Apps for Kids Are Data Magnets; FTC Rules to Kick In

A Wall Street Journal examination of 40 popular and free child-friendly apps on Google's Android and Apple's iOS systems found that nearly half transmitted to other companies a device ID number, a primary tool for tracking users from app to app.

Some 70% passed along information about how the app was used, in some cases including the buttons clicked and in what order. Some three years after the Journal first tested data collection and sharing in smartphone apps—and discovered the majority of apps tested sending details to third parties without users' awareness—the makers of widely used software continue to gather and profit from people's personal information. Data transmissions related to child-friendly apps will be subject to greater government scrutiny after July 1, when the Federal Trade Commission's new rules on children's online privacy take effect. The rules, which were adopted in December and outline how the FTC enforces the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, or COPPA, expand the types of information considered "personal" and, hence, protected.