A new report released by child safety organizations Heat Initiative and ParentsTogether Action details the alarming presence of inappropriate apps in Apple’s App Store that are rated suitable for children as young as 4. The research group worked with researchers to review as many apps as possible within a 24-hour period, ultimately adding “relevant content or features” that take into account the rated age, such as stranger chats and AI girlfriends. It said it has identified more than 200 apps that include, game apps that contain sexual or violent prompts or images, and AI-powered appearance rating apps. Engadget has reached out to Apple for comment and will update this article when we hear back.
The study covers chat (including AI and unknown chat apps), beauty, diet, weight loss, unfiltered internet access (access to app school-banned sites) and gaming. Among the findings, at least 24 sexual games and nine stranger chat apps were marked as appropriate for children in these age groups, the report said. The study also identified 40 apps for unfiltered internet access, 75 apps related to beauty, body image, and weight loss with these age ratings, and 28 shooter and crime games. I did. According to the Heat Initiative, the approximately 200 violating apps discovered during the 24-hour investigation have been downloaded a total of more than 550 million times.
A total of approximately 800 apps were reviewed. As a result, we found that some categories were more likely to contain apps with inappropriately low age ratings than others. When it comes to unfamiliar chat apps and games, “few were rated as suitable for children,” the report said. In most cases, they were 17 years of age or older. However, in the categories of weight loss and unfiltered internet access, “nearly every app reviewed was approved for children ages 4 and older.” They are calling for better measures, using third-party reviewers to verify age restrictions on apps before they are made available for download, and making the age restriction process more transparent. To consumers. The full report, “Rotten Ratings: 24hours in Apple’s App Store,” can be viewed here.
