A new game or social app can look harmless in the store and still ask for more access than a child needs. Before approving it, spend ten minutes checking the account, privacy information, permissions and communication features. The goal is not to predict every risk. It is to make an informed choice and set a boundary you can explain.
1. Confirm the exact app and developer
Open the official App Store or Google Play listing yourself. Check the app name, developer and icon rather than approving a link sent in a message. Similar names and copied artwork can make unrelated apps look alike.
Read the age rating, but do not treat it as the whole decision. The store rating may not reflect how your child will use public chat, user-generated content, purchases or links that open outside the app.
2. Read the privacy information with one question in mind
Ask: What information does this app say it collects, and why? On Apple’s App Store, the privacy section summarizes data practices reported by the developer. Apple notes that this information is not verified by Apple. On Google Play, review the Data safety section and the developer’s privacy policy.
Look for location, contacts, photos, microphone, camera, identifiers and data used for advertising or tracking. Collection is not automatically inappropriate, but it should make sense for the feature your child wants to use.
3. Check whether the account matches the child’s real age
Use the correct birth date when creating a child account. An adult account can expose different privacy defaults, purchase settings and communication options. A false age can also make future account recovery and family supervision harder.
On Android and Chrome devices, Google Family Link can require approval for new apps and help parents manage permissions. On Apple devices, Family Sharing and Screen Time can limit purchases, apps, communication and content. Available controls vary by device, region, account age and app.
4. Start with the fewest permissions
An app may request access when it first opens or when a feature is used. Read each prompt. If a drawing game asks for precise location or full contact access, pause and find out why. Choose “Don’t Allow,” “Ask Next Time” or a limited option when the feature can work without broader access.
If the child later needs a specific feature, you can revisit the permission together. It is easier to add a justified permission than to remember every permission granted during a rushed setup.
5. Inspect communication and sharing
- Can strangers send messages, friend requests or invitations?
- Can the child share photos, voice, video or live location?
- Are usernames, profiles or creations public by default?
- Can links open a web browser or another app?
- Can players create private rooms or move conversations elsewhere?
Set friend, chat and profile visibility controls deliberately. “Friends only” reduces exposure, but it does not establish that every friend account belongs to the person your child expects.
6. Review purchases and advertisements
Look for subscriptions, virtual currency, loot-style purchases, free trials and external shopping links. Require approval for purchases and turn off one-tap buying where appropriate. Explain what a subscription renewal means before starting a trial.
Advertisements can also lead out of a child-focused experience. Test what happens when an ad is tapped and whether the device’s web restrictions still apply.
7. Do a short test together
Open the app with your child. Visit the profile, privacy, chat and purchase settings. Try the block and report tools so both of you know where they are. Decide which information should never be posted and what your child should do if a message feels confusing or threatening.
Hypothetical example: If a game asks a child to join a voice channel, agree that they will pause and ask first. The exact rule should match the child’s age, maturity and the people involved.
8. Recheck after updates
Apps change. A new feature can add messaging, location sharing, artificial-intelligence tools or a different privacy choice. Revisit the settings after a major update, when the child starts using a new feature or when the app requests a permission it did not need before.
Parental controls are one layer
Approval settings, time limits and filters reduce risk; they do not replace family conversations or supervision. Children need a safe way to tell an adult about mistakes without fearing an automatic loss of the device. That conversation can reveal problems a settings screen cannot see.
Use our parent resources for device, router and mixed-family setup guidance. If you want help applying settings to the phones, tablets, computers and accounts in your home, review our parental-control setup services. We will explain the controls and their limits rather than promise perfect protection.
Reviewed October 7, 2026. Sources: Apple: privacy information on the App Store; Google Family Link; FTC: protecting kids online.
