Meta introduces AI virtual pet app Waddle World

Meta has launched Waddle World, an artificial intelligence-driven virtual pet application merging Tamagotchi-style gameplay with personal journaling, initially made available to adult smartphone users in the Philippines. The free app can be downloaded from Apple’s App Store and Google’s Play Store, with its appearance generating excitement on October 28, though it became accessible in late September.

Meta has not disclosed a timeline for expanding the service to other countries, leaving its broader commercial objectives and intended audience unclear beyond the Philippines launch.

Users can create a digital creature, care for it by feeding and playing games, and converse with it using text or spoken words, which the AI converts into illustrated journal entries, accompanied by the pet's responses in its own voice. Meta positions the product as a daily journal disguised as a pet, differentiating it from traditional conversational assistants through its pixelated graphics and personalized touch.

The application encourages users to share daily experiences rather than pose factual questions or provide instructions.

Waddle World features an interactive pet that displays moods like happiness, tiredness, boredom, and hunger, and responds accordingly through doodles reflecting the conversation. Users can dictate their daily activities, which the virtual companion then records as journal entries. The app includes short games to earn stamps for food and toys, with each game lasting around two to three minutes, providing engaging but not time-consuming entertainment.

Additionally, the pet can send a weekly email drawing on shared details, and daily questions prompt conversations beyond basic pet care.

Currently, Waddle World is restricted to users over 18, a decision Meta has not publicly explained regarding its selection of the Philippines for initial distribution or if the age restriction will remain if the product expands to other markets. Social media consultant Matt Navarra highlighted Waddle World by sharing its store listing on October 27, drawing attention to Meta’s expanding range of AI-driven consumer products.

This launch follows the introduction of Muse Charm, a physical device to access Meta’s Muse AI agent, with Meta aiming to ship it by the December holiday season, though hardware completion was not finalized at the time of the demonstration. Waddle World operates solely as a smartphone app, focusing on in-app interactions rather than controlling devices or performing workplace tasks, distinguishing it from Meta’s other AI experiments like Vibes, Pocket, and the planned hardware companion, Muse Charm.