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 & 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.
Snakes and Ladders King is an engaging and easy-to-understand online game in which players fight to be the first to arrive at 100 steps. The objective is to reach the 100th box by collecting points for moving around and climbing ladders. The game consists of various themes and player modes, for example, one mode with computer, and multiplayer mode. Players can play as guests or log in with Facebook or Google Mail. In the gameplay, players will roll the dice to move to various positions on the board determined by the number rolled on the dice to reach their destination. Players will be pulled down by snakes and lifted to a higher position by the ladder. The subject matter, about this app, says, “...playing board games with your friends, kids, and family on game night,” which shows that the language and other characteristics are directed to children with a mixed audience. The visual content and animation are colorful simple mechanical graphics designed with characteristics of child-oriented activities that are suitable for all ages. It can be played on or offline. This app is a great way to spend leisure time with your family or friends as well as fostering social skills and recognizing numbers for kids.
Players collect stars or coins that can be used to take some positions forward or backward.
The advertisements are played when collecting more coins for free, such as, “My Perfect Hotel,” which is directed to children with a mixed audience. There are in-app purchases available in the game.
There is an age gate but those under 13 are still able to access and play the game. The app is rated E for Everyone in the Google Play store and rated 4+ in the iOS store. A review posted in January of 2023 on the Google Play store says, “I am very enjoying with my daughter.” In May of 2022, a review posted said, “I have played this game on my grandad’s phone. Another review posted in March of 2023 says, “I downloaded this game for daddy-daughter time and it works just wonderful she loves this game for some odd reason LOL.” The reviews do not specify age.
Privacy:
The developer’s privacy policy states, “does not knowingly collect or solicit personal information from anyone under the age of 13 or knowingly allow such persons to register...we do not sell or rent your personally identifiable information to any third party.”
Find Pixalate's full catalogue of reviews in our CTV and Mobile App Review Page
Screenshots of Snakes and Ladders King
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.
