Common Sense Media Review
By Christopher Healy
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Animated alphabet app with fun pictures and sounds.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 3+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Download
Videos and Photos
Starfall ABCs
Privacy Rating Warning
Privacy Rating
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Pass
Meets our minimum requirements for privacy and security practices.
Warning
Does not meet our recommendations for privacy and security practices.
Fail
Does not have a privacy policy and should not be used.
Privacy Rating
Our expert evaluators create our privacy ratings. The ratings are designed to help you understand how apps use your data for commercial purposes.
Pass
Meets our minimum requirements for privacy and security practices.
Warning
Does not meet our recommendations for privacy and security practices.
Fail
Does not have a privacy policy and should not be used.
What's It About?
Kids select a letter from the STARFALL ABCs main page and watch it make a grand entrance (Vs are vacuumed in, Ts come in on a train). The starring letter is sounded out, and three or four pages follow with objects that start with the letter (pink pigs, pepperoni pizza). Many letters offer games, matching up letters or selecting the letter that doesn't belong (F, f, or x?). Kids can also place letters in the right order to form a word and have it sounded out slowly. Silliness is mixed in to keep interest high, such as turtles playing tunes at the end of a train.
Is It Any Good?
Kids get a great basic introduction to the alphabet with simple songs and fun images. Starfall ABCs offers a mix of prereading skills and decent task variety that should keep preschoolers engaged. Kids will hear the sounds of each letter repeated often and be able to both hear and see how each letter is used within words. There are some cute animations that can be triggered for each word, followed by interactive games (like puzzles and mazes), and chances to see words used in sentences. A separate section nicely highlights some of the variety in vowels, even if it only covers short vowel sounds. Other than that, besides repeating the basic formula for introducing each new letter, there's not a whole lot going on -- which is actually likely to be just right for most young kids. Its simplicity means that Starfall ABCs is super accessible, but also not particularly in depth or interactive. Overall, it's attractive, colorful, and a solid early learning app to help present the alphabet to young kids.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Help build on what kids can learn with Starfall ABCs. Talk about letters wherever you go. Find them in signs or put floaty letters in the bath.
Point out simple words in books kids may start to recognize.
Encourage a love of books with many trips to the library.
App Details
- Devices : iPhone , iPod Touch , iPad , Android , Kindle Fire
- Subjects : Language & Reading : letter or word recognition , phonics , reading
- Skills : Thinking & Reasoning : applying information , solving puzzles , Communication : listening
- Pricing structure : Free
- Release date : April 21, 2021
- Genre : Education
- Topics : Numbers and Letters
- Publisher : Starfall Education
- Version : 3.72
- Minimum software requirements : iOS 9.0 or later; Android varies with device
- Last updated : October 1, 2025
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