How we decide

Our three answers

Yes

Passes every rule on the default settings for that age.

Only with conditions

Passes every rule only once the required settings are on.

No

Fails at least one rule, even with every parental control switched on.

The rules

1. When in doubt, it’s a no

   Could we confirm every fact?

   Children’s safety comes first. If we can’t confirm something from a reliable source, we count it as a fail. The app has to prove it is safe, not the other way round.

2. Never younger than the official ratings

   Is your child old enough for the official ratings?

   Our minimum age is at least the highest age given by ESRB, PEGI, the Apple App Store, Google Play and Common Sense Media. We can set it higher. We never set it lower, even when the app has a special mode for younger children.

3. Strangers can’t reach your child

   Can you stop strangers contacting your child?

   A parent must be able to stop people the child doesn’t know in real life from contacting them, whether by messages, chat, comments or replies, and the child must not be able to undo it. The only exception is strict age verification: everyone who can chat has their age checked by a face scan, ID or a parent’s account, not just a typed-in birthday, and children can only chat with checked players of a similar age, so adults can’t reach them. Even then, the best we will say is “only with conditions”. If neither is possible, or we can’t confirm it, the answer is no.

4. No high risk left once controls are on

   Is every risk under control once settings are on?

   We score every risk twice: on the default settings, and with every parental control switched on. If any risk is still high with the controls on, the answer is no.

5. Unresolved child-safety action is a fail

   Is its child-safety record clear?

   If, in the last two years, a regulator or government has investigated, sued or settled with the company over grooming or child exploitation, the answer is no unless every case has ended well: the company was cleared, or it settled and the required fixes have been independently confirmed as in place. An open case is a fail. So is a settlement we can’t confirm has been carried out. This rule applies wherever children can contact other people.

6. Parents control the money

   Can you stop all spending?

   A parent must be able to cap real-money spending at zero, including paid random rewards such as loot boxes. If they can’t, or we can’t confirm it, the answer is no.

7. Unreviewed content can’t get a yes

   Is everything checked before children see it?

   If anyone can publish games, videos or posts that nobody checks before children see them, or we can’t tell, the best we will say is “only with conditions”.

8. Only locked controls count

   Are the settings locked so your child can’t undo them?

   We only count a setting if it is locked by the parent with a PIN, password or linked parent account. A setting the child can switch off doesn’t protect them.

9. Each way of playing or using it is judged separately

   Is there a safer way to play that you can lock?

   If a parent can lock a child into a safer way of playing or using it, such as offline only, we judge that way on its own and give it its own answer. It only counts if the child can’t switch it off. We always judge the riskier way too.

10. Every claim has a source and a date

    Is every claim sourced and up to date?

    Every fact behind a verdict, every rating and every news story links to where it came from. When we find no official action against a company, we say what we searched and when. We re-check each review at least every three months. If a review is overdue, treat its answer as no until we’ve re-checked it.