Pixalate found 800k+ mobile apps across the Google and Apple app stores likely to be accessed by children under 18; 64% of UK-based Children’s Apps on the Apple App Store ask for permission to access personal information
LONDON, August 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Pixalatethe global market-leading fraud protection, privacy and compliance analytics platform for Connected TV (CTV) and Mobile Advertising, today released Q2 2022 UK Online Child Safety Report: Google and Apple App Storesexamines the state of children’s privacy through the lens of the UK Children’s Code.
According to Pixalate’s analysis, there are 800k+ mobile apps across the Google and Apple app stores that are likely to be accessed by children under the age of 18 and therefore may be subject to the UK Children’s Code. These “UK Children’s Apps” make up around 15% of all apps available for download across the Google and Apple app stores.
Key Findings
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64% of Children’s Apps registered in the UK on the Apple App Store have requested permission to access personal information.
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119 UK registered Children’s Apps do not have a visible privacy policy and ask for permission to access personal information.
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11% All UK Children’s Apps have an undefined privacy policy.
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68% of UK Children’s Apps are registered in unknown or unspecified countries.
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96% in all open programmatic ad-supported Google and Apple Children’s UK Apps transmit GPS location or IP address to advertisers and/or data brokers in the ad bid stream, according to Pixalate.
What is the UK Children’s Code and Who is subject to it?
The UK’s Age Appropriate Design Code (the “Children’s Code”) sets out 15 age-appropriate design criteria that reflect a risk-based approach. The focus is on providing default settings that ensure children are have access to online services while minimizing data collection and use, by default.
The code applies to UK-based companies and non-UK companies that process the personal data of children in the UK. Pixalate interpreted this in the context of advertising platforms and mobile apps as any company with children under 18 in the UK as a user is likely to be covered by the code.
Pixalate reviewed apps available for download through the Apple App Store and Google Play Store as of the latest date of Q2 2022 (June 30).
Read the full UK Child Online Safety Report for Mobile: Google and Apple here.
To learn more about the Pixalate method, please visit our website.
About Pixalate
Pixalate is the market-leading fraud protection, privacy, and compliance analytics platform for Connected TV (CTV) and Mobile Advertising. We work 24/7 to guard your reputation and maximize the value of your media. Pixalate offers a single system of coordinated display, app, video, and OTT/CTV solutions for better detection and elimination of ad fraud. Pixalate is an MRC-accredited service for detecting and filtering sophisticated invalid traffic (SIVT) on desktop and mobile web, mobile in-app, and OTT/CTV advertising. www.pixalate.com
Disclaimer
The content of this press release, and the Q2 2022 UK Child Online Safety Report for Mobile: Google and Apple Report (The”Report“), reflect Pixalate’s opinions regarding factors that Pixalate believes may be beneficial to the digital media industry. Pixalate’s opinions are just that, opinions, which means they are not truth or guarantees; and neither this statement nor the Report is intended to disparage the status or reputation of any entity, person or app, but rather, to report findings and apparent trends related to mobile apps from the Google and Apple app stores Pixalate calculates estimated programmatic ad cost through proprietary statistical models that include programmatic monthly active users (MAU), average session duration per users, the average CPM for a specific app’s category, and ad density.
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Source Pixalate