David Bridges
A recent report published by child safety advocacy groups Heat Initiative and ParentsTogether Action reveals a troubling trend regarding the prevalence of inappropriate applications that are mistakenly rated as suitable for children as young as four years old on Apple’s App Store. Collaborating with a researcher, these groups undertook an extensive review of numerous apps within a tight 24-hour timeframe. The result was a shocking identification of over 200 apps that featured concerning content or features that are not appropriate for the young audiences they are marketed to. This includes apps that facilitate stranger chat, AI girlfriend interactions, gaming apps that include sexual or violent prompts and imagery, as well as AI-powered appearance rating apps. Engadget has reached out to Apple for a comment and will provide updates once a response is received.
The comprehensive research centered on apps assigned age ratings of 4+, 9+, and 12+ within categories deemed “risky.” These categories included chat apps (particularly AI and stranger chat apps), beauty-related apps, diet and weight loss applications, unfiltered internet access (including apps that bypass school restrictions), and gaming applications. Among the alarming findings, the report indicates that there are at least 24 sexual games and 9 stranger chat apps that have been marked as appropriate for children in these age groups. Furthermore, the investigation uncovered 40 apps offering unfiltered internet access and 75 apps pertaining to beauty, body image, and weight loss that also carried these questionable age ratings, in addition to 28 shooter and crime-themed games. Collectively, the nearly 200 problematic apps identified during the 24-hour investigation have amassed over 550 million downloads, according to data from Heat Initiative.
In total, around 800 apps were scrutinized, and the research revealed that certain categories were more prone to harboring apps with inappropriately lenient age ratings. Particularly, in the realm of stranger chat apps and games, the report states that “fewer were rated as appropriate for children.” In most situations, these apps were rated for users 17 and older. Conversely, in the categories of weight loss and unfiltered internet access, “nearly all apps reviewed were approved for kids aged 4+.” This troubling report urges Apple to significantly enhance its child safety measures within the App Store, calling for the implementation of third-party reviewers to verify apps’ age ratings before they are made available for download and advocating for greater transparency in the age rating process for consumers. You can access the full report titled Rotten Ratings: 24 Hours in Apple’s App Store here.
Brandon Fletcher
