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.
In the gameplay, players can adopt and raise their virtual pet Moy. A variety of tasks are used in the game, including feeding Moy, altering his appearance, and playing with him. By performing various tasks like feeding him, keeping him healthy, putting him to sleep, cleaning him, and decorating his small space, players will help him achieve his goals. The game is a great option for players looking for a fun and stress-free pet simulation game because of its gameplay, eye-catching graphics, simple controls, and unlimited money feature. The visual content boosts appealing visuals with vivid and colorful graphics. The game's animation is enhanced by the characters' expressions and movements, which intensifies the visual experience. The game has the benefit of teaching kids how to take care of pets without the responsibility of pet ownership. It is an entertaining and engaging game experience for players of all ages.
The advertisements are shown at the top of the game in a banner, such as “DoorDash.” These ads are directed to a general audience.
Players can easily unlock a variety of items and upgrades by playing mini games to earn money to enhance their pet’s experience.
There is no age gate, but the app does have in-app purchasing. It is rated E for Everyone in the Google Play store and 4+ in the iOS store. A review posted in February of 2021 in the Google Play store says, “My kids enjoy virtual pets...very kid-friendly.” Another review in the Google Play store in December of 2020 says, “I am…8 an old girl...I like the game.” Another review in the iOS store posted in June 2022 says, “My favorite game when I was 5...but now I am 7.” The reviews show evidence of children playing the game, with two reviews specifying age and one with no age specification.
Privacy:
The developer’s privacy policy states, “these services do not address anyone under the age of 13…we do not knowingly collect personally identifiable information from children under 13 years of age…the app does use third party services that may collect information used to identify you.”
Find Pixalate's full catalogue of reviews in our CTV and Mobile App Review Page
Screenshots of Moy 6 the Virtual Pet Game
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.
