A virtual pet that remembers what your kid tells it. Sounds sweet, right? Until you ask the obvious question: what's it doing with that information?
Meta just launched two new AI-powered apps this week, and they're a window into something bigger. The company is now using its own AI models to write app code faster, which means it can throw a lot more experiments at the wall and see what sticks. One of those experiments is aimed squarely at kids.
It's called Waddle World.
Meta describes it as "a cozy, 16-bit pet care game that lives in your pocket." You hatch a pet, visit it whenever you want, and it gets to know you over time. Think Tamagotchi, but with an AI brain behind it. No streaks to protect, no scores to chase. Just a little digital creature that remembers what you tell it and creates content based on your interests.
Here's the catch. According to the app's iOS listing, Waddle World collects location data, contact info, and user ID. For a kids app, that's worth sitting with for a second.
I've spent eight years traveling the world, and if there's one thing I've learned, it's to ask why something is "free." Waddle World is wrapped in the same cute packaging as Meta's Muse AI agents — friendly, low-pressure, almost innocent looking. But underneath that packaging is a company getting people, including kids, comfortable handing over personal information to an AI system. Right now it's only live in the Philippines, but that's usually how these things start. Test small, scale fast.
Meta's second launch is less controversial but tells the same story. It's called Style Sketch, and it uses AI to build outfit combinations from clothes you already own.
The app connects to Instagram and pulls clothing items straight out of photos you've shared. You can also add items manually, and the system mixes and matches to suggest looks. It's live in Indonesia, Singapore, and Thailand so far.
Useful? Sure, if you've ever stood in front of a closet full of clothes and still felt like you had nothing to wear. But building a full inventory of everything you own also means Meta now has a detailed map of your wardrobe. That's not nothing.
So why is Meta doing all this, and why now?
Mark Zuckerberg laid it out plainly during Meta's Q2 earnings call back in July. He said AI is helping Meta's teams speed up product development in a big way. He pointed to Instagram Instants, Forum (a standalone Groups app), and Seller (a standalone Marketplace app) as examples of what's already shipped. His expectation going forward: it'll keep getting easier and cheaper to launch new apps, and Meta's recommendation systems will do the heavy lifting of finding the people who'll actually want them, the same playbook that worked for Threads.
Waddle World and Style Sketch aren't the only experiments in the pipeline either. Meta also has Pocket, which lets users generate minigames, Vibes, a feed of AI-generated videos, and StoryKit, which creates bedtime stories. There's also word of a prediction markets app called Arena, though it's not clear if that one ever sees daylight.
Most of these won't survive. That's the nature of rapid experimentation. Build fast, test fast, kill what doesn't work. A few will stick, and those are the ones that'll end up woven into the apps you already use every day.
Here's what I find genuinely interesting about all this. AI isn't just changing what apps can do. It's changing how fast companies can test ideas in the first place. That's true for a company the size of Meta, and it's true for someone sitting at a laptop in a coffee shop trying to launch something new.
The real question isn't whether Meta should be experimenting. It's whether you're paying attention to what you're handing over every time something looks a little too cozy, too cute, too easy. Curiosity is good. Just keep your eyes open while you're being curious.
Source: Social Media Today
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