Comparitech: 23.9% of children's apps on Google Play Store do not meet ICO's age-appropriate design guidelines

Recently, the latest research released by Comparitech shows that nearly 25% of children's applications on Google Play Store do not comply with the age-appropriate design specifications published by the UK Information Commissioner's Office (ICO).

The ICO's Age-Appropriate Design Code came into effect in September 2020 and sets out 15 standards that online services must follow to protect children's data and privacy online. The code applies to all services targeting children under 18 in the UK and also requires online services to carry out data protection impact assessments and provide transparent and tailored privacy policies for children.

Comparitech studied a total of 402 Google Play Store children's apps, and IT Home summarized the main data as follows:

• The privacy policies of 96 apps (23.9%) do not comply with ICO design standards

• These 96 apps have accumulated more than 383 million downloads and have earned the Google Play "Expert Approved" badge

• 22 apps (5.5%) claimed not to be targeted at children, but contained child-directed content within the app and had a PEGI 3 rating (suitable for all ages)

• 46 apps (11.4%) collected personal data without publicly disclosing child-specific policies, or were vague, did not provide clear explanations, or were unclear about their data collection practices or third-party sharing.

• Sixteen apps, or 4%, collected data without parental permission or appropriate agreements.

• Twelve apps (3%) do not collect data themselves but work with third parties that may collect data.

Google responded:

Google Play takes child protection very seriously. The platform has established strict policies and procedures and invested a lot of resources in related features.

Apps directed to children must comply with our Google Play Families Policy, which requires developers to comply with all relevant laws and all Play Developer Program Policies, and imposes additional privacy, monetization, and content restrictions.

Developers are responsible for ensuring their apps comply with all relevant laws and are responsible towards their target audience, such as children.

From IT Home