Parents concerned that their kids’ iOS games could be tracking their behavior have a new tool to find good content. Apple just launched a new “Games for Kids” section on the App Store that collects age-appropriate games in a single page for kids up to 11 years old.
Unlike the App Store’s main Games category, all the titles in the Games for Kids category have to abide by privacy rules which prevent them from gathering kids’ names, addresses, phone numbers, along with any photos, videos or audio capture of their young players. With so many titles on the App Store, it can be hard to find the right mix of fun and privacy protection.
The new collection is an expansion of Apple’s Kids section, which requires apps to abide by the above restrictions. The section launched in 2013 to provide parents with a better way to find good games for their kids.
Apple settled with the FTC last year over complaints that the company didn’t do enough to protect kids from racking up massive in-app purchase bills from game use, and this new collection may have something to do with that.
Apple’s launch of this new collection comes as President Obama called on education and tech companies to better protect students’ data and avoid sharing it except for educational purposes.
