Children are able to get past more than 70% of age control measures on apps and websites, according to a new report.
The ‘privacy sweep’ report, from Global Privacy Enforcement Network (GPEN), looked at nearly 900 platforms, including ones designed specifically for children and general services that were popular with them.
Nearly 60% asked for kids’ personal data – including emails and location data – to get access to all functions, while 71% of sites and apps didn’t have child-friendly information about their privacy controls.
However, the report also highlighted how “simple, child‑friendly design choices” could make a huge difference to online safety.
Guernsey’s Data Protection Commissioner, Brent Homan, said the local results mirrored the global picture, with over half of platforms collecting “geolocation data from children on a mandatory basis”.
“Restricting location information to family and friends reduces the risk that our children’s location can fall in the hands of malicious actors,” he added.
Guernsey’s Office of the Data Protection Authority (ODPA) reviewed 35 platforms used by local children, as part of the GPEN report – which it helped coordinate.
A third of platforms didn’t have an easy way to delete your account, the ODPA said.
Of the 35 platforms it looked at, more than 40% weren’t “suitable for children”, Mr Homan said.
“That said, the results do reveal some positive practices including the limited use or collection of real names or photos by certain sites built for children,” he added.
Overall, the sweep identified several positive practices, an ODPA spokesperson said, including:
- prompts discouraging children from using real names or uploading images
- enhanced parental controls
- location‑sharing settings being switched off by default
The privacy sweep is an annual initiative to increase awareness of privacy rights and responsibilities.
