Children's apps without ads: how to spot a good one
“Free” often means your child is the product. There are clear rules about what children's apps may do – and a few minutes in which you can check for yourself.
Picture your daughter playing for ten minutes, and three times a window slides over the screen: a video you cannot skip, then an offer for a pack of gems. She asks whether she may buy it. You downloaded the app as a learning game.
That is not an accident, it is a business model. The good news: you can spot it beforehand.
The short version
- Children's apps without ads are not a luxury – klicksafe names doing without advertising and paid extras as a criterion for child-friendly apps.
- For apps in the Kids Category, Apple requires no links out, no purchasing opportunities except behind a parental gate, and in principle no third-party advertising or analytics.
- Google Play only allows self-certified ad SDKs in apps for children and forbids personalised, interest-based advertising and remarketing.
- Under Article 28 DSA, online platforms may not show advertising based on profiling when they are reasonably certain the user is a minor.
- In-app purchases can be switched off on iPhone and Android; the consumer advice centre describes both routes.
Children's apps without ads: what the stores already forbid
Much of what parents fear is officially not allowed in children's apps at all. In its App Store Review Guidelines for the Kids Category, Apple writes that such apps must not include links out of the app, purchasing opportunities or other distractions, except in a designated area behind a parental gate. Third-party analytics and advertising should not be included; the exceptions are narrow and require, for instance, that no identifiers and no identifiable information about children are transmitted.
For apps aimed at children, Google Play requires that advertising is only served through self-certified ad SDKs. Personalised, interest-based advertising and remarketing are forbidden towards children, as are ads for alcohol, tobacco, gambling or dating.
On top of that, the Digital Services Act adds a rule that applies to all platforms: under Article 28 DSA, no advertising based on profiling may be shown when the provider is reasonably certain that the user is a minor. Profiling means automated evaluation of data to analyse or predict behaviour.
The rules are better than their reputation. What is missing is somebody to check the individual case – and that is you.
Why free is not without cost
klicksafe points out that with free apps you often pay with personal data, and recommends checking the permissions and the terms before downloading.
The second variant is purchases inside the app. The consumer advice centre describes how quickly many small amounts add up – especially when payment details are stored on the device and games work with virtual coins whose value can barely be translated into euros. Google expressly requires developers to distinguish clearly between game currency and real money.
This matters earlier than many think: according to the KIM study 2024, close to half of 6- to 13-year-olds own a device of their own.
Five questions before you download
1. How does the app make money? If there is no price anywhere and no advertising, usually only one thing is left: data. An app that does not explain its business model has one.
2. Which permissions does it want? An arithmetic app needs no microphone, no address book and no location. The App Store shows this under "App Privacy", Google Play under "Data safety".
3. Are there purchases inside the app? Both stores show this in the description – at Apple as "In-App Purchases", at Google as "Contains ads" and "In-app purchases".
4. Does my child need an account of their own? Under Article 8 GDPR, children in Germany can only consent to the processing of their data from sixteen. The fewer accounts and email addresses, the simpler.
5. Can you get out again? Deleting the account and the data should be possible in the app itself, not only by emailing the provider.
Switching off in-app purchases
However good the app: the lock on the device is the more reliable solution. The consumer advice centre describes both routes.
| Device | Where to find it |
|---|---|
| iPhone, iPad | Settings → Screen Time → Content & Privacy Restrictions → iTunes & App Store Purchases |
| Android | Play Store → profile → Settings → Authentication → Require authentication for purchases |
It also helps not to leave payment details stored permanently in the store. Gift cards are often the calmer option for children, because the amount is capped.
What an ad-free app is not automatically
No advertising is a good sign, but no seal of quality. An app can be ad-free and still store a lot about your child, pull them in with daily notifications, or use mechanics that push them to carry on – streaks that must not break, scores compared with others, rewards that expire each day.
The other way round: an app that costs money need not be better. What counts is whether you understand in two minutes who earns what and which data that takes. How much screen time is reasonable at all is in Screen time without arguments; what matters with points and stars is in Reward charts for children.
How Fleißstern does it
In Fleißstern there is no advertising, no tracking and nothing passed on. In the child view there is nothing to buy and nothing to tap that leads out of the app: you buy Premium as a parent through the App Store or Google Play, and getting back to the parent view takes the parent PIN. There are no league tables against other people's children.
For one child the app is free, with tasks, reminders, stars, rewards and statistics. Premium costs money because the server costs money – that is the whole business model. The account and the family sit on a server in Germany, the children's phones need no account of their own, and you can delete everything in the app yourself.
Common questions
How do I recognise children's apps without ads?
Both stores state it in the description: on Google Play the note "Contains ads" tells you, and at Apple you will find under "App Privacy" which data is collected, and on the product page whether there are in-app purchases. If neither is there and the app is free, it is worth asking how it earns its money.
Are apps for children specially vetted in the stores?
Partly. Apple applies its own rules to the Kids Category, for instance no links out and no purchasing opportunities except behind a parental gate. Google Play only allows certified ad SDKs in apps for children and forbids personalised advertising. That is still not a recommendation about the content.
How do I prevent accidental purchases by my child?
Through the device settings: on iPhone and iPad under Screen Time and restrictions, on Android through authentication in the Play Store. The consumer advice centre describes both routes. It also helps not to leave payment details stored permanently.
May an app process my child's data?
Only with a valid legal basis. Under Article 8 GDPR, children in Germany can only consent themselves from the age of sixteen; below that the parents must agree. The less an app collects, the less you have to check.
Sources
- Apps sicher nutzen – klicksafe, EU initiative for safer internet use
- App Store Review Guidelines, section 1.3 Kids Category – Apple
- Requirements for apps for children and families – Google Play Help for developers
- Art. 28 DSA – Online protection of minors – Regulation (EU) 2022/2065, dejure.org
- Article 8 GDPR – Conditions applicable to child's consent – General Data Protection Regulation, dsgvo-gesetz.de
- In-App-Käufe deaktivieren bei iOS und Android: So geht's – German consumer advice centre (Verbraucherzentrale)
- In-Game- und In-App-Käufe: Wenn virtueller Spielspaß teuer wird – German consumer advice centre (Verbraucherzentrale)
- KIM study 2024 – childhood, internet, media – Medienpädagogischer Forschungsverbund Südwest (mpfs)