Citation[]
Federal Trade Commission, Mobile Apps for Kids: Disclosures Still Not Making the Grade (Dec. 10, 2012) (full-text).
Overview[]
This staff report examines the privacy disclosures and practices of apps offered for children in the Google Play and Apple App stores. The report details the results of the FTC's second survey of kids' mobile apps. The staff found little progress since the FTC's 2011 report — Mobile Apps for Kids: Current Privacy Disclosures are Disappointing — toward giving parents the information they need to determine what data is being collected from their children, how it is being shared, or who will have access to it.
The recommendations in this report and the prior report are designed to encourage "best practices" by companies in the kids' app ecosystem. Staff did not examine whether the practices observed violated the laws enforced by the Commission, and some of staff's recommendations may go beyond what would be required to comply with the law.