There is even a Facebook connect button, which makes no sense at all. There is also a social area where she can write on other player’s “walls”, and invite friends to play. There are a multitude of ads for other apps by the same company. As soon as she opens the app, a chat screen is displayed. For example, my daughter enjoys a game called Bakery Story, where she can build a virtual bakery shop. As you can see from the rating descriptions, even an app rated 4+ may not be what you want your children to use. Beyond the Restriction SettingsĮven with the restrictions in place, for younger children it’s a good idea to review each app that your child wants to download or at least review it after-the-fact. You may find (and your child will most certainly find) that some apps they had previously loaded are nowhere to be found! If they had previously installed a game rated 9+ and you set restrictions for 4+, that game is no longer accessible. Once you’ve made your changes, return to the home screen. (While you are in restriction settings, you may want to turn off In-App Purchases too.)ĥ. For example even the 9+ rating allows for “mild realistic violence”, so if you are not comfortable with that for your child, choose 4+. Your child’s age and what you are comfortable with will help you decide which to choose. At this point you may want to refer to the rating descriptions. The ratings shown in red will not be allowed. For example, in the screenshot above where it is set to 12+, I would click on 9+ to remove the check mark from 12+. On the “ Allow Apps Rated” screen, click the highest rating that you want to allow. Scroll down to the heading “ Allowed Content”. Be sure to use a 4-digit passcode that you will remember and your kids will not guess.ģ. If not, choose Enable Restrictions and enter a passcode. If you’ve already set up restrictions, you’ll be prompted for the passcode. From the child’s iDevice, go to Settings > General > Restrictions.Ģ. Note that they will still be able to SEE all the apps in the App store but the option to download or buy them will be disabled if the rating is higher than what you allow.ġ. ![]() Here are the steps that will prevent your child from downloading apps based on their rating. How do I restrict apps by content rating? The FTC scrutiny refers to a recent report which raises privacy questions about mobile apps for kids. Lorraine Akemann, one of the founding members, also noted that “things are changing all the time, especially with the FTC scrutiny on the mobile privacy space”. Member Eugene Stolin of Mind Vitamins confirmed that this is still the way it works. I also posed this question to the members at Moms with Apps, a group of app developers who promote quality apps for kids and families. The most recent information I could find about this is from 2009. The rating is then generated based on that description. How do apps get their content ratings?īased on my research it seems that the app developer fills out a form describing their application. ![]() Applications in this category may also contain frequent and intense offensive language frequent and intense cartoon, fantasy or realistic violence and frequent and intense mature, horror, and suggestive themes plus sexual content, nudity, alcohol, tobacco, and drugs which may not be suitable for children under the age of 17. Here are descriptions of the ratings, straight out of iTunes.Ĥ+ Applications in this category contain no objectionable material.ĩ+ Applications in this category may contain mild or infrequent occurrences of cartoon, fantasy or realistic violence, and infrequent or mild mature, suggestive, or horror-themed content which may not be suitable for children under the age of 9.ġ2+ Applications in this category may also contain infrequent mild language, frequent or intense cartoon, fantasy or realistic violence, and mild or infrequent mature or suggestive themes, and simulated gambling which may not be suitable for children under the age of 12.ġ7+ You must be at least 17 years old to purchase this application. ![]() ![]() You can decide which apps your kids can download from the App store or iTunes based on their rating. Apps have ratings similar to movie ratings - G, PG, PG-13 and R. Today I want to specifically focus on app restrictions. One of the parental control features on the iPod touch (and iPad and iPhone) is restriction by content rating.
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