Welcome to Pixalate’s CTV & Mobile App Manual Reviews According to COPPA, a series containing the detailed factors the Trust & Safety Advisory Board educators used to assess an app’s child-directedness.
The educators manually review thousands of mobile apps available in the Google Play & Apple App Stores as well as connected TV (CTV) apps from the Roku Channel Store and Amazon Fire TV App Store using the COPPA Rule factors shown below & make those results available to the public at ratings.pixalate.com.
This post takes a look at a game which is available from the Google Play Store and Apple App Store. Our reviewer discusses how the subjective factors set forth in the COPPA Rule apply to the app and factor into the reviewer's determination as to whether the app is child-directed or general audience (i.e., it is not targeting children).
The teacher will indicate the factors they relied upon in their assessment using the 10 factors shown below that reflect the 10 child-directed factors in the COPPA Rule.
‘Cats Run 3D’ is a running game where the player must increase the popularity of their cat avatar. The cat starts out smelly and unpopular but can pick up new clothes, hygiene products, and Instagram followers throughout the run. Customization items can be earned through gameplay; allowing players to customize their cat’s skin, clothing, and accessories. While the levels increase in difficulty as the game progresses, the game itself is very simple and easy for children to quickly catch on. However, many adults would likely become bored after a few minutes.
The simple background full of bright colors and the animated dancing cats appeal to children. Animated thumbs up and thumbs down show players which items along the track are desirable and which are not. The hairstyles and clothing for the animated cats are bright, with often clashing colors that are a bit cringeworthy to adults but would draw the attention of children. Many of the animated movements from the cats and items are a bit repetitive, but again would likely appeal to children.
There is limited language used within the game. Audible, single-word instructions, such as “run,” are verbally given, allowing younger players to understand what to do without being able to read. Written words such as, “tap and play” or “claim” are presented within a context that allows younger players to understand without reading the words (such as words on a button indicating that the button should be pressed to claim a prize or start playing).
Numerous sound effects are played throughout the gameplay. Laughing and jeering can be heard, along with sniffling and crying from the player’s cat before the race starts. During the race, upbeat music is played. A reward ding is played each time the cat collects an item, along with several “wows.” Celebratory music is played at the end of the race.
Upon completing a level, pieces of a new outfit are earned; but a video ad must be played to actually obtain the outfit once the required number of pieces are earned. Based on how the player performs in each level, fish are also earned that can be used to buy new wardrobe items and skins for the cat. Bonus levels are also offered at certain intervals to earn extra wardrobe items.
Video ads are played quite often throughout the game. The ads are mostly for other child-directed and mixed-audience games. However, I did occasionally come across a few games being advertised that had adult themes and were not appropriate for children. These were primarily on the iPhone version and I did not come across this on the Android version.
Additional video ads can be watched to play bonus levels and earn extra rewards. Banner ads are also displayed at the bottom of the screen and are for general audience apps, items, and services.
Cats Run 3D is rated 3 in the Apple App Store, E in the United States Google Play Store, and PEGI 3 in the European Google Play Stores. Written descriptions such as, “Cuteness at your fingertip” and a “ cute addictive game” are appealing to children.
Although the app has numerous star ratings on both the Apple and Google Play Stores, there are limited written reviews in both stores. The reviews are mostly single words and don’t give any indication of the age of the user. However, there are a few reviews that appear to be written by children.
Privacy
According to the privacy policy, which was last updated on October 23, 2021, the developers do not create apps for children, and children are not permitted to use the app. The privacy policy defines children as anyone under 13 in the United States and 16 in the UK and EU. They state that they may employ an age-gate to ensure that they do not collect information from minors or they will obtain verifiable parental consent. Despite stating this in the privacy policy, however, this app did not employ an age gate.
Find Pixalate's full catalogue of reviews in our CTV and Mobile App Review Page
Screenshots of Cats run 3D
Pixalate’s Trust and Safety Advisory Board was created to bring in individuals with experience using child-directed apps in the classroom to review and assess which apps are child-directed. This manual review process serves to quality check Pixalate’s automated review process. See our full methodology for more information.
Disclaimer
This blog post published by Pixalate is available for informational purposes only and is not considered legal advice. By viewing this blog post, the reader understands and agrees that there is no attorney-client relationship between the reader and the blog publisher. The blog should not be used as a substitute for legal advice from a licensed professional attorney in the applicable jurisdiction(s), and readers are urged to consult their own legal counsel on any specific legal questions concerning any specific situation. The content of this blog post reflects Pixalate's opinions with respect to factors that Pixalate believes may be useful to the digital media industry. Pixalate's opinions are just that, opinions, which means that they are neither facts nor guarantees; and this blog post is not intended to impugn the standing or reputation of any entity, person or app, but instead, to report findings pertaining to mobile and Connected TV (CTV) apps.
