Inappropriate apps deemed safe for minors are available in the App Store, a report warns

New published by child protection groups Heat Initiative and ParentsTogether Action describes the alarming presence of inappropriate apps deemed suitable for four-year-olds on Apple’s App Store. The teams worked with a researcher to review as many apps as possible within 24 hours, and they said they identified more than 200 apps that had “related content or features” based on the age group they rated – including random chat and AI dating. software, game software that contains sexual or violent content and graphics, and AI-powered visual display software. Engadget has contacted Apple for comment and will update this story upon hearing back.

The study focused on programs assigned to ages 4+, 9+ and 12+ in categories considered “dangerous”: social media (including AI and strange social media), beauty, diet and weight loss, unfiltered internet use (programs for accessing restricted areas in schools) and sports. Among the findings, the report says that 24 sexual games and 9 social media programs were identified as suitable for children of this age. The study also identified 40 unfiltered Internet programs and 75 programs related to beauty, body image and weight loss among this age group, as well as 28 shooting and crime games. Together, the 200 offending apps seen in the 24-hour investigation were downloaded more than 550 million times, according to the Heat Initiative.

About 800 programs were reviewed in total, and the study found that some groups are more likely to carry programs that are unduly young than others. Of the foreign social media and games, “few were deemed appropriate for children,” the report says. Usually, they were 17+. But in the weight-loss and no-internet groups, “almost all of the programs reviewed were approved for children ages 4+.” The report calls on Apple to improve child protection on the App Store, and urges the company to use third-party reviewers to verify the age of apps before they are downloaded, and to make their age visible. to consumers. You can read the full report, Rotten Ratings: 24 hours in Apple’s App Store, Here.