Online Safety Experts and Parents Raise Concerns About Apple App Store

by Kevin Chen, age 17

For many parents, Apple’s App Store has been a trusted platform for their children to download apps. However, new research highlights serious concerns about the app’s ability to keep children safe. Despite parental controls and age ratings, inappropriate apps continue to be marketed to kids, which raises questions about the effectiveness of Apple’s review process.

Stacy Ann Sipes, a mother who used Apple’s parental control settings to protect her 14-year-old daughter, told The Wall Street Journal that Apple’s safety features didn’t keep her safe. Her daughter downloaded a gaming app that focused on weight loss, where players send their character to the gym or purchase a waist-training corset using digital coins. Currently, her daughter is suffering from an eating disorder. Sipes’ story reflects broader concerns about how Apple rates apps for children.

According to a report by the Heat Initiative and ParentsTogether, nearly 200 apps rated for children contained inappropriate content. These included apps for dieting, circumventing banned sites, beauty filters, violent or sexual games, and anonymous chat. Some specific apps were flagged in the report for promoting harmful behavior. For example, FaceMax used AI to rate the attractiveness level of the user’s photo, targeting customers aged 9 and older. Another app, Spin the Bottle: Maybe You?, encourages users to sit at a virtual table to meet new people, flirt, and chat. Both apps have already been removed from the app store.

Apple responded to these concerns saying that it “gives parents a range of capabilities to protect children, including restricting access to apps and flagging problematic conflicts.”

However, critics argue that Apple’s efforts fall short. Chris McKenna, founder of the advocacy group Protect Young Eyes, described Apple’s review process as inconsistent. “Apple has touted the App store as a Fort Knox, and yet we have these gross inconsistencies,” McKenna said. Advocacy groups are now urging Apple to implement stricter age rating guidelines, similar to those used for movies and video games.

This issue serves as a reminder to parents to monitor the apps their children use and to stay informed about potential risks. For big companies like Apple, it shows the ongoing challenge of ensuring safety in an increasingly digital world.

[Sources: Associated Press; The Wall Street Journal]