UK launches mobile game child privacy review

• Default settings, geolocation and targeted ads sit at the centre of the probe.
• 84% of parents worry about children’s exposure to strangers or harmful content.
• ICO aims to bring mobile games up to the same data protection standards as social platforms.

The UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office has launched a monitoring programme to scrutinise 10 popular mobile games to see how well they protect children’s online privacy. 

With about 90% of UK children playing games on digital devices, the ICO said it will review and examine default privacy settings, geolocation controls, targeted advertising, and any other privacy risks identified during the process.

New research from the ICO showed that 84% of parents are worried about children's exposure to strangers or harmful content through mobile games, and half feel very concerned. 

Around 76% fear their children may share personal data, while 75% are uneasy about game companies collecting data for advertising. 

Meanwhile, about 30% of parents say their children have stopped using a mobile game due to concerns over the data it collected or how that information was used.

The ICO did not state which games it would be reviewing.

Wider impact 

The renewed focus on mobile games builds on the ICO's mission to raise children’s privacy standards across social media and video platforms through the ICO’s Children’s Code strategy.

The ICO said its earlier intervention has pushed social media and video platforms to strengthen their data protection practices, improvements that have already reached more than three million children and could enhance online privacy for up to 11.7 million across the UK.

“Children’s online experiences are shaped not just by social media and video sharing platforms, but also by the games they play," said UK information commissioner John Edwards.

“Our early review suggests that many mobile games’ design features can be especially intrusive, raising important questions about how these games are designed and experienced, and their adherence to the ICO’s Children’s Code standards.

“We’re expanding our strategy to ensure that mobile games meet the same high standards of data protection we’ve driven across other platforms.”