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 popular mobile app (1 million+ downloads) 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.
My Singing Monsters is a delightful and versatile game in which players collect and raise different unique virtual monsters. In the gameplay, players oversee and focus on caring for the monsters and advancing them in the game through different elements of strategy. Gameplay includes creating multiple enjoyable islands, buying food, and feeding each specific monster. Different islands have different songs and only specific monsters can be put on certain islands. Players must buy and breed monsters that each play a musical part in a song. The primary goal is to complete the song of each island by collecting every monster. The visual content and animation have a vibrant fun graphic design with weird cartoon-like characters that are characteristics of child-oriented visuals. The music and sounds are wacky and entertaining. The game gives an inventive expression for kids as they focus on and care for their virtual monsters. It can also assist with developing a child's critical thinking abilities as they advance through the game.
Players have to acquire experience by cooking food, disposing of trees and rocks, as well as hatching monsters. When players have sufficient experience they can level up and unlock new monsters, decorations, and more.
There is an age gate but those under 13 are allowed to use the app with age and confirmation of privacy policy. The app does have in-app purchasing. It is rated E for Everyone in the Google Play store and 4+ in the iOS store. A review posted in March of 2024 on the Google Play store says, “I started playing this game because of my 9-year-old grandson...but he helps me and it’s something we have in common that we both enjoy.” In February of 2024, a review with no age specification said, “It’s a unique and cool game and my kids love it.”
Privacy:
The developer’s privacy policy states, “intended for general audiences and we do not knowingly collect any personal information from children…we will not collect personal information from anyone we have actual knowledge is under the age of 13 or the minimum age in the relevant territory.
Find Pixalate's full catalogue of reviews in our CTV and Mobile App Review Page
Screenshots of My Singing Monsters
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.
