Blog Post 2/22

The “Talking Angela” app has been the subject of a number of fake viral rumors this week, with some saying that “pedophiles” are behind the app.

The messages aren’t true, however, and the hoax has been heavily debunked by mainstream media outlets in the past week. But the game does have some odd quirks to it.

Security firm Sophos did a write-up on the game, saying that it has a “child mode” that’s hard to tell if it’s on or not

“Users are given the option to play the Talking Angela app in child mode, a function specifically designed to safeguard young players. Within child mode, the chat bot feature is disabled so Angela can respond only to touch and repeat what she hears over the microphone. Child mode can be selected at any point within the app’s settings,” reads a statement by the                                                                   game’s maker, OutFit7.

“Talking Angela” features a talking cartoon cat that converses with players. Writers with Sophos attempted to engage in “dirty” talk with the app, but nothing happened.

“There is no explicit Adult mode so just who this cartoon cat is aimed at when it’s not in Child mode is unclear. Whoever they are, they need to be able to type because the app answers to written questions,” Sophos says.

The game is widely available for Google Play and iOS–with hundreds of thousands of downloads and a four- out of five-star rating. This week, the game’s popularity surged over the e-mail hoaxes