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Meta launches Waddle World, an AI pet journal app, in the Philippines
The Verge and Engadget report Meta listed Waddle World, a 16-bit AI pet framed as a daily journal, as free for adults in the Philippines.
- TechCrunch is now reporting this
- New headline Was: “Meta quietly launched an ‘AI pet journal’ app”
- Our desk filed its story
Meta has listed a free mobile app called Waddle World that both The Verge and Engadget describe as a 16-bit virtual-pet product framed as a daily journal, currently available to adults in the Philippines1,2.
Store listings on Apple’s App Store and Google Play, flagged by social media consultant Matt Navarra, present the product as a pet-care experience whose creatures chat with users and draw doodles to illustrate conversations1,2.
The Verge quoted Meta’s Play Store copy describing “a cozy 16-bit world where your pixel pet lives” and saying users should talk, not type, with their pets while playing “cozy games” such as stacking groceries or word games1.
Engadget reported that users hatch an egg, then play with and feed the pet, and that journal entries can be written or dictated, with the pet writing back and drawing a doodle each time, using Meta’s AI2.
Engadget also described three mini-games that award points for food and toys: stacking grocery items on the pet’s head, catching falling stars while dodging bombs, and spelling words from jumbled letters2.
The Verge said the app is listed as free and only available to adults in the Philippines1. Engadget likewise said it is only available in the Philippines for now and that listings suggest it first became available in late September2.
The Verge additionally reported that Meta quietly launched Style Sketch, an AI fashion app Navarra said is available only in Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand, and that The Verge could not verify those location restrictions itself1. Engadget did not mention Style Sketch2.
Both outlets placed Waddle World alongside Meta’s broader push toward cute AI companions, including the Muse agent and the egg-shaped Muse Charm hardware Engadget said Meta aims to release by the December holidays1,2.
The Verge said it had reached out to Meta about the apps and their availability, and that it is not clear whether Waddle World or Style Sketch will come to the United States or other markets1. Engadget said the limited rollout may be a test before a wider release2.
Sources
How it’s being reported
3 sourcesFirst reported by 
Engadget
Meta quietly launched an ‘AI pet journal’ app
Store listings, Philippines adult-only availability, and a second quiet Meta AI app, Style Sketch, in Southeast Asia.
The Verge reports Meta listed Waddle World as a 16-bit pet-care app that chats and doodles, free and limited to adults in the Philippines, and also notes a separate Style Sketch fashion app.
Leaves out Mini-game details such as catching stars and dodging bombs, and a late-September first-availability date.
EngadgetFirstMeta's Waddle World is a Tamagotchi-like AI pet app
Gameplay loop, mini-games, AI-powered diary replies, and overlap with Meta’s Muse Charm hardware.
Engadget reports Waddle World is a Tamagotchi-like AI pet app available in the Philippines, with journaling, doodles, and mini-games, and listings suggesting a late-September launch.
Leaves out Style Sketch and The Verge’s note that it could not independently verify location limits.
Meta has a new AI pet app called Waddle World
Gives this outlet’s account of the story.
Meta has launched a new app called Waddle World, which essentially looks like a Tamagotchi clone, but with AI.
Where they agree
- Waddle World is a Meta-listed 16-bit virtual pet framed as a daily journal.
- Pets chat and create doodles tied to user conversations or journal entries.
- Availability is currently limited to the Philippines.
- Listings were spotted by Matt Navarra on Apple and Google stores.
Where they differ
Whether Style Sketch is part of the same quiet-launch story
When the app first appeared