Formed
A Catholic faith-content platform presented as a resource for formation and evangelisation, with in-app monthly or yearly subscriptions for full content access.
For Catholics and people exploring Catholic faith who seek formation and evangelisation resources.
App StoreOfficial websiteAudience source
- Platform
- iOS
- Category
- Education
- First release
- 8 June 2017
- Store ratings
- 14,149 (US)
- Research captures
- 18
Design review
Observed choices, what they mean, and what still needs checking.
Access & cost
Two plan buttons offer USD99.99/year and USD9.99/month, each with a 7-day free trial, followed by auto-renewal and 24-hour cancellation text and an age statement of at least 16.
Captured flow · 28 October 2026Attention & control
App settings show switches for notifications, dark theme and hiding the resume-watching row, plus automatic playback, autoplay next video, background audio and download options.
Scoped review · 28 October 2026Trust & care
Source boundaries, privacy and safeguards need further review. No app-wide assurance is implied.
Evidence incompleteOffers are dated iOS observations in USD where captured. Eligibility, country and platform can differ. Existing settings are not installation defaults.
Where the observed choices sit
Each row is one scoped observation of a specific flow, not a grade for the whole app.
No practice has been placed on the scale yet.
2 areas reviewed, not yet placed6 areas not reviewed yetReview notes
Works against: a choice subverts the person’s agency. Respects: it respects people and safeguards. Restores: a practice restores at a cost freely borne by the builder. Price, Christian branding or a free tier alone do not place an area. How we review.
Screens
18 reviewed screensCaptured app states, distinct from the publisher’s promotional images. Dates and versions belong to each screen; this is not a complete app walkthrough.
Features and patterns
What the reviewed screens show this app doing. A missing entry does not mean a feature is absent.
Children and families
Explore continues with numbered "What's Trending" tiles (1 Daily Mass Readings, 2 Symbolon), a "Kids" row of cartoons, a "Saints" row and "The Sacraments". A saint film in the Saints row carries a lock icon. An "October Liturgical Calendar" row offers one collection per feast day ("October 1 — St. Thérèse of Lisieux", 8 items). Rows for "Audiobooks", the children's series "Welcome to Hope Springs" and "Animated Kids Shows" follow; one audiobook shows a lock icon.
Children and familiesOther apps with children and families (10)2 supporting screens
Devotional audio
Explore shows rows for "Formed en Español", Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen and "Audio Content on Formed", where tiles count "Audiobooks 129 Items" and "Scripture | Audio 35 Items", followed by "The Blessed Virgin Mary".
Finding a passage
A search for "grieving" returns videos about giving first ("The Mass: A Life-Giving Prayer", "What Are You Giving Up for Lent", "Day 22: Giving to Others"); the grief study "Grieving with Great Hope" comes fourth. Further down are unrelated results on fasting, baptism, marriage and saints.
First use
Formed separates “Explore content” from “Start free trial” on its entry screen. Two plan buttons offer USD99.99/year and USD9.99/month, each with a 7-day free trial, followed by auto-renewal and 24-hour cancellation text and an age statement of at least 16. No plan was selected. The FORMED Explore tab opens on a hero banner for "Eternal Rest: The Art of Dying Well" (a still life with a tulip, skull and hourglass) above a "Featured on Formed" row. Tabs: Explore, Search, Library, Settings. Tapping "Complete registration" opens a full-screen "Start watching Formed" page: "Start exploring our catalog of videos for free or subscribe to instantly start watching." It offers "Complete registration", "Log in" and "Restore purchase" under the tagline "Forming Catholics for Life".
First useOther apps with first use (89)4 supporting screens
How much text at once
The series page shows a cemetery header with a "Trailer" button, a "Start watching" button and "Exclusively on Formed." The description begins "We all have very real questions about death"; four episodes of about 30–33 minutes follow, from "The Story of Death" to "The Faithful Departed". "Grieving with Great Hope" is described as "a grief support program and a healing ministry developed by John and Sandy O'Shaughnessy". Below "Start watching" are five episodes from 35 minutes to 1 hour 20, each with a lock icon. The opening session of "Grieving with Great Hope" shows a lock on its "Complete registration" button. The expanded description says it was filmed in church with Fr. Michael Suhy, that the presenters share losing their first spouses, that today's grief culture is "not conducive to healing wounds" and that there is "time for one Grief Peer Group discussion". Tags: Healing, Suffering.
How much text at onceOther apps with how much text at once (31)3 supporting screens
Notifications and reminders
Formed places a dismissible notification offer above featured publisher media. App settings show switches for notifications, dark theme and hiding the resume-watching row, plus automatic playback, autoplay next video, background audio and download options. Values shown are existing state, not installation defaults.
Notifications and remindersOther apps with notifications and reminders (61)2 supporting screens
Also observed
- Download
- Free download · US store
- Access
- Access requirements unverified
Cost, access & publisher model Sources and details
Practical facts, separate from the design assessment. Checked 25 October 2026. A free download does not establish free access to all content.
