelsang as managing directors, and its about page says fredie grew from the online community of its founder, Lili Vogelsang.
Was CharisMe proven to help with social anxiety?
No published study of CharisMe was found, and none of fredie. Its listing promised that you would “remain calm and in control”, which is a marketing line. A 2017 systematic review found no social anxiety app with a published effectiveness study.
Is fredie only on iPhone?
No. An earlier note on this page said so, and it was wrong. fredie is on the Apple App Store (iOS 15.0 or later) and on Google Play.
What should I use for social anxiety now?
It depends on the moment that costs you most. Our apps for social anxiety page sorts eleven apps that way. For adults, NICE recommends individual CBT with a therapist first.
The honest verdict
If you loved CharisMe for its small daily lessons, fredie is the nearest thing and it is being updated. Try the free part, check what you are paying for, and judge it as a new app rather than an old friend.
If you came to CharisMe for the fear itself, choose an app that names it, such as MindShift CBT, and consider the person NICE puts first. What did the old app give you that you want to keep? Start there. The practice was yours all along, and it does not disappear with a name.
If writing about how this fear shows up in your week would help alongside whichever app you choose, VentSpace is a journaling app that turns what you write into a clear read on your life balance, plus small, doable next steps. Prefer to try it on your laptop first? VentSpace Live runs in your browser, free, with nothing to install. It is not a social anxiety tool, and it is not a substitute for any of the help above.
About this article
Written by
Sai Subramaniam
Founder, VentSpace
I write these guides because I have been where you are. I am working through my own hard seasons, and I share the things that actually helped me, so that anyone going through it has a steady companion close by instead of facing it alone. VentSpace is the app I built for exactly that: a journaling app that turns what you write into a clear read on your life balance, plus small, doable next steps toward feeling more like yourself.
This writing is honest and every claim is sourced, and it is not a substitute for professional care. If you are struggling, reaching out to a professional is a strong move, not a failure.
Explore VentSpaceTry VentSpace LiveHow this one was checked. Every factual claim traces to a named source, and the source is printed next to the claim rather than kept in a footnote. Quotes are pinned to the work they come from, with the year, the letter or the chapter where one exists. Where a widely repeated claim could not be traced, it was left out and the omission recorded. Where a figure is contested, both sides are printed.
No affiliate links, no paid placements, and nobody paid to appear here. Where we mention our own app, we say that it is ours, we state its limits, and we never position it as a substitute for care.
Reviewed: October 2026. Prices, platforms and product availability move quickly, and anything we could not verify at the time of writing is marked as unverified rather than turned into a number.
Corrections. If something here is wrong, we would rather know. Corrections are made in place, with a note saying what changed.