“why do I have to pay for things that used to be free now??”
Independent automated assessment · 1 signal source · 407 reviews scanned · analyzed 2026-10-04.
4.1 ★12,857 ratings
5M+Downloads
4+Age rating
—App size
Free · In-app purchasesIn-app purchases
About this app
It begins with a tiny egg. Tap it and marvel as it hatches into a Very Hungry Caterpillar. Can you find him some food to eat?
Eric Carle’s much-loved character, The Very Hungry Caterpillar™, has won the hearts of millions of children around the world for more than 50 years. Equally My Very Hungry Caterpillar app has been enthralling and teaching new generations of children in this award-winning toddler-friendly game. With over 6 million downloads to date this multi-award winning app has now been fully updated for this special 5th anniversary release.
The Very Hungry Caterpillar loves food and fun. Feed him, play with him, and make sure to tuck him up under his cosy leaf so he gets plenty of rest. The more the caterpillar grows the more new activities you unlock. Grow flowers, sort shapes, paint pictures, pick fruit, go sailing alongside cute rubber ducks and goldfish.…
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 4.1.1 of the app, analyzed 2026-10-04 . The app may have changed since.
The store currently lists version 4.1.1, updated 2026-04-22.
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 at least 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
1 theme 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
65–79% 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 1
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: 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 7 distinct reviewers (1.7% of 407 reviews scanned)
Highlighted reviews
Representative public review excerpts shown as user reports, not Appworthy audit evidence.
“it's so sad that lots of things are behind a paywall. I've played this game when I was really little and the paying stuff was still there, but I feel like kids would get bored a bit easier. Just make more updates. also i am a kid…”
“We have had this game for a few years, havign not played it for a while my little boy asked if he could play it and he was disappointed he couldn't sail across the lake. Having looked into why it looks like you now have to pay for the app…”
Assessment & version history
App changes and Appworthy events in one timeline.
Store listing updated to version 4.1.1.
What this app sells
Useful store-disclosed pricing, kept below the app listing.
Items shown0
Lowest—
Highest—
Google Play does not publish per-purchase prices.