Unrestricted web access - Designing Apps for kids without getting a +17 rating?
BigDave
Member Posts: 2,239
I encountered that rejection reason on Apple a few times.
Using the Open URL feature will make your apps rating 17+
So referring to your Facebook page or a youtube video will make a 17+ rated app out of your app even if it is designed for kids.
Is there any way to avoid that?
Does embedded Browser and not embedded Browser have an impact on that?
Comments
Apple is getting out of control with this stuff. It should be up to parents to keep an eye on their kids. Sometimes Apple is too PC for it's own good.
Are you guys experiencing the same with Google?
@mhedges nope
but they also don't check their apps until they become big and then decide to feature or permanently delete your app.
What age is the target audience of your app?
@pHghost 8-11
If you have embedded browser, thats what caused the rejection.
@Lovejoy so in other words if you don't check embedded browser your ok
I think that could be since their standard browser might have parental control options
you have to put the links behind the parental gate, that's all
I agree with @Lovejoy it's the embedded browser that causes the rejection.
@jorkos how would i do that?
@RabidParrot ok good to know
how would i do that?
@BigDave
just put some simple question like "what is your age "
if the user enters the number greater than some value(example >18). then open the browser (link).If they enter less than 18 ,show pop up says "restricted area come with parents bla blaa bla...
If the embedded browser does not have a dynamic address bar ie you can't navigate away from the open page the app should not get rejected. The GS embedded browser does not have an address bar so that is not the issue. I have had more than one app approved with the embedded browser going to my more games site and a Facebook page with no issues. The app will only be rejected if the embedded browser has a dynamic address bar which is not the case with GS. If you use the safari browser the app is more likely to get rejected as you have a navigation bar present which allows unrestricted web access and you need to select unrestricted web access in iTunes for the app to get approved. You might have just had a bad reviewer or he/she had a problem with the sites you are opening in the embedded browser ...
Edit: A simple parental gateway will overcome that too similar to what NimbleBug said ...
@NimbleBug thanks @neoman insightful thanks
@BigDave
What do you mean with embedded browser and standard browser?
From what I understand you had an open URL behavior linked to your facebook page, which opened in safari, and apple rejected that?
@BigDave
Keep in mind that most Facebook pages don't show unless you have a Facebook account and that you have to be at least 13 years old to have one. Might not be this, but could be a possibility.
@BigDave I missed the bit that the app is designed for kids ... Sorry I was reading too fast.
My comment above was related to Apps in general with a rating of 4+. If you have an App designed for kids' that has access to any website you need to implement a parental gateway or remove the links for it to be approved. A parental gateway can be a simple calculation or something similar that needs to be answered correctly before the link opens. Here is a demo someone uploaded a while back.
http://forums.gamesalad.com/discussion/71829/template-share-here-is-a-simple-parental-gate-i-made-for-external-links
I hope I was clear this time if you need any more clarification please let me know.
thanks @neoman