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.
Players of Dinosaurs Bubble Shooter must free the baby dinosaurs trapped in bubbles by popping them. Bubbles are popped by shooting bubbles of the same color. If the bubble hits a different color, it will stick and the player must shoot more bubbles of the same color to pop the bubble. A set number of bubbles are provided and the baby dinosaurs’ bubbles must be freed before the player runs out of bubbles to shoot.
The simple gameplay is easy for all ages and the “story” of freeing the baby dinosaur is especially appealing to children.
Like most bubble shooter games, the colorful bubbles are appealing to children and adults alike. The bubbles are arranged in different shapes and patterns, giving a unique visual effect to each level. The cartoon dinosaurs are cute and are probably a bit more appealing to kids than adults.
During normal gameplay simple animations of shooting and popping bubbles are ever present. The main dinosaur also makes little movements while playing However, the big appeal to children is the ending animations of the dinosaur juggling the bubbles and/or dancing around after beating a level.
There is limited language within the app, mostly just written instructions. However, the simple language of the instructions and accompanying animations ensure that all ages can understand the game.
There are lots of sound effects in the game- from bubbles popping to clicking pretty much anything in the game, almost everything makes a sound. The background music is fun and cheery, mostly appealing to children but not entirely off-putting to adults. There are several different tunes that are played, with a more upbeat song played when a level is won. Both the music and the sound effects can be toggled off to make the game more appealing to adults.
The main incentive of the game is to free the baby dinosaurs trapped in the bubbles. This simple incentive is alluring enough for most players to want to continue playing. When a level is finished fireworks are also set off and stars are awarded, again appealing to audiences of all ages.
Banner ads are present across the bottom of the screen, and are primarily for other mixed audience games. However, there are some general audience ads sprinkled in amongst the mixed audience advertisements.
Video ads sometimes play at transitions between levels. Optional video ads can be used to extend a level or to earn boosters. Like the banner ads, these video ads are also mixed audience, mostly for other apps and games.
Dinosaurs Bubble Shooter is rated 4+ in the Apple App Store and the app description mentions, “The game is suitable for all ages so you will have a good time with your friends and your family.” This is reflected within the reviews, with children and adults seeming to make up the audience.
Privacy
According to the privacy policy, which does not have a publication date, Sonat does not knowingly collect information from anyone under 13. There is no age gate in place within this app to check how old users are. Sonat indicates that they collect IP addresses, browser information, and operating system data, as well as anonymous device information via cookies, device identifiers, and beacons. They indicate that they do collect personal information that is provided to them, but this information was not required to play Dinosaurs Bubble Shooter. They indicate that they “generally do not share personally identifiable information.” However, they do utilize external advertisers and analytics companies that collect information such as location data and interests for targeted advertising, as well as device and usage information for analytics. Sonat indicates that this information is linked to the device and not to any personal information.
Find Pixalate's full catalogue of reviews in our CTV and Mobile App Review Page
Screenshots of Dinosaurs Bubble Shooter
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.
