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 Virtual Pet Dog: Pug Louie gameplay introduces many fun activities in which players care for Louie. If Louie is soiled, hungry, or sleepy, players will then take care of the puppy’s individual needs. Players will level up each time they take care of Louie. It is a straightforward virtual pet game with lots of minigames to play in order to get the most noteworthy score possible in exchange for cash for your adorable canine. The visual content and animation are great for kids to get plenty of practice caring for a pet.
The higher the level the more you will receive food, clothes, and accessories to unlock for your pug
Advertising is directed to a general audience after collecting rewards which include, “homes.com “. The game does have continuous ads throughout that are directed to a mixed audience, such as, “Question AI Homework Helper and Filter Room-Face Editor.”
The app is rated 9+ in the iOS store. There is no age gate. The app starts immediately for play. A review posted in May of 2020 says, “I’m almost 7 I love this game because I like puppies.” The review shows evidence that kids under 9 years of age use the app.
Privacy:
The developer’s privacy policy states, ” We strive to make our apps and games a safe environment for children…we do not knowingly collect data about children under the age of 13, except for the data necessary for the functioning of the app.”
Screenshots of My Virtual Pet Dog: Pug Louie
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.
