Client Overview StorySquad is a mobile application that encourages children to engage with literature and develop reading and writing skills. It aims to promote creativity and improve literacy rates among children.
Problem Statement: StorySquad targets children under 13, so the app must comply with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). This act mandates that online services that collect personal information from children must obtain parental consent before doing so. Unfortunately, StorySquad's existing app did not have a COPPA-compliant system.
Project Scope The project's scope was to design and implement a COPPA-compliant system that would allow StorySquad to collect the personal information of its users under the age of 13 while also obtaining parental consent.
Research and Analysis As the UX Designer for this project, my first step was to conduct extensive research on COPPA and its requirements. In addition, I reviewed the COPPA compliance guidelines. Finally, I identified the features and functionalities the app needed to include to comply with the law.
Next, I conducted a thorough analysis of StorySquad's existing app. Finally, I identified areas where children's personal information was being collected. This helped me to determine the specific features that would need to be modified or added to the app to comply with COPPA.
Design and Development Based on my research and Analysis, I designed a COPPA-compliant system for StorySquad. The plan included the following features:
A parental consent process would require parents to consent before their child's personal information could be collected. The consent process was designed to be clear, concise, and understandable for parents.
Age verification: An age verification process was implemented to ensure that the app is only used by children under 13. Users would be asked to enter their date of birth. If they are under 13, they would be prompted to provide their parent's contact information to obtain parental consent.
Parental controls: Once parental consent was obtained, parents could access a dashboard to manage their child's accounts and monitor their activity on the app. This would give parents control over their child's online activity.
Results The COPPA-compliant system was successfully implemented in the StorySquad app. The parental consent process was streamlined and easy to use. The age verification and parental control features ensured that the app was only used by children under 13 with their parent's permission.
As the UX Designer for StorySquad's COPPA compliance project, I designed and implemented a system that helped the app comply with the COPPA guidelines. This ensured that StorySquad could continue collecting personal information from children under 13 while also protecting their privacy and complying with the law.
