Teacher Approved Apps for Kids

Core Criteria of the Designed for Families Program

To qualify as family-friendly, apps must meet several key criteria across content, privacy, and monetization.

① Age-Appropriate Content

Apps must provide content that is suitable for specific age groups (typically under 13). This includes:

• No explicit violence, adult themes, or inappropriate language

• Clear educational or entertainment value for children

• No misleading or manipulative design

Google also evaluates whether an app’s visual style, characters, or gameplay might unintentionally attract children—even if the app is not explicitly targeted at them. 

② Data Privacy and Security

One of the strictest requirements involves handling children’s data.

Apps must:

• Limit collection of personal data

• Avoid transmitting sensitive identifiers

• Provide a clear and accessible privacy policy

• Comply with global child protection laws

Importantly, apps must ensure that all third-party SDKs, APIs, and ad networks also comply with these standards. 

③ Advertising Restrictions

Monetization is tightly controlled in children’s apps.

Developers must:

• Use only Google-approved ad networks for kids

• Ensure ads are age-appropriate

• Avoid deceptive or manipulative ad formats

• Clearly distinguish ads from gameplay

These rules aim to prevent situations where children accidentally click ads or are exposed to inappropriate content. 

④ Transparent Target Audience Declaration

All developers must declare their app’s target audience in the Play Console. Based on this declaration, Google applies different policy requirements.

If children are included in the audience:

• The app must comply fully with Families Policy

• Additional review processes are triggered

• Marketing materials are scrutinized

If not, developers must ensure their app does not appeal to children unintentionally.

The Teacher Approved Program

While Designed for Families focuses on compliance and safety, the Teacher Approved program adds a layer of quality assurance. Introduced in 2020, this initiative highlights apps that are not only safe, but also educational and engaging.

Apps in the program are reviewed by teachers, child development experts and educational specialists. They evaluate apps based on age appropriateness, educational value, user experience, engagement and enjoyment.

Apps that pass receive a “Teacher Approved” badge, along with explanations of why they are recommended. For instance, among educational apps for kids by Absolutist, Easy Rhymes was credited as innovative, fun & engaging, and thoughtfully designed for children. Their picture book Puss in Boots was acknowledged for inspiring love of learning, friendship and empathy. 

Today, all apps featured in Google Play’s Kids section are Teacher Approved, making it easier for parents to find trusted content.

This shift reflects a broader trend: moving from basic safety compliance to curated quality ecosystems.

US Regulations: COPPA and Beyond

Google Play’s policies are heavily influenced by legal frameworks, especially in the United States.

The most important regulation is COPPA, which governs how companies collect data from children under 13.

Key requirements include:

• Verifiable parental consent before collecting personal data

• Clear privacy disclosures

• Restrictions on data sharing

• Limits on behavioral advertising

Google explicitly requires developers to comply with COPPA if their apps target children. 

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has increasingly enforced COPPA, targeting:

• Apps that collect location data without consent

• Games that use manipulative monetization

• Platforms that fail to secure children’s data

As a result, app stores like Google Play have strengthened their internal policies to reduce legal risk.

EU Regulations: GDPR and Child Data Protection

In Europe, the regulatory environment is even stricter.

The GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) applies to all users but includes specific provisions for children.

Key principles include:

• Data minimization

• Purpose limitation

• Explicit parental consent (for younger users)

• Right to access and delete data

Google requires all developers targeting children in the EU to comply with GDPR.

Unlike the US, the EU allows member states to set the age of digital consent between 13 and 16. This creates additional complexity for developers, who must adjust consent mechanisms by region and ensure compliance across multiple jurisdictions.

EU laws also place stricter limits on tracking technologies (cookies, identifiers), behavioral advertising and data profiling. For children’s apps, this often means no personalized ads at all, reinforcing Google Play’s own restrictions.

Challenges and Benefits for Developers

For developers of casual and mobile games, these policies have a direct impact on design, monetization, and growth. It particularly makes developers rethink UI/UX (to avoid manipulation), progression systems (to reduce pressure on kids), and social features (to prevent unsafe interactions).

Traditional monetization models are also harder to implement in kids’ apps. Instead, developers often rely on premium versions, subscriptions and highly restricted rewarded ads from the approved list of vendors.

On the positive side, compliance brings certain benefits, including better visibility in the Kids section, increased trust from parents and higher long-term retention. The Teacher Approved badge, in particular, acts as a strong signal of quality.

The Bigger Picture: A Shift in the Industry

Despite these efforts, the system is not perfect. Studies have shown that some apps still use trackers despite restrictions, request unnecessary permissions and mislabel their target audience. This highlights an ongoing challenge: enforcement vs. scale in a marketplace with millions of apps.

Still the evolution of Google Play’s family programs reflects a broader shift in the gaming and app industry.

What started as optional guidelines has become a compliance-driven ecosystem, shaped by government regulation, parental expectations and platform accountability.

At the same time, there is growing emphasis on quality, not just safety, as seen in the Teacher Approved initiative.

Conclusion: Building a Safer Digital Playground

Google Play’s Designed for Families and Teacher Approved programs represent a major step toward making digital spaces safer for children.

By combining strict privacy standards, curated content recommendations and alignment with global laws like COPPA and GDPR, the platform creates a more trustworthy environment for both parents and young players.

For developers, the message is clear: building successful kids’ apps today requires more than fun gameplay. It demands responsibility, transparency, and thoughtful design.

And as regulations continue to evolve in both the US and the EU, these standards will likely become even stricter — shaping the future of family-friendly gaming for years to come.