Children and Child-Directed Apps
Guidance on children and child-directed apps for LevelPlay legal compliance.
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Children and child-directed apps
In this article, we explain how mobile apps can apply settings applicable to children and child-directed apps, as required by the US Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and Google Play’s “Designed For Families” program.Publisher Responsibilities
- Evaluate your apps and determine if they are child-directed
- Correctly flag your apps as child-directed on your ironSource dashboard
- Set the COPPA SDK Functionality as explained below
- Ensure your apps comply with applicable laws
How to flag apps as not directed to children
If your app is not directed to children (COPPA), choose the “not directed to children” flag in the dashboard. You can still use COPPA SDK Functionality to flag specific devices for compliance.
How to flag an app as child-directed
If your app is primarily directed to children, flag it as “Primarily Directed to Children” in the dashboard. This applies to all end-users and only affects ironSource’s own ad network. For mediation, check that additional networks are configured correctly.
How to flag a specific end-user as a child
For mixed-audience apps or those with age gates, flag the app as “Mixed Audience” and use COPPA SDK Functionality to flag specific end-users as children (below age 13, 16, or as required).
Complying with Google Play’s Designed for Families program
Apps in this program must be flagged as child-directed. Configure additional settings for child-directed apps:ironSource collection and use of data from a child-directed app
- Data collected (advertising ID, IP address) is used only for contextual ads, frequency capping, fraud prevention, and internal operations as permitted by COPPA and other laws.
- No sharing of persistent identifiers with third-party bidders except as directed by the publisher for internal operations.
- No survey ads or campaigns that prompt end-users to disclose personal information.
ironSource Mediation and child-directed apps
ironSource SDK offers a client-side API to flag specific end-users as children. Mediated apps must use the API to communicate child status to supported networks. For networks not listed, contact them directly. Supported networks and flags:Network | iOS Adapter | Android Adapter | Unity Adapter | Flag |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ironSource | 7.1.0 | 7.1.0.1 | 7.1.0.1 | is_child_directed |
| AdMob | 4.3.11 | 4.3.9 | 4.3.12 | AdMob_TFCD, AdMob_TFUA |
| AppLovin | 4.3.15 | 4.3.15 | 4.3.18 | AppLovin_AgeRestrictedUser |
| InMobi | 4.3.14 | 4.3.14 | 4.3.18 | inMobi_AgeRestricted |
| Mintegral | 4.3.12 | 4.3.12 | 4.3.12 | Mintegral_COPPA |
| Pangle | 4.1.5 | 4.1.2 | 4.1.7 | Pangle_COPPA |
| Tapjoy | 4.1.19 | 4.1.20 | 4.1.24 | Tapjoy_coppa |
| UnityAds | 4.3.15 | 4.3.16 | 4.3.19 | UnityAds_coppa |
| Vungle | 4.3.15 | – | 4.3.24 | Vungle_coppa |
| Yahoo | 4.3.0 | 4.3.0 | 4.3.0 | Yahoo_coppa |
App developers under the age of 13
ironSource’s terms prohibit app developers under age 13 from using their services.For more information, see: