Bad News – WISE Score & Parent Review | Screenwise

Bad News

Name: Screenwise
Author: Screenwise

game2012

32%

WISE Score

Talking Tom does local news—a 2012 parrot app dressed up with a news desk, ads, and zero substance.

Bad News

game

Everyone 10+, 2012

32%

WISE Score

Talking Tom does local news—a 2012 parrot app dressed up with a news desk, ads, and zero substance.

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Platform availability info not available. Search for "Bad News" on your preferred gaming platform.

Screenwise Verdict

This is a relic from the golden age of talking animal apps—when Talking Tom was everywhere and parents hadn't yet realized these were mostly ad-delivery vehicles with a cartoon skin.

Bad News offers almost nothing: kids talk, characters repeat, you poke them off chairs, rinse and repeat. The 'create the news' feature sounds fun but is barely developed. Meanwhile, you're bombarded with ads, upsells, and links to other Outfit7 apps.

In 2025, this app is both outdated and outclassed. There are far better ways to entertain toddlers—and far better ways to teach kids about news, creativity, or literally anything else. Skip it.

Age Fit

Best for toddlers and very young preschoolers (2-5) who are still entertained by talking animal apps. Older kids will see right through the thin gimmick and dated graphics. Not worth downloading in 2025 unless you're really nostalgic for the Talking Tom franchise.

WISE Breakdown

Wholesome

A Talking Tom spinoff where two cartoon characters repeat what you say and tease each other. The core mechanic is harmless but the app is dated (2012), and the constant ads plus upsell pressure create a chaotic, low-quality experience that doesn't model anything particularly positive beyond silly repetition.

Imaginative

The 'co-create the news' feature—uploading photos/videos—hints at creativity, but in practice this is mostly a talking parrot app with a news studio skin. Kids repeat phrases, watch canned animations, and poke characters off chairs. Very limited creative depth or meaningful exploration.

Safe

PRIVO certified and COPPA compliant, which is good. However, the app contains ads (requiring IAP to remove), promotion of other Outfit7 products, YouTube integration, contextual advertising, and personalization tactics designed to keep kids playing. For a 2012 kids' app, this is a fairly aggressive monetization model that prioritizes engagement over child safety best practices.

Enriching

Essentially zero educational or developmental value. Kids talk, the characters repeat it back. There's no skill-building, no meaningful storytelling, no cognitive challenge. It's pure time-filler entertainment with no substance or takeaway beyond momentary giggles.

Parent Info

✓

Why It Might Be Great

Toddlers and preschoolers might giggle at hearing their voices repeated back in silly cartoon voices
The 'upload a photo/video' feature theoretically lets kids pretend to make news stories
PRIVO certified, so at least it meets basic child privacy standards

⚠

What to Watch For

Ads everywhere unless you pay to remove them—classic freemium trap from the early 2010s
YouTube integration and cross-promotion of other Outfit7 apps designed to keep kids clicking
Extremely dated interface and animations; this app feels ancient by 2025 standards
Zero educational value—it's literally just repeating what you say with cartoon characters

Conversation Starters

"What kind of news story would you want to make if you were a TV anchor?"
"Do you think real news anchors ever tease each other like Tom and Ben do?"
"What's the silliest thing you could say on TV?"

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