AgeCheq's Unity SDK allows developers to automatically import all AgeCheq files directly into a game. You submit your developer key, app ID, then recompile. Implementing it takes about five minutes. Smith admits that although AgeCheq's Unity SDK streamlines COPPA compliance, "Our system takes away probably 85 percent of the pain." The game developer still has to actually disclose what information the game captures, and must adequately protect the data their game captures in an organized way. And AgeCheq's solution doesn't delete third-party-collected data from services like ad networks. "People want a quick fix - a pill that can make you a foot taller. We can't do that, but we can do what we can do," Smith says. "But to comply with COPPA, you do need proper data management systems within your company." COPPA is something that game developers have to deal with head-on. Both Apple and Google lobbied hard to exclude themselves, as platform holders, from COPPA-compliance. Moves such as iOS 8's Ask to Buy option - which allows for parental approval of purchases - are focused on parental approval, not COPPA and kids' privacy. Apple in particular wants to avoid another $32.5 million refund settlement. "Neither Apple nor Google have shown any sign of wanting to get in the COPPA business," says Smith. "In fact, they spent money to get out of the COPPA business." He adds, "There's a lot of plumbing and notification that is completely alien to what a game developer does. We've taken care of that."
- Making sure the game positively identifies the parent in charge of the app - Giving the parent a dashboard to manage the apps that they're allowing kids to use - Making sure the game discloses to the parent, before a child can play the game, all the private data that the game captures - Making sure that if the parent decides to stop their kid from playing a game, all the data that it captured while playing will be deleted
New offering aims to take sting out of COPPA compliance for Unity devs
With the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act in full effect, one company is offering a way to help developers comply with COPPA's complex guidelines.