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.
Muscle Boy gameplay is about lifting weights, stopping a moving bar in the proper spot, and then repeating the activity. Players have to increase the character's strength by making him lift weights at full speed by tapping the screen repeatedly when pointed to the green and blue bars. The animation and visual content have cartoon-like graphics that add a comical feature to the game. The language in the About this Game section states, “Muscle Boy is suitable for all ages.” Muscle Boy is a funny entertaining game that can keep players occupied for hours.
Players must collect enough coins to spend on upgrading equipment. To earn coins players have to toss a man in the air as high as possible, the higher he goes the more coins you get.
There are bottom banner ads such as Whole Foods and Vantaca’s AI Assistant directed to a general audience. Players watch ads to continue playing if a level is not completed such as Whiteout Survival which is directed to a mixed audience.
There is no age gate. The app does have in-app purchasing in order to enhance gaming experience. It is rated E for Everyone in the Google Play store and 4+ in the iOS store.
Privacy
The developer’s privacy policy states, “we identify your device for target-ads…reserve the right to use and disclose the collected non-personal data for purposes of advertisement.” There is no COPPA policy.
Find Pixalate's full catalogue of reviews in our CTV and Mobile App Review Page
Screenshots of Muscle Boy
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.
