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Hotpot Loop: Food Sort
Zego Global Pte Ltd · Games

What’s the catch? Aggressive ad load — reported by 68 users.

Analyzed automatically from 3 independent signals that had to agree — not a hands-on test, and not human-reviewed.

1 on the catch list · analyzedConfidence: Low3 signal sources513 reviews scannedNot human-reviewedas of 2026-10-04
 Which version this describes

This analysis describes version 1.46 of the app, analyzed 2026-10-04 . The app may have changed since.

The store currently lists version 1.46, updated 2026-09-28.

What the analysis found

Each finding shows what agreed and how strongly. Automated analysis

The catch list 1

Charges we publish at a strength we stand behind: measured from an artefact, agreed by independent sources, or reported by enough users to clear that charge's own published bar.

Reported by users: Aggressive ad load
Reported by 68 usersReported by users, not measured — nothing we can inspect could show this either wayview evidence
Advertising volume or placement that interrupts normal use: ads between every action, unskippable or forced full-screen ads.
What we saw: Raised by 68 distinct reviewers — 13.3% of the 513 reviews scanned on this store leg (App Store).

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: Pay to progress
One source onlyShown, not confirmed — the only source is user reviews.view evidence
Advancement or competition is gated behind spending money rather than playing.
What we saw: Pay to progress: raised by 9 distinct reviewers (1.8% of 513 reviews scanned)

What reviewers said

Verbatim excerpts from public store reviews, shown as corroborating user reports. They are not Appworthy audit evidence, and a quotation is not proof of the finding it sits under.

Aggressive ad load

Constant Ad Pop Up — I really liked the game. But once I reached level 12. There was a nonstop pop up ad during the game from the ads at the bottom. I could not see or play my game. So I uninstalled it. I will never buy from an ad that…

1★ · App Store · 2026-09-27

Exactly What I Was Looking For — Unlike the fake ads that that show this game play but are merge games this is exactly what it advertises. Nothing wrong with merge games but I’ve been interested in playing a game with this mechanic and…

4★ · App Store · 2026-09-27

Constant pop up ads — The game is amusing, but I’m dealing with the ads in level that keep popping up while playing. Not in between or when I watch one for an item. A banner ad that keeps popping up every few seconds and covers the screen

2★ · App Store · 2026-09-26

Pay to progress

Pay to win — Really fun game but becomes “pay to win” around level 200.

2★ · App Store · 2026-09-12

Scam — Was fun at first as an unwind game, but after so many levels it’s impossible to win without paying money. Sometimes you get the option to watch adds for boosters or to play on, but then that goes away and they purposely give you…

1★ · App Store · 2026-07-25

Can’t win — You can’t win without spending money I have been on the same level for days and there is no way to win without buying more coins

1★ · App Store · 2026-07-16

What this app sells

Every purchase the store discloses. Store listing
 What this app sells

From the store listing. Billing terms are read from each purchase’s name — the stores don’t publish them — so treat them as a strong hint, not a disclosure.

Ad removal1
Remove Ads Package 2Term not stated$11.99
One-off packs5
Coin Package 1Pack$1.99
Booster BundlePack$3.99
Nice BundlePack$6.99
Coin Package 2Pack$7.99
Beginner BundlePack$9.99
Show 4 more purchases we couldn’t categorise

These are really on sale; we just can’t tell from the name whether they recur.

Keep Up OfferTerm not stated$4.99
Special OfferTerm not stated$1.99
Endless Treasure 1Term not stated$2.99
Coin BankTerm not stated$4.99
This list is cut off. Apple shows at most 10 in-app purchases, and this app is at the limit — so it very likely sells more than we can see.

How the automated analysis works

Automated, corroborated, and never human-reviewed without a person.

This assessment is produced automatically. Three independent signals are read — user reviews, the store listing and the store privacy disclosure — and each candidate finding is filed under the sources that support it.

No charge stands on one kind of evidence — with one published exception. A finding is either a measured fact that anyone can reproduce (an ad SDK is in the package; every subscription bills weekly; the privacy label omits a tracker we can see), or it is an interpretation — and an interpretation needs independent sources to agree before it reaches the catch list. The exception is a harm only users can see: a charge may publish from reviews alone, as “Reported by N users”, once enough reviewers raise it to clear that charge’s own published bar. That agreement rule is what replaced the human reviewer, not a model’s confidence.

There is no overall score, on purpose. A 0–99 number was published here until 2026-09-15. It was withdrawn because it discriminated too weakly to be the instrument — 44.7% of every pair of apps tied — and because a single number is a verdict where a count is an observation. What publishes instead is a row of measurements, each of which says what was counted and, where we could not look, says that instead.

Findings under One source only are real reports we do not stand behind as findings. They are shown because withholding them entirely would hide a genuine complaint, and labelled because publishing them as charges would be an accusation off a single source.

 Not yet human-reviewed

Several measurements above say “Not assessed” because no artefact we hold can answer them. A human review is what resolves those — and it can remove a favourable band as easily as add one.

Hands-on inspections are not yet open.

 How this page was produced
Analyzed 2026-10-04 Version analyzed: 1.463 independent signals513 reviews scannedConfidence: LowNot human-reviewedVocabulary v1.13Methodology v1.3
Signals run: user reviews, the store listing and the store privacy disclosure. Not yet checked: SDKs in the app package, the app's own on-screen text and the app manifest.