COPPA Mobile App Data Dictionary

Information about the data points used within our COPPA compliance tools & methodology

The following data points are featured within the COPPA section of the Media Ratings Terminal for mobile apps, Analytics Compliance reports for mobile apps, and associated APIs - with consideration of paid product subscription access & permissions. Each of these data points are relevant to our COPPA insights, and further explained within our methodology.

Field Name	Definition	Expected/Sample Result
COPPA Audience - Mobile Apps	Assesses the likely intended audience of an app based on a variety of factors including app store categories,  content ratings, and keywords, etc. according to Pixalate’s methodology	Likely Child Directed including mixed audiences, or Likely General Audience
COPPA Audience Reason Code	Describes the specific variables considered when making the audience assessment	“This app is likely child-directed because…
iOS, Content Rating	Pixalate's term Content Rating for Apple refers to their "Age Rating". According to the Apple developer website,  “An age rating is a required app information property used by the parental controls on the App Store.”	See App Store age rating.
Google, Content Rating	Pixalate’s term Content Rating for Google refers to the content ratings provided by the Google Play Store. Google explains that, “Ratings are the responsibility of the app developers and the International Age Rating Coalition (IARC).”	See Apps & Games content ratings on Google Play.
Store Category	The associated category of an app according to the Google Play Store & Apple’s App Store. There can be multiple assigned to one app.	“Application, Education”, or  “Entertainment”, or “Games, Casual” etc.
Store Subcategory	The associated subcategory from Google Play Store & Apple’s App Store. There can be multiple assigned to one app.	“Music”, or “Family Ages 9 & Up”, or “Sports”
Google Teacher Approved	Google Play’s program in which apps are evaluated by teachers and other specialists and for age and content appropriateness.	Yes or No
COPPA Risk Rating - Mobile Apps	Pixalate analyzes multiple signals and produces a risk score (low, medium, or high) that captures the potential COPPA risk. See chart below.	High, medium, low
COPPA Risk Rating Reason Code	Describes the specific variables considered when making the overall COPPA risk rating assessment	“The COPPA risk is high because the app…”
Privacy Policy Detected	Pixlate determines whether an app has a privacy policy based on information provided in the app stores. Additionally, Pixalate uses crawlers to scan developer websites for privacy policies.	Yes or No
Sensitive Permissions:	Detects mobile device permissions granted to the app such as camera, microphone, contacts, etc. which allow for sensitive personal information collection	Yes or No
Transmits Residential IP	Pixalate examines the traffic associated with an app and determines if the end-user IP is transmitted through the advertising pipeline that can expose granular information about the user’s location.	Yes or No
Passes Location	Pixalate examines the traffic associated with an app and determines if the end-users’ GPS coordinates are being transmitted through the advertising pipeline that exposes granular information about the user’s location	Yes or No
Permission	Lists the device permissions granted to the app, reports those considered sensitive permissions related to COPPA	Lists the permissions by name, e.g. “RECORD_AUDIO”
Description	Text which describes the mobile app permission indicated	e.g. “Allows an application to record audio.”

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App Store Content Category Information:

Pixalate uses app store categories, not IAB categories, as part of its assessment of the likely intended audience.

• • IAB categories are available in the Media Ratings Terminal, the Analytics reports,  and our free app search tool as an additional or alternative filter to sort and find apps’. 

Google Play Store Content Categories

Google Play organizes apps into various genres, including “Application”, “Games”,  and “Family”.  Developers can assign a category and add ‘keys’ to their apps indicating the type of content or purpose of the app. 

Applications are categorized as:

Auto & Vehicles, Beauty, Books & Reference, Business, Comics, Communication, Dating, Education, Entertainment, Events, Finance, Food & Drink, Health & Fitness, House & Home, Lifestyle, Maps & Navigation, Medical, Music & Audio, News & Magazines, Parenting, Personalization, Photography, Productivity, Shopping, Social, Sports, Tools, Travel & Local, Video Players & Editors, Weather, Libraries & Demo

• Pixalate’s COPPA methodology analyzes all apps in the Education and Entertainment categories for additional indicators that it is child directed by either keywords in the description or the presence of family subcategories.

Games are categorized as: 

Arcade, Puzzle, Cards, Casual, Racing, Sport Games, Action, Adventure, Board, Casino, Educational, Music Games, Role Playing, Simulation, Strategy, Trivia, Word Games

• Pixalate’s COPPA methodology looks at every app within the “Games” category for additional indicators that it is child directed, either keywords in the description or the presence of family subcategories.

Applications and Games can also be designated with the category key “Family”, where a Game or an Application is identified by the developer as intended for Family use, and indicated for specific age appropriateness. Pixalate considers all apps which carry the key “Family” as likely child-directed. The Family genre, or key, consists of app age ratings to help users find appropriate applications & games: 

Family All Ages, Family Ages 5 & Under, Family Ages 6-8, Family Ages 9 & Up, Family Action, Family Brain Games, Family Create, Family Education, Family Music & Video, Family Pretend Play

• Note, some Games may not be designated with the additional Family subfilter, but could still be considered likely intended for children if the app description contains child-directed keywords. 

Here are some examples as to how the Media Ratings Terminal COPPA module will display the “Store Category” and “Store SubCategory”:

Example A: 

 If “Application” →  “Education” → “Family”: Family Ages 6-8

Category = “Application”, “Family”

Subcategory = “Education”, “Family Ages 6-8”

Example B:

If “Games” → “Casual” → “Family”: “Family Music & Video”

Category = “Games”, “Family”

Subcategory = “Casual”, “Family Music & Video”

Example C: 

If “Games” → “Role Playing” → “null” (Family key is not identified)

Category = Games

Subcategory = Role Playing

Apple App Store Content Categories

Pixalate’s methodology uses the Kids category and the Family subcategory as an indicator that an app is likely child-directed. Pixalate also evaluates any apps within the Games and Entertainment categories or subcategories for additional indicators, like content ratings and child keywords, as indicators that an app is likely child-directed.

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Age Ratings

Age Ratings applicable to Pixalate’s COPPA methodology include:

 

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Sensitive Data Permissions

Sensitive Data Permissions applicable to Pixalate’s COPPA methodology include: