Common Sense Media Review
By Lisa Caplan
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Chatty kitty has lots of iffy questions and cash grabs.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 13+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Download
Videos and Photos
Talking Angela
Parent and Kid Reviews
Based on 12 parent reviews
Based on 30 kid reviews
Kids say that the app raises serious safety concerns, with many reports of inappropriate interactions and invasive questioning, such as asking for personal information. A significant number of reviews highlight a pervasive myth about a man appearing in Angela's eyes, with some users claiming it's a reflection and others insisting it's a sign of hacking; despite the controversy, many advise that the app should be approached with caution, especially concerning its settings and features.
- inappropriate questions
- safety concerns
- myth of hacking
- consumerism issues
Summarized with AI
Summarized with AI
Privacy Rating Warning
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.
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?
Users speak to or send text messages to TALKING ANGELA depending on the game mode. Younger kids speak and hear their words repeated back to them, while older players type messages to Angela, answer questions she asks, and even play little games such as I Never. If a user doesn't know what to say next, the app offers suggestions. You can reward Angela and show her affection by petting her, giving her free gifts, or buying her clothes and makeup with in-game currency or real money. There also are links to a cartoon starring Angela and her friends, which links to YouTube. Parents should note that Talking Angela is different from My Talking Angela from the same publisher: The latter is more like a virtual pet app than a conversational app.
Is It Any Good?
A virtual copycat of several other Outfit7 releases, Talking Angela is polished but a mixed bag of child appeal and suggestive content. Though the graphics are impressive and the responsive dialogue is sometimes impressive, it can be strange and full of innuendo. Angela asks about "clothing-swap parties" and tells a story about when her boyfriend, Tom, suggested they go to one. She'll also ask a long string of personal questions about age, siblings, and location. Though the privacy policy states that no information from chats is stored or connected to the device in any way, it's still a terrible model for kids in terms of sharing personal information with a stranger online. In fact, its outward cutesy qualities -- which draw in kids -- juxtaposed with its sexual innuendo is exactly the situation many parents fear. Though there's a parent gate on the chat feature, any kid who can read will walk right through it, so parents may want to steer clear.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how talking to a real person is different from talking to a fictional character, even one with the most sophisticated artificial intelligence behind it. What is unique about human conversation that can't be duplicated by a machine?
Talk about appropriate topics, questions, and answers to share with strangers, even digital ones.
Because it is so easy to get around Child mode, this is a good opportunity to discuss changing any settings on any app or device without checking in with an adult to make sure it's safe.
App Details
- Devices : iPhone , iPod Touch , iPad , Android
- Pricing structure : Free
- Release date : December 18, 2012
- Genre : Entertainment
- Topics : Animals
- Publisher : Outfit7
- Version : 2.5
- Minimum software requirements : iOS 6 and up; Android 4.0.3 or later
- Last updated : October 1, 2025
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