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 game from the Google Play and Apple App Stores. 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.
Pick Me Up is a taxi driving game where the aim is to transport passengers to their destination. The controls are very simple and there is no steering or other input required, merely press the screen to drive along a pre-defined route. Stop at a marked point to pick up a passenger, then set off again to drop them off. The only skill required is to avoid other traffic when going over crossroads. The incredibly simplistic game play will appeal to young children. These driving delivery games are popular with young children, also featuring on platforms such as Roblox.
Advertisements appear very frequently throughout the game, with a 30 second ad being shown after completing every level, regardless of whether it was completed or failed. The video ads are mostly for other apps, with puzzles or Candy Crush Saga being most frequently seen. Banner ads also appear during gameplay, with the ones I saw advertising Harry Potter studios. These are all topics which would be of interest to children.
Several reviews on the App Store appear to have been written by children. Although it is difficult to say for certain whether they are under 13, the language and use of emojis suggests they are younger.
Privacy
The developers’ Privacy Policy is reasonably comprehensive and includes a paragraph which details their approach to children’s data. They will delete any data found to be from children. However, there is no age gate on the app to determine the age of users.
Screenshots of Pick Me Up:
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.
