Before installing anything on your child's device — a spelling app, a math app, a game — it's worth spending two minutes checking a few things most parents never think to look for. Educational apps get an automatic pass in a lot of households because they feel productive, but "educational" says nothing about whether an app is actually safe.
Here's what to actually check, for any kids' app, not just this one.
Does it require an account? If a free kids' app wants an email address, a birthdate, or a login before your child can do anything, ask why. A spelling app has no real reason to need your child's personal information to turn a word list into a game. If there's no clear reason for the account, that's the first flag.
Is it COPPA compliant, and what does that actually mean? COPPA (the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act) is a U.S. federal law restricting how apps aimed at kids under 13 can collect and use personal data. An app claiming COPPA compliance should mean: no behavioral advertising to your child, no selling data to third parties, and clear limits on what's collected in the first place. Don't just take the badge at face value — check the privacy policy for what data is actually collected, not just whether a compliance label is displayed.
Does it have ads, and what kind? Ads in kids' apps aren't automatically bad, but ad networks in free apps sometimes serve content that isn't reviewed for age-appropriateness, and some use tracking to target ads based on behavior — exactly what COPPA is meant to prevent. An ad-free app removes this risk entirely rather than asking you to trust a third-party ad network's judgment.
Where does audio or data actually go? If an app records your child's voice, or lets you record your own, check whether that stays on the device or gets uploaded somewhere. There's a real difference between a recording that never leaves your phone and one that's stored on a company's server indefinitely.
Can you lock it down? A basic PIN, Face ID, or parental gate on settings matters more than it seems — it's the difference between a kid accidentally deleting their whole word list and a parent controlling what changes.
Spelling Stream was built around this checklist rather than around growth metrics: no account required, no ads, COPPA-compliant by design, and voice recordings that stay on-device and are never uploaded. That's not a marketing claim to take on faith — it's the same list above, and you can verify each item yourself in the app's privacy policy before your child ever opens it.
Whatever app you land on, run this checklist first. Two minutes of checking beats finding out later.