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 & 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.
Crossy Road is a modern-day Froger game with a fun twist on the question, “Why did the chicken cross the road?” Although the question isn’t answered, the players are tasked with helping the chicken cross the road without getting hit by a car. New characters and new environments with a variety of obstacles are unlocked as users continue to play the game. This is an endless runner-style game, with no end goal in sight. Players continue to try and cross the roads, rivers, train tracks, etc until they get hit by something and die. Levels can be played over and over again, each time slightly different than the last, drawing in players of all ages.
The 8-bit animation style is appealing to children and similar to other child-directed apps, such as Minecraft and Roblox. This more classic type of game style is also nostalgic to many adults, reminding them of the games they grew up playing. The different environments and characters also appeal to a mixed audience with themes from dinosaurs to space and everything in between.
The characters crossing the road make sounds, for example, the chicken clucks when it jumps and screeches when it gets hit by a car. The environments also have their sound effects, from dinging train crossings to beeping conveyor belts. All the sound effects are engaging for children without being overly annoying to adults.
As players continue to progress through the game they unlock new characters and environments to play in. This keeps the game fresh and exciting, while also encouraging players to continue playing. Additionally, coins are earned during gameplay that can be used in the virtual gumball machine to earn new characters.
Video ads are displayed at transitions during gameplay and additional video ads can be viewed to earn extra coins and prizes. These ads are primarily for other mixed-audience games.
Crossy Road is rated E for Everyone in the US Google Play Store, PEGI 3 in the European Google Play Stores, and 9+ in the Apple App Store. The Apple store cites “Infrequent/Mild Cartoon or Fantasy Violence” as the reason for the 9+ rating. The app description doesn’t specifically mention a targeted audience age range but does include phrasing that is appealing to children. Features such as “DON’T DIE—Avoid (or enjoy) hilarious ways to die as you cross through oceans, savannahs, space, and more!” would pique the interest of kids under 13 and encourage them to download the game.
App reviews reflect a mixed audience, with reviews written by children and adults. There are also numerous reviews written by teens or adults that indicate they started playing this game when they were children, further cementing the mixed audience appeal of Crossy Road.
Privacy
According to the privacy policy, which was last updated on August 9, 2023, Hipster Whale indicates that their games “are not aimed at children under 13 years of age. Nevertheless, We acknowledge that our Game may unintentionally appeal to children.”
They have implemented an age gate where a user must type their age into a box. Inputting an age under 13 does still allow minors to access the game, with modifications on what information is collected from the user. The privacy policy states that the age gate “direct[s] each user to the part of the Game that applies to the user’s age bracket.” The privacy policy states that any user who indicates that they are under 13 does not receive target advertising and no personally identifiable information will be collected from them.
Find Pixalate's full catalogue of reviews in our CTV and Mobile App Review Page
Screenshots of Crossy Road
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.
