Safety Ratings score one thing: how a website or online game treats a child or a teen on an ordinary day. They do not score whether a company can be hacked. They do not score graphics, fun, or price. A high rating means the safer settings are real and, in the best cases, already on.
Every review uses this page. The date on a review is the day the company’s own help page was opened. If that page moves, the review is stale. This is not legal advice, and it is not a promise that a product is safe.
The four levels
A product gets one level. We do not average two levels into a number.
- Built for children. There is a separate kids experience, or the account starts with child limits already on. A parent may still need to finish setup. The protective defaults are not hidden.
- Safer after setup. Parent tools exist, and they work if someone turns them on and keeps the passcode. The first day, before that setup, is not the safe day.
- Teen, with limits. The product is built for teens. Parent tools are optional, partial, or the teen can undo them. A younger child does not belong here without a stricter product.
- Not for children. There is no real parent control, or the product is for adults and a child login is a workaround. Do not use it for a child.
What every review looks at
The same questions, in the same order, so two reviews can be compared.
- Day one. What can a new account do before a parent changes anything? Age gates count only if the company says what happens when the age is under 13, or under 18.
- Parent controls. What can a parent actually turn off: chat, friends, purchases, public posts, screen time? Name the company’s tool. Do not invent a menu.
- What a parent cannot see. Message text, search history, and a second account are named if the company says they are out of reach.
- Strangers and money. Who can contact the child, and who can spend? A gift card, a platform wallet, and a console store are not the same switch.
- The false age. If typing an older birthday removes the limits, the review says so. It does not explain how to fake an age.
Awards
Most reviews get no award. An award is for an exceptional standout, good or bad, that a family would miss in a normal settings tour. Both awards cite the company’s own page.
Family Default Award
The protective setting is already on. A parent does not have to find a buried switch before the account is usable. The review still names the age cutoff, and what happens if the account says the child is older than they are. A product can win this and still need a parent to finish setup.
Check Before You Install
This is the negative award. It is not a ban, and it is not a claim that a company wants to harm anyone. It means the company’s own help page shows a default or a gap a parent can miss. A common example is a chat switch that does not cover chat a game developer built. Read that gap before you install. Then decide.
We do not give this award because of a rumor, a lawsuit we did not read, or a scary headline. If the company’s page does not show the gap, there is no award.
What a rating will not say
- It will not say a child is safe from every stranger, scam, or mistake.
- It will not rank two games against each other with a score.
- It will not copy a privacy policy. Short quotes only, with a link.
- It will not tell anyone how to bypass a parent control, a chat limit, or an age gate.
- It will not treat a paid “spy” app as a safety feature.
How to use a review
Read the level, then the award if there is one, then “what to turn on.” If you only have ten minutes, do that list. The Family Safety: Start Here checklist is the wider setup. These ratings are the product-by-product layer.
Browse the dated reviews in Safety Ratings.
This page is the method, not a rating of a specific company. It is not legal advice. A review is stale when the company’s help page changes the default or the parent tool.