- App download
- Free download · US · Store source
- Subscriptions
- Subscription declared · Source
- Store in-app products
- In-app products listed
- Donations
- Not verified
- Advertising
- Not verified
What access does payment cover?
Subscription access applies to this content or feature scope.
Scope: all features and content · publisher statement · Source · 25 October 2026
Free samples, a free tier and the complete library are different scopes. Store and publisher evidence is separate from the dated captured-flow review in Design review. Coverage varies by offer and platform.
Store-listed products and prices (9)
US App Store · checked 25 October 2026. Names and prices describe listed products, not a personal checkout quote. Other platforms, web offers and eligibility can differ.
- FORMED Subscription$9.99
- FORMED Subscription$99.99
- Formed - 1999$19.99
- Formed - 099$0.99
- Formed - 1699$16.99
- Formed - 1499$14.99
- Formed - 1799$17.99
- Formed - 1599$15.99
- Formed - 1899$18.99
Publisher funding and business model
No source-backed funding or business-model summary is available in this profile yet.
The organization’s complete current funding mix and revenue are not established here. App payments, donations and capital raised describe different things; they do not determine an ethical assessment.
Organization profile and funding sourcesStore facts checked 25 October 2026 (version 10.401.1). Ratings are not downloads or active users. App-specific revenue and active users have not been verified; see the organization profile for separately scoped figures.
Store reviews
Store reviews offer useful questions to investigate. These retrieved samples are self-selected, vary by platform and do not establish the experience of every user.
Illustrative reading
Faith videos are valued; a selected account reports an activation-code problem.
Based on 2 selected review excerpts, which may be historical; not a full thematic analysis. Review source
Review samples, reading and sources
- Google PlayEnglish / US requested
50 written reviews within the 180 days ending 25 October 2026.
4–5 stars: 463 stars: 01–2 stars: 4
View Google Play listing- Google PlayGerman / DE requested
No written reviews in this retrieved sample fall within the recent window.
View Google Play listing- Apple App StorePublic review page · default order
10 selected excerpts returned; these may be older and are not a recent or random sample.
Returned dates: 16 September 2019 – 30 November 2025.
View Apple reviews
Collected 28 October 2026. Up to 50 newest Play reviews per requested language/storefront before the date filter. Requested locale does not establish residence; streams may overlap and must not be added together. Star counts describe ratings, not text sentiment or ethical quality. Methods and limitations.
App Store screenshots
View the store listingPublisher-supplied images from the US App Store, checked 25 October 2026. Promotional artwork may include captions or composites; it shows how the publisher presents the app.
Show all 5 publisher imagesHide publisher gallery
Scroll to browse all 5 images. Select an image to open it at its sourced size.
Review notes
Reviewed, not yet placed
Evidence was gathered for these areas, but it does not yet support placing a choice on the frame.
Money and access
Two plan buttons offer USD99.99/year and USD9.99/month, each with a 7-day free trial, followed by auto-renewal and 24-hour cancellation text and an age statement of at least 16. No plan was selected.
Still to check:Activate an approved Apple in-app trial only with owner authentication; record entitlement, cancellation and expiring state. Distinguish the displayed quote from the Apple confirmation sheet and from actual charges.
Attention and agency
App settings show switches for notifications, dark theme and hiding the resume-watching row, plus automatic playback, autoplay next video, background audio and download options. Values shown are existing state, not installation defaults.
Still to check:Distinguish existing account settings from first-install defaults. Observe delivered notifications over time; verify pause, refusal and recovery behavior without manufacturing personal activity.
Not reviewed yet: Truth and spiritual authority, Privacy and dignity, Formation and relationships, Care and inclusion, Craft and repair, Stewardship and accountability.
The ten principle questions For your own design review
These questions guide discernment; they are not ten scores for this app.
- Keep the Word distinct, and teach it truly
- Can a reader always tell Scripture from our words, and our words from a machine’s?
- Never speak for God
- Would we put our own name under this sentence, or are we borrowing God’s?
- Design for the most vulnerable first
- Who is the most vulnerable person likely to use this today, and what will they see?
- Welcome before you ask, and guard what is told in confidence
- If a friend read everything we keep about this person, would the person be glad?
- Feed the flock, not on it
- Does this serve growth in faith, or only the usage numbers?
- Make room for rest, and say when it is enough
- Where does our product stop, and does it ever tell someone they have done enough?
- Send people to God and to one another
- When someone closes what we built, are they closer to God and to other people?
- Plant and water; leave the growth to God
- What would we stop measuring if we believed growth is God’s?
- Make it well, as an offering
- Would we offer this to God as it is, and could the person with the least sight, time or reading ease use it?
- Hold it with joy and trembling, before God and others
- Who outside the team holds us to account, and who prays for the people who use this?
Use this in your own work
Start with the observed choice, then ask how your own implementation serves people. The evidence is a design example, rather than an app-wide recommendation.