Here’s a number to make your eyes boggle: children’s app My Talking Angela has been downloaded more than 100 million times since its launch just over a month ago.

100 million! It’s the latest in the line of popular Talking Friends apps made by developer Outfit7, which also include apps for its Talking Tom Cat and Talking Ginger characters.

My Talking Angela turns the company’s female cat into a virtual pet who grows up through nine life stages, with mini-games and cat-customisation part of the fun.

We admired the app’s production values when we saw it in December, although we weren’t too keen on the way it uses in-app purchases of up to £69.99 in value to buy virtual gems, which can then be spent within the game.

Still, with 100 million downloads, it sounds like there was plenty of pent-up demand for Angela’s latest outing – and that despite a notorious Facebook hoax claiming her last app was a front for online paedophiles. Which, if you need reassurance, it wasn’t.

Anyway, My Talking Angela’s success is the latest sign of just how popular the Talking Friends apps are – something that still surprises many parents and even app developers. According to Outfit7, there are now 240 million people using the apps every month.

My Talking Angela is a free download for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, and a free download for Android from the Google Play store. But remember those in-app purchases, and make sure your restrictions are set if a young child is going to be playing it on your device.