Talking Angela is a new app that materializes an automated cat to carry on innocent conversations with child users. Seems innocent enough - however, some have spoken out against the game recently, claiming that the questions asked by the cat to young children can be too personal. Is there more to this popular application for iPad/iPhone than its alleged use as an ordinary plaything? That's what some have been questioning recently.

Throughout social media many rumors and allegations have been flying about the recent fad's legitimacy. Many have considered the possibility that when talking to the animated cat there is an unidentified human agent controlling and asking questions in an illicit capacity, breaking the privacy of its predominately child users.

Creator Outfit7 co-founder Samo Login made it clear that this was not the case. In a recent statement that: "It's quite easy to get illusion you are talking to real person, but it's physically impossible to have someone behind the app" Allegedly the app is based on chat bot software and so could not be operated in any way by an interloping third party.

In addition, developers have placed an option on the app to set the program in "child mode," in which case the cat is disabled from 'chatting' and can only respond to user interface through repeating what she hears over the microphone. 'Angela' will also not ask questions unless the option to do so is selected in the app's setting.

The question remains, though, as to whether the information obtained by the program is actually being used by the company. Outfit 7 does collect "anonymised and obfuscated data log files," but allegedly only for improving the chat function itself by understanding what questions are frequently asked. According to Login, they [at Outfit 7], "...remove all the personal information -- names, addresses and so on -- on the device before transmitting the information."

As to whether you want your kids interacting Angela is up to you, but many of the rumors have proven to be unsubstantiated. As far as any underground activity goes the program may end up being just another honestly harmless children's toy.