Stiftung Warentest: Popular game apps anything but suitable for children

None of the tested game apps is suitable for children without restrictions!

Games apps are very popular with children. However, the pleasure of playing is accompanied by a wealth of risks: the mostly harmless and child-friendly game content is confronted with unsecured communication functions, high purchasing pressure and perfidious advertising strategies. Together with Stiftung Warentest, jugendschutz.net took a close look at 14 apps popular with children. Conclusion: None of the game apps tested under youth and data protection aspects is suitable for children without restrictions.

According to the testers, provider precautions to protect young players urgently need to be improved: So far, hardly any apps have a moderation concept, reports are often complicated to make and are not reliably processed, and help areas are not designed in a way that is suitable for children. In addition, constant in-app purchase incentives and advertising that hardly stand out from the game content overburden young players. More information and results are available from Stiftung Warentest:Game apps in the testMore on this topic