The continued concern about our kids and digital devices is the amount of data that tech companies are collecting about them. Even if your child isn’t on social media yet, they are still vulnerable to disclosing their personal information while using apps and video games. Even if it’s a game you’ve approved of and is age-appropriate, they’re still giving up personal data to the game’s developers. This information is being used to track your child’s online activity and target them in a variety of ways. Berkeley researchers investigated thousands of children’s apps and found that many of them violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). COPPA is a law that prevents online companies from collecting the personal data of their users under the age of 13. Unfortunately, children typically don’t understand the consequences of giving their personal information online, especially when it comes to apps and online games. The bottom line? Kid’s apps are tracking their online behavior and selling their data to third-party vendors to produce ads targeting your children. This alone brings up a variety of privacy and security concerns. In an effort to educate parents, The ToyZone has curated a list of children’s apps that collect the most and least data from its users and gives suggestions on what you can do to help protect your child’s personal privacy online. Below is a brief summary of the best and the worst children’s apps in terms of collecting personal data from children. Read the full article here for additional information.
#1 Educational apps that collect the most data are:
- Speech Blubs
- Pictoword
- MentalUP
- Otsimo
The least data? Easy Dyslexia Aid and Marco Polo Ocean
#1 Top gaming apps that collect the most data are:
- Pokemon Go
- Animal Jam
- Roblox
- Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp
The least data? Townscaper
#1 Social Media and Messaging apps that collect the most data are:
- Messenger Kids
- Kinzoo Social
- Fennec Messenger
- JustTalk Kids
The least data? Girl2GirlWall
#1 Video Streaming apps that collect the most data are:
- YouTube Kids
- DisneyNOW
- Hopster
- Boomerang
The least data? BrainPOP Jr. Movie of the Week