How to choose a safe app for your child: five questions

App stores are full of games “for kids”, and most of them look equally colourful.

The difference is not in the screenshots but in the small print, and in what happens five minutes after the first launch. Here is what is worth checking.

Are there ads?

Ads in a children’s app are more than a nuisance. They lead outside the app, show content the parent did not choose and push other games.

Look for a plain statement in the store description that the app has no ads. If there is none, assume it has them.

How does it charge?

The biggest surprise is usually not the price but the method: a subscription that renews itself, virtual coins, or “offers” a child sees in the middle of play.

Check whether the store listing mentions in-app purchases, and whether they are protected by something a child cannot get past alone, such as a task meant for adults.

What data does it take?

Both Apple and Google require apps to declare what data they collect. On the App Store it is the App Privacy section; on Google Play it is Data safety.

For a young child the best answer is “none”. A storybook app does not need the child’s name, email or location.

Does it try to keep the child hooked?

Streaks you must not break, rewards that only come if you keep playing, the next video starting on its own: all of this is built to keep a child there longer than planned.

A good app has a natural ending. The story ends, the game ends, and that is fine.

What do others say, and what do you say?

Some countries have independent ratings for children’s apps, such as BuPP in Austria, Internet-ABC in Germany and Mediasmarties in the Netherlands. Among parents’ reviews, the two- and three-star ones are often the most useful, because they explain what is wrong.

The best test is still the first ten minutes: try the app yourself before your child does, and see what it offers, what it asks for, and where every button leads.