Mobile software content rating system
A mobile software content rating system is a rating system which is tailored to users of mobile software.
Existing systems
iOS and iPadOS App Store
Apple's rating system for the App Store follows the following rubric:[1]
- Rated 4+: Contains no objectionable material.
- Rated 9+: May contain content unsuitable for children under the age of 9.
- Rated 12+: May contain content unsuitable for children under the age of 12.
- Rated 17+: May contain content unsuitable for children under the age of 17.
Apps rated 17+ are prohibited from purchase by younger users.[2]
Google Play
Up until March 17, 2015 Google Play used the following rubric:[3][4]
- Everyone
- Low maturity
- Medium maturity
- High maturity
Google now uses the International Age Rating Coalition (IARC) in most countries not represented by a rating authority, whilst countries or regions with a superimposed video game rating authority (e.g. ESRB and PEGI) continues applying their own ratings where applicable.[5] However, a new Google Play Rating system is used exclusively for non-gaming apps in South Korea.[6] These ratings include:
- 3+
- 7+
- 12+
- 16+
- 18+
In Australia, gaming apps are classified under the ACB system, whilst IARC applies its own ratings for non-gaming apps.[6]
CTIA Mobile Application Rating System
The CTIA – The Wireless Association, an industry trade group, collaborated with the ESRB to largely apply ESRB's rating system to mobile devices.[7] It was launched in 2011, with Apple and Google being notable abstentions from subscribing companies.[8]
Amazon Appstore
On the Amazon Appstore, "All Ages" is for all ages. "Guidance Suggested" is for recommendation that parents should give guidance to pre-teens/children. "Mature" is recommended to be suitable for mature audiences. Adult is "advertisements, graphic violence, nudity or other content only suitable for adult audiences".[9]
Blackberry World
The Blackberry appstore as the following ratings:[10]
- General (G) – All ages
- Teen (T) – May not be suitable for children under the age of 13
- Mature (M) – May not be suitable for children under the age of 17
- Adult (A) – Content that is generally recognized as appropriate only for, or that is legally restricted to, persons at least the age of majority in their region.
Common Sense Media
- 2+
- 3+
- 4+
- 5+
- 6+
- 7+
- 8+
- 9+
- 10+
- 11+
- 12+
- 13+
- 14+
- 15+
- 16+
- 17+
- 18+
Comparison
System | 0/1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18+ | Other |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Amazon Appstore | All Ages | Mature | Adult(?) | ||||||||||||||||
Guidance Suggested | |||||||||||||||||||
App Store | 4+ | 9+ | 12+ | 17+ | No Rating | ||||||||||||||
17+ | |||||||||||||||||||
ClassInd | L | 10 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 18 | N/A | ||||||||||||
ESRB |
E | E10+ | T | M | AO | RP | |||||||||||||
EC | |||||||||||||||||||
PEGI |
3 | 7 | 12 | 16 | 18 | ! | |||||||||||||
7 | 12 | 16 | 18 | ||||||||||||||||
USK | 0 | 6 | 12 | 12 | 16 | 18 | N/A | ||||||||||||
Blackberry World | General | Teen | Mature | Adult | N/A | ||||||||||||||
Common Sense Media | N/A | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | Not Yet Rated |
- White – No restrictions: Suitable for all ages / Aimed at young audiences / Exempt / Not rated / No applicable rating.
- Yellow – No restrictions: Parental guidance is suggested for designated age range.
- Purple – No restrictions: Not recommended for a younger audience but not restricted.
- Red – Restricted: Parental accompaniment required for younger audiences.
- Black – Prohibitive: Exclusively for older audience / Purchase age-restricted / Banned.
Explanations of specific ratings are available in corresponding articles.
References
- "Identifying Your App in iTunes Connect: Set App Ratings". Apple Inc. Retrieved 19 May 2017.
- Masna, Aulia (17 July 2009). "App Store rating system raises questions". Macworld. Retrieved 19 May 2017.
- "Application Content Ratings". Google.
- "Creating Better User Experiences on Google Play". Android Developers Blog. Retrieved 2015-06-14.
- "About the International Age Rating Coalition". IARC. Retrieved 2015-11-11.
- Apps & Games content ratings on Google Play
- "CTIA Mobile Application Ratings System with ESRB". ESRB.
- Chris Velazco (November 29, 2011). "CTIA And ESRB Debut App Rating System, No Buy-In From Google Or Apple". Techcrunch.
- Amazon.com: Angry Birds Rio HD (Fire Edition): Appstore for Android (click "guidance suggested" for information on rating system). Archive.
- Despicable Me: Minion Rush – BlackBerry World (click "Teen" for information on rating system). Archive.
External links
- "Set up parental controls on Google Play". Google. – on controlling what types of apps can be downloaded
- ESRB ratings