Many Popular Android Apps Illegally Tracking Kids, Study Finds

Google is taking a closer look at child's apps in the Play Store in calorie-free of a new report claiming that more than one-half of the near popular ones are illegally tracking their young users.

The study from researchers at the International Information science Institute revealed that 57 percent of the 5,855 most popular free Android children'due south apps "are potentially in violation" of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Deed (COPPA), primarily due to their use of third-political party software development kits.

In a Tuesday statement to PCMag, a Google spokesperson said the company is "taking the researchers' report very seriously and looking into their findings."

"Protecting kids and families is a top priority, and our Designed for Families program requires developers to abide past specific requirements in a higher place and across our standard Google Play policies," Google's statement reads. "If we determine that an app violates our policies, we will take activity. We e'er capeesh the research customs'due south work to help brand the Android ecosystem safer."

COPPA applies to children under the age of 13 and requires verifiable consent from a parent or guardian earlier personal information can exist collected about a child. Even if consent is given, there are limitations on how the collected information tin exist used, actress protections must be in place, and methods fabricated available for parents to review the personal information collected.

Many of the SDKs used by the apps in question do offer COPPA-friendly configuration options to disable tracking and behavioral advertising, the researchers wrote in their study. Still, almost of those apps "either practice non brand use of these options" or use them incorrectly.

"Worse, nosotros observed that nineteen percent of children's apps collect identifiers and other personally identifiable data via SDKs whose terms of service outright prohibit their utilise in kid-directed apps," the written report states. Moreover, "efforts by Google to limit tracking … have had little success."

About Angela Moscaritolo

Angela Moscaritolo is PCMag's adept on fitness and smart home products. Educational activity yoga for nearly ten years has helped her in evaluating a range of continued wellness products including fitness trackers, centre rate monitors, rowers, smart scales, stationary bikes, strength training machines, treadmills, and more. Angela also tests smart home devices from her ranch in Florida, including air purifiers, kitchen appliances, and robot vacuums, simply to proper noun a few.

Source: https://sea.pcmag.com/news/20646/many-popular-android-apps-illegally-tracking-kids-study-finds

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