Have you found yourself playing an amazingly interesting game when you suddenly lose a life and you are peppered with a number of advertisements. A trivial waste of time that is just slightly irritating, right?
That's what many parents thought too when they handed their smartphones to their kids for playing games! All they expected was that their kid would download a fun free game and spend hours engaged. Little did they know that their little ones would be viewing highly inappropriate ads that could have a lasting psychological impact.
Recently, a malware called Adult Swine has come to light which has scared most parents. Even "safe" and popular games like The McQueen Car Racing Game, and others with 3 Million downloads, have been deleted from the Play Store because of it.
Why should you be worried?
The question really is that why shouldn't you be? Children are impressionable and can be hoodwinked really easily. They have not been exposed to the big bad world of malicious advertising. With malware like Adult Swine kids are exposed to a number of concerning advertisements.
Inappropriate Ads
In the formative years of a child, you do try to keep them away from things that can impact them negatively and unfortunately, the ads shown by malware do just that! With ads ranging from suggestive images to extremely graphic ones, it is integral that kids shouldn't see these types of ads.
Deceptive Install Tactics
If you look at an ad that tells you about your device having a virus that requires you to install an anti-virus app you'll just laugh and skip it. But kids are extremely vulnerable to app install tactics like this one simply because they might not have been exposed to such ads previously and may be scared of anything happening to their device. On downloading the app, you can imagine how quickly the sensitive data on their device can be stolen.
Registering for Premium Services
Everyone loves freebies, more so kids! If an ad asks them to fill in their personal details to register for a giveaway, they'll happily enter their data and cross their fingers to win. But they don't realize that they've given away personal data that can be used to register for paid services by the malware provider.
Is there a Solution?
We wish there was a way to install ad blockers on mobile phone apps but alas! That isn't a possibility so far.
But what if you could get ad-free versions of all games? With just a small monthly fee, parents can get unlimited access to a number of apps that their kids will love!
Appland's Kids Subscription Club focuses on ad-free, ethical and kid safe content. With Appland ensuring that there are no ads, in-app purchases, external links or the impending threat of malware parents can be sure that their kids are in safe hands.
It isn't possible for you to keep your kids safe from all kinds of dangers but you can certainly ensure that their mobile app usage is entirely so.
Do let me know in the comments below if malware like Adult Swine is as concerning to you, as it is to me. Would love to have an in-depth discussion with any concerned parents!
