App Store has hundreds of ‘risky’ apps rated as appropriate for kids, says report

Even a brief review of the App Store revealed more than 200 “risky or inappropriate” apps rated as ok for children, according to a new report. They had collectively notched up more than 550 million downloads.

Two child safety groups say that more than 25% of the child-rated apps they reviewed gave cause for concern, suggesting that the total number of problematic apps is very much higher …

‘Risky’ apps rated as appropriate for children

The groups partnered on a project to review a sample of apps labeled as appropriate for children as young as four.

The Apple App Store hosts nearly 2 million apps, presenting a daunting research challenge for organizations without the resources of Apple. Instead of attempting to review all apps, Heat Initiative and ParentsTogether Action partnered with a researcher who worked to review as many apps as possible within a time-bound period – 24 hours. The focus of the review were apps in several categories with a history of presenting safety risks to kids: chat apps, beauty apps, diet and weight loss apps, internet access apps, and gaming apps.

Within that 24 hours, approximately 800 total apps were reviewed. At the time of reporting, more than 200 of those were rated as inappropriate for kids as young as 4, 9, or 12, despite concerning content or features. The 200+ risky apps identified have a combined total of more than 550 million downloads.

Examples included 25 chat apps that connect kids with strangers. One of those was described as being “nothing but pedophiles.”

Another category was apps specifically designed to help kids circumvent restrictions on internet access. Others included apps which invited users to upload photos to be rated for “hotness,” as well as those encouraging unhealthy weight loss.

Some gaming apps included “dares” which would be inappropriate for children, including running around outside naked and “imagining a sexy photo shoot.”

The report suggests that the App Store is “a mass distributor of risky and inappropriate apps to children.”

Apple fails to deliver on safety promises

The report notes that Apple claims to carry out app reviews which include checking that age ratings are appropriate.

It cites Apple’s marketing claims that “the App Store is a safe and trusted place to discover and download apps” and specifically assuring parents that “it’s easy to make sure your kids are engaging with age-appropriate content.”

The reality, it says, is that Apple’s checks do not achieve this, and the company puts all legal liability for age ratings on developers.

It accuses the iPhone maker of profiting from lax controls as these boost downloads and therefore commission for Apple.

As long as the people issuing app age ratings have a profit motive to make them available to the widest possible audience, this problem – and its devastating impacts on families – will persist.

9to5Mac’s Take

There’s a certain degree of subjectivity here in terms of what is or isn’t appropriate for kids, but it’s clear that some of the examples do not fall into this gray area: they shouldn’t be offered to kids, period.

There are also those who would suggest that the primary responsibility for vetting the suitability of apps for children rests with their parents or guardians.

Apple’s biggest issue here is the gap between what it promises and what it delivers, especially when the company has relied on these promises to defend antitrust cases.

While all apps are subject to review before being made available in the App Store, the company has revealed in the past that it has a global team of around 500 people to review an average of 132,500 apps per week. That would mean each person reviewing around 50 apps per day.

It’s obvious that this cannot possibly provide the level of vetting promised by Apple’s marketing materials, and that it either needs to promise less – for example, noting that it carries out checks intended to minimize the number of rogue apps which make it through, then acting on user reports of problematic ones – or to provide the level of resources needed to truly deliver on the promises.

Photo by charlesdeluvio on Unsplash