On behalf of Meta, Morning Consult conducted a nationwide survey of US parents of children under 18 to find out what they thought about creating a law for mandatory parental approval when children under 16 download apps.

The survey also aimed to determine which of the two ways – “App Store” or “Apps” is safer and easier for parents to give their approval.

Here are the survey results:

The majority of survey participants (79%) support the idea of creating a law that requires parents’ prior approval when their children download a particular app.

– Four in five parents (79%) support a law that requires parental approval for children under 16 before downloading apps.

This legislation is supported by two types of parents – parents with Democratic views (81%) and parents with Republican views (79%).

Meta Morning Consult polled parents in the survey and asked what the most appropriate age is for their children (some of them already teenagers) to download an app of their choice without needing the approval of at least one of both parents.

Parents in the US share a common opinion

Responses were again similar to previous ones with 55% of parents supporting the idea that under-16s should not be allowed to download apps without parental permission.

Parents with Democratic views, 54%, and parents with Republican views, 56%, are also united in the idea of prior approval from at least one parent before a minor can download the app they want.

Over 75% of parents prefer using app stores as a more convenient and secure option for approving app downloads for their children.

When asked about the easiest method for parental approval of their child’s app usage, 76% of parents favor a centralized approach, such as using an app store, while only 24% find it easier to approve apps individually after downloading.

This preference for a unified approval process holds true across political affiliations:

• Democratic-leaning parents: 76% prefer approval in one place (e.g., app store)
• Republican-leaning parents: 77% prefer approval in one place (e.g., app store)

Furthermore, a significant majority (76%) of parents trust app stores over individual apps to securely handle the necessary personal data for verifying parental approval. In contrast, only 24% express trust in the apps themselves.

This trust in app stores is consistent among both Democratic-leaning and Republican-leaning parents:

• Democratic-leaning parents: 77% trust app stores
• Republican-leaning parents: 75% trust app stores

What is your opinion on the subject? Do you approve of the creation of a parental approval law for the downloading of apps by children under the age of 16? Email us at [email protected].