Fake age ratings on app stores are putting our kids at risk

Candy Crush is one of the world’s most successful games, with the franchise racking up more than 5 billion downloads since it launched in 2012. But is it safe for your kids?

The page for the latest version on the app store, Candy Crush Saga, looks safe enough – it’s branded as suitable for ages “4+”.

But there’s a bear trap buried in the small print. Head down the page, click on the license agreement and scroll to clause 1.7. You’ll find that Candy Crush Saga isn’t aimed at four year olds at all: “For use of our Services… you agree that you are at least 13 years old”.

Candy Crush isn’t the only app playing this game. Thousands and thousands of apps are declaring one age range across the top and hiding another in the terms and conditions.

And it’s all to make money out of tricking kids. Firms can’t build up profiles and dish out surveillance ads to children under 13 without explicit consent from their parents – it’s illegal. But the firms think they’ve covered their backs if the small print that nobody ever reads says users have to be “at least 13”, whatever it says at the top of the page.

So young kids are playing apps that bombard them with ads aimed at much older kids. And app developers and app stores are complicit.

It’s got to stop.

We’ve submitted a formal complaint to the Competition and Markets Authority, demanding they take action on misleading age ratings and dangerous data practices.

And we’re building a movement to put pressure on the tech giants to stop tricking our kids – join us.