Special Interest
WantsPals
Two puppet friends talk about a toy. Glossy is trying to make you WANT it. Plain just tells you what it is. Hear them both out loud and tap the friend who is just telling — the first, gentlest step in seeing an ad for what it is. No real brands, no timer, no score. Made to do with a grown-up. On-device; no account. Ages 3–5.
#e08a3c Distributed-narrative cast
Meet the cast
WantsPals' two puppet friends (ages 3–5) show the very first difference in any ad: Glossy is trying to make you WANT a toy, and Plain just tells you what it is. Mentor Pobble keeps it gentle — it's okay to like a toy; you just get to know when a friend is telling you and when a friend is selling to you. No real brands, ever. (Illustrated portraits + chapters are a tracked follow-on — R-WEB-CLONE-SPAWN-TRACKED.)
Glossy
Trying to make you WANT it — the selling voice that uses a trick (everybody has one, only-now, shiny words, a free gift) to push a toy
Plain
Just telling you what it is — the plain voice that says what the toy really is, with no push
Pobble
(Mentor) — it's okay to like a toy; you just get to know when a friend is telling you and when a friend is selling to you. No real brands, ever.
What's inside
Learning goal
Two puppet friends talk about a toy. Glossy is trying to make you WANT it. Plain just tells you what it is. Hear them both out loud and tap the friend who is just telling — the first, gentlest step in seeing an ad for what it is. No real brands, no timer, no score. Made to do with a grown-up. On-device; no account. Ages 3–5.
Question kits
16 curriculum-aligned kits × 25 questions = 400 questions per app, mapped to recognized standards.
On-device AI mentor
FoundationModels-powered hints, feedback, and adaptive difficulty — all running locally.
Mentored by Pobble — on-device AI, no data leaves the device.
How WantsPals handles your kid's data
- ✅ All progress, settings, and AI-generated content stays on the device
- ✅ No analytics, no tracking, no third-party SDKs
- ✅ No ads, no in-app purchases — you pay once
- ✅ No personal information collected from children — in line with COPPA (updated by the 2026 FTC amendments)
- ✅ Parental controls + session limits + content filters built in
WantsPals runs on ForgeKit — the open-source Swift Package Manager framework that powers every Spark & Anvil app. ForgeKit ensures consistent accessibility, COPPA compliance, and design language across the portfolio, so your kid's progress and preferences feel coherent across every app they touch.
Coming to the App Store
WantsPals is in active development. Email us to hear when it ships — no marketing, no spam, just a one-shot launch announcement.
Email me at launch