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 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.
The PBS KIDS Games app contains numerous different games that feature some of the popular characters from PBS KIDS shows, including Sesame Street, Daniel Tiger, Arthur, and more. Just like the shows, the different games are geared towards different ages of children. Shows that are generally geared toward toddlers have simpler games, while shows geared toward elementary-aged kids are slightly more complex. Additionally, a “Grownups” section allows parents to explore the different shows and the suggested age range of each.
Each game has different animation styles and visuals, matching the style of the corresponding show. The differing styles help give a clue as to the targeted age range for children, with some animations appealing more to toddlers and others to older children. The main screen presents a game of the day with an animation that seems to change seasonally. At the time of writing, the animation features a rocket ship that blasts off to reveal the game of the day.
The simple menu is highlighted with bright yellow and features circular thumbnails of the different characters. As the child clicks the different characters, their corresponding games are shown on the main screen. This makes it easy for even toddlers to navigate the app by themselves.
While most of the games feature animated characters, there are a few live-action videos that give instructions and necessary information for some of the games. These tend to be games that correspond to live-action shows on PBS Kids and feature the child actors that star in these shows. While adults might not recognize these actors, they would be easily recognizable to young children. Additionally, the animated characters are celebrities in their own rights, with kids and adults recognizing characters such as Elmo and Arthur.
Each game has its own accompanying music and sound effects that match the game’s style. The music in each game is upbeat and appealing to children. There are numerous sound effects to engage younger players.
Just like PBS shows, this app is funded by sponsors and does not contain any advertising. The “Grownups” section of the app gives information about what companies have sponsored each individual show and the accompanying games. However, this is unobtrusive and not something that players would find unless they go looking for it. The lack of advertising within the app helps to keep children engaged, as excessive advertising in other apps can often cause children to lose interest.
PBS KIDS Games is rated 4+ in the Apple App Store, with an indication that the app was made for children 0-5. Apple’s lowest age rating is 4+ and they do not have a rating available for children under 4 years old. The Google Play Store rates PBS KIDS Games as E with a “teacher approved” badge, indicating that teachers find this a high-quality app for children. PBS and the corresponding PBS KIDS and PBS KIDS Games are publicly funded, receiving a portion of their funding from the United States government. As such, this app is not available for download outside of the US.
The app description also reflects that the developers intend this app to be used primarily by children. This can be seen in the designation of “KIDS” in the app title, along with descriptions that specify, “The PBS KIDS Games app makes learning fun and safe with amazing educational games for kids” and “PBS KIDS Games provides a safe, friendly playing experience for toddlers and kids.”
App reviews also indicate children are the primary users of this app, with a mix of reviews written by kids and parents.
Privacy
According to the privacy policy, which was last updated on May 12, 2020, PBS does not collect any personal information from children. They may collect information from parents who create accounts, but accounts are not required to access any PBS services and PBS KIDS Games does not have an option for creating an account. They indicate that they do collect broad location data in order to provide information to users about their local PBS stations but state they do not use this information for any other purposes. They indicate that some aspects of their apps or sites may use a device's camera but that any photos or recordings are only stored on the user’s device, and not collected by PBS. They also collect device and usage information, sharing this information with local PBS stations and authorized third parties to develop and improve their services.
Find Pixalate's full catalogue of reviews in our CTV and Mobile App Review Page
Screenshots of PBS KIDS Games
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.
