FTC Staff Conducts Follow Up Survey of Kids’ Apps

The Federal Trade Commission’s Office of Technology Research and Investigation conducted a follow-up survey examining what information kids’ app developers are collecting from users, whom they are sharing it with, and what disclosures they are providing to parents about their practices. The new survey looked at 364 kids’ apps in Google Play and the Apple App Store, and now the FTC examined what privacy disclosures are available to parents.

The December 2012 kids’ app survey found that only 20 percent of apps had a link to a privacy policy available to parents before downloading the app. The new survey found that developers are now doing a better job, with more than 45 percent having a direct link to their privacy policy on their app store page. For many kids’ apps, however, parents still don’t have an easy way to learn about their data collection and usage practices.