Children’s online privacy is one of the most important considerations for parents choosing digital learning tools. The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) in the US, and equivalent legislation in the UK and EU, places strict requirements on websites that collect personal information from children under 13.
Understanding what these protections cover and how to identify genuinely safe educational games helps parents make better decisions.
What COPPA requires
COPPA (and the UK’s equivalent, the Age Appropriate Design Code, sometimes called the Children’s Code) requires that sites directed at children must:
- Obtain verifiable parental consent before collecting personal information from children under 13
- Clearly disclose what information is collected and how it is used
- Not condition participation on disclosing more personal information than necessary
- Maintain the confidentiality and security of any information collected
The simplest way for an educational games site to be safe for children is to collect no personal information at all. No login, no account creation, no tracking of individual users.
Why no-login games are the safest choice
Sites that require children to create accounts must comply with COPPA requirements for that account creation and subsequent data handling. Sites that do not require accounts, and do not collect personal information, have no compliance burden because there is nothing to comply with.
From a parent’s perspective, a game that requires no login and collects no personal data is safer than one that does, regardless of that site’s privacy policy.
KidsGames and child safety
KidsGames is designed specifically to be safe for children:
- No account creation is required or possible
- No personal information is collected
- No behavioural tracking of individual users
- No advertising directed at children
- Games work directly in any browser without installation
This design means KidsGames has no COPPA compliance issues because there is no personal data collection to regulate.
Identifying safe educational games sites
When evaluating any educational games site for children, ask:
Does it require account creation? If yes, understand what data is collected and how it is used.
Does it display advertising? Advertising directed at children raises concerns about targeted advertising practices.
Does it have a clear, readable privacy policy? Legitimate children’s sites have privacy policies that clearly state what data is collected.
Does it use third-party tracking? Many sites use advertising trackers and analytics tools that collect data regardless of whether accounts are created.
Is it age-appropriate throughout? Not just the games, but also any advertising, links, or other content.
The games on KidsGames
All games on KidsGames are completely safe for children to use independently:
Times Table Sprint, Phonics Match, Typing Game, Science Quiz, Animal Match, and over 120 others are all accessible directly without any data collection.
Parents can bookmark specific games and give children direct access to those links, knowing that no personal information can be collected through the game play.
Practical tip: For parents who want to monitor which games their child plays without tracking software, simply sit with your child occasionally during game sessions. Direct parental involvement is the most effective monitoring approach and has educational benefits beyond safety oversight.