“Bait and Switch — I purchased this app years ago when it was actually the book. The pictures that are shown is not accurate. The developer decided to use the legacy app with the authors name and pictures/description to sell their stuff…”
Independent automated assessment · 3 signal sources · 508 reviews scanned · analyzed 2026-10-04.
4.9 ★56,696 ratings
—Downloads
4+Age rating
74 MBApp size
FreeIn-app purchases
About this app
Jesus Calling is your yearlong guide to living a more peaceful life. The Jesus Calling App is the mobile version of the time-tested classic packed with digital and audio features that make this daily devotional more accessible than ever.
Experience a deeper relationship with Jesus as you savor the presence of the One who understands you perfectly and loves you forever. With Scripture and personal reflections, New York Times bestselling author Sarah Young brings Jesus' message of peace—for today and every day.
By spending time in the presence of the Savior with the much-loved devotions from Sarah Young, you will:
• Feel comforted by a daily word of hope and encouragement • Be reassured of Jesus' unending blessings and love for you • Receive gentle guidance based on daily Scripture readings • Connect with Jesus further with reflection and meditation based on God’s Word…
Preview
Real screenshots from the store listing.
Independent evidence report
Evidence and review signals
This is where the page changes from an app-store listing into an evidence report: findings, important reviews, pricing and a dated history.
Which version this describes
When we ran this analysis, and what the store lists now.
This analysis describes version 8.0.20 of the app, analyzed 2026-10-04 . The app may have changed since.
The store currently lists version 8.0.20, updated 2026-05-01.
What we measured
Each line is a measurement published as a measurement, never a verdict.
Each line is a measurement, published as a measurement. Where we have not looked, the line says so rather than reading as a zero.
Developer replies to reviews
Replies to fewer than 1 review in 20
Price in the store description
States no price and billing period
Cancelling, in the store description
Does not say how to cancel
Themes reported by reviewers
2 themes reported
Counted from the reviews we have read for this app. "No theme reported" means no theme reached our reporting threshold — it is not a finding that nothing is wrong with this app, and we do not say it is.
Five-star share of ratings
90% or more five-star
Arithmetic on the stores' own published rating counts. It says nothing about why the ratings fall where they do.
In the package we scanned
No package has been scanned for this app, so nothing is published about what it ships. That is an absence of evidence about the app, not a finding about it.
Graded bands · predicate set 1.4 · how these are measured
What the analysis found
App-specific findings, grouped by what each one rests on. How they are graded lives on its own page.
One source only — shown, not confirmed 3
A single kind of evidence. We publish these because withholding them would be the bigger distortion, and we do not treat any of them as a finding we stand behind.
Reported by users: Reports that the ads misrepresent the app
Reviewers repeatedly report that the app is not what its advertising showed. We never see the ad creative itself, so nothing we collect can corroborate or refute this — it is published as an attributed user report: what reviewers say, and how many of them said it.
What we saw: Misleading advertising: raised by 5 distinct reviewers (1.0% of 508 reviews scanned)
Reported by users: Paywall blocks the basics
The core of the app — not extras — sits behind payment, or previously-free function moved behind a paywall.
What we saw: Paywall blocks the basics: raised by 16 distinct reviewers (3.1% of 508 reviews scanned)
From the store listing: Usable without an account
The app's own screens offer a way past sign-up — guest access, skipping, or browsing before registering — rather than gating the product behind an account. The store's privacy disclosure is checked alongside it: that disclosure is self-reported, so it corroborates this credit rather than establishing it.
What we saw: The store privacy disclosure (5 entries) links no contact details or identifiers to the user — consistent with an app that does not require an account. Self-reported by the developer.
Highlighted reviews
Representative public review excerpts shown as user reports, not Appworthy audit evidence.
“What did I pay for — I also bought the book previously and now don’t have full functionality any longer because it wants a subscription. Seems like a bait and switch. What happened?”
“Can’t use — I paid for the app when it first came out and now that it turned to a monthly subscription, I can no longer access the basic content. This is called bait and switch. I’m not able to use the app that I paid for and I’m very…”
Assessment & version history
App changes and Appworthy events in one timeline.
Store listing updated to version 8.0.20.
What this app sells
Useful store-disclosed pricing, kept below the app listing.
Business modelFree
Prices and terms as disclosed by the store listing.