Kids app and best practices? (questions)

[EthanDunlap]

I am currently working on an app that is intended to help kids learn and practice simple math. This game would be suitable for the kids section of the apple store, but I know that being listed there comes with some restrictions.

My plan was to make the game free, have points in the app for rewarded video ads and also have an in game currency the players can use to unlock new characters and items etc. The currency can be earned by playing the game naturally, through IAP, and by viewing the rewarded ads.

I am having an issue trying to figure out what would be the best route to go. I know that being in the kids section has its natural draws when parents are looking for an app their child can play, but is that worth the restrictions on ads when that is one of the main ways I will hopefully monetize the app.

Would it be worth just submitting the app OUTSIDE the kids section and hope that it still gets equivalent traffic despite losing the natural “clout” that the kids section brings. 

could anyone who has had experience with this dilemma help with some pros and cons of the situation?

PROS:

1. kids section has a natural draw for parents and would hopefully make it easier for them to come across my app

2. I feel the kids section would be an easier market to get noticed in rather than the entire app store. I view it as its own little world, so a much smaller store comparatively (yet still very big).

CONS:

1. ads restricted, which may cause lower rev.

2. app itself has to follow certain guidelines as far as data collecting/privacy policy.

[roaminggamer]

Hopefully others with more experience w/ Kids apps will answer, but I saw one part of your question that stood out

…but is that worth the restrictions on ads when that is one of the main ways I will hopefully monetize the app…

I think this question may be moot, because no parent is going to want their young child using an app that has unrestricted ads (shows dating ads, and other ‘inappropriate’ content).

Again, I hope others answer.  This is an interesting question.

[EthanDunlap]

Valid point.

do you know if those types of ads (dating, car insurance, etc) are the only ones that are left out when using the kids app store restrictions? Will they still get all the game apps that would normally pop up, or would an ad for “game of war” be blocked because its not “suitable” for kids.

[rob]

To get into the kids and family type categories on both iTunes and Googlel Play or targeted to the Under 13 crowd, your app has to meet certain guidelines. In the US, this means complying with COPPA: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Children%27s_Online_Privacy_Protection_Act

Basically you can’t collect information from them. You can’t let the Under 13 group have access to the Internet in general. This limits a lot of advertising.

As far as Advertising goes, we do offer two plugins that are COPPA compliant and show kid-friendly ads: KIDOZ and SuperAwesome. As long as you use one of those two (or potentially both), you shouldn’t have issues on advertising.

As far as IAP, things that touch the public Internet, you have to lock all of that behind a “Parental Gate”. You can search the forums for more information about that and how people have implemented them.

If you can take care of all of that and build a COPPA compliant app, you should be set here in the US. Other countries might have additional restrictions, but trying to submit to those groups should also flag any thing you need to take care of.

[EthanDunlap]

That was the root reason for my post, knowing that you have to jump through all of those hoops as a developer, in the end, is it worth it? Does being in the kids section of the app store really mean that much?

I know this is probably an opinion based question, but I would like to hear from some people who may be using these ad networks and methods for IAP.

on another note, my other app uses the appodeal plugin and I recall when setting up info for appodeal, it asks me if the app is made for children. If I select yes would that make it so only child friendly ads will show, thus qualifying it under these restrictions?

[rob]

It’s still a very competitive market. It’s a really easy genre to get into. You need cartoon level art. Games don’t need the depth that games aimed for adults need. Before I came to Corona Labs, I was doing contract work for a business that did exclusive kids apps. When they started, it was a pretty good market. It really fell off as the number of developers increased and kept pushing prices down.

But on the other hand, it is focused. I’ll let other developers chime in how the market is doing these days.

But to your Appodeal questions. I can’t speak for them specifically, but I know many ad providers offer child-friendly options. Since I’ve not done the research, you should do your own due-diligence and check them out for their COPPA compliant. The two I recommended above specifically tout their compliance. I know about them because it was a key point of their plugin announcement.

Rob

[EthanDunlap]

I did some searching and for the record Appodeal does seem to comply with COPPA according to section 6 of their privacy policy here: https://www.appodeal.com/privacy-policy

[roaminggamer]

Hopefully others with more experience w/ Kids apps will answer, but I saw one part of your question that stood out

…but is that worth the restrictions on ads when that is one of the main ways I will hopefully monetize the app…

I think this question may be moot, because no parent is going to want their young child using an app that has unrestricted ads (shows dating ads, and other ‘inappropriate’ content).

Again, I hope others answer.  This is an interesting question.

[EthanDunlap]

Valid point.

do you know if those types of ads (dating, car insurance, etc) are the only ones that are left out when using the kids app store restrictions? Will they still get all the game apps that would normally pop up, or would an ad for “game of war” be blocked because its not “suitable” for kids.

[rob]

To get into the kids and family type categories on both iTunes and Googlel Play or targeted to the Under 13 crowd, your app has to meet certain guidelines. In the US, this means complying with COPPA: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Children%27s_Online_Privacy_Protection_Act

Basically you can’t collect information from them. You can’t let the Under 13 group have access to the Internet in general. This limits a lot of advertising.

As far as Advertising goes, we do offer two plugins that are COPPA compliant and show kid-friendly ads: KIDOZ and SuperAwesome. As long as you use one of those two (or potentially both), you shouldn’t have issues on advertising.

As far as IAP, things that touch the public Internet, you have to lock all of that behind a “Parental Gate”. You can search the forums for more information about that and how people have implemented them.

If you can take care of all of that and build a COPPA compliant app, you should be set here in the US. Other countries might have additional restrictions, but trying to submit to those groups should also flag any thing you need to take care of.

[EthanDunlap]

That was the root reason for my post, knowing that you have to jump through all of those hoops as a developer, in the end, is it worth it? Does being in the kids section of the app store really mean that much?

I know this is probably an opinion based question, but I would like to hear from some people who may be using these ad networks and methods for IAP.

on another note, my other app uses the appodeal plugin and I recall when setting up info for appodeal, it asks me if the app is made for children. If I select yes would that make it so only child friendly ads will show, thus qualifying it under these restrictions?

[rob]

It’s still a very competitive market. It’s a really easy genre to get into. You need cartoon level art. Games don’t need the depth that games aimed for adults need. Before I came to Corona Labs, I was doing contract work for a business that did exclusive kids apps. When they started, it was a pretty good market. It really fell off as the number of developers increased and kept pushing prices down.

But on the other hand, it is focused. I’ll let other developers chime in how the market is doing these days.

But to your Appodeal questions. I can’t speak for them specifically, but I know many ad providers offer child-friendly options. Since I’ve not done the research, you should do your own due-diligence and check them out for their COPPA compliant. The two I recommended above specifically tout their compliance. I know about them because it was a key point of their plugin announcement.

Rob

[EthanDunlap]

I did some searching and for the record Appodeal does seem to comply with COPPA according to section 6 of their privacy policy here: https://www.appodeal.com/privacy-policy