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It's almost impossible to find good educational apps that aren't full of ads, dark UX patterns, in-app purchases, etc etc. I remember an abundance of education

It's almost impossible to find good educational apps that aren't full of ads, dark UX patterns, in-app purchases, etc etc. I remember an abundance of educational programs back in the pre-Internet days. Simple Alphabet/Number matching games, click-to-colour-in games, shape identification games, etc. Most came on disks on magazines, or given away free at meetups and events. I expected educational stuff to explode with the internet and smart phones, but instead.. ugh. We really do need a new category in both app stores. Software for kids that you buy, and then that's it. No ads, no in-app purchases, no trickery or bullshit. It should be curated by an educator and have strict rules. They make more than enough off the app store profits to cover an educator who finds, tests, and adds apps each day to this category and slowly fill it with quality educational apps we can trust with our kids. They won't though, because they don't actually care. The more they can train kids to be ok with ads and IAP the more profit they'll make later. It's a form of brainwashing.

hkmurakami 8y ago
There were so many good ones in the early Mac days. I loved playing Outnumbered as a kid and it probably my helped me on a path to great comfort and memory for numbers decades later.
SmellyGeekBoy 8y ago
> It's almost impossible to find good apps that aren't full of ads, dark UX patterns, in-app purchases, etc etc. Fixed that for you...
- icebraining 8y ago
  F-Droid has plenty of good apps. It just might lack in specific categories, like educational.
whywhywhywhy 8y ago
> We really do need a new category in both app stores. Software for kids that you buy People don't want to pay though, I understand that you want to pay and I want to pay but you have to realize you and me are absolutely the minority.
VLM 8y ago
We're past the social era of computing and everything now is your "full of ads, dark UX patterns, in-app purchases" Plus notification spam, siloing your data away from you, weird/illegal financialization schemes, and selling your data. That's really all there is out there anymore; its not exclusively a kids gaming app problem.
- Can_Not 8y ago
  It's also leaking into the non-digital world.
claudiulodro 8y ago
I recommend the PBS Kids Games app. It has a ton of different educational games and no ads. It's available in the app store and on the website[1]. That's just about the best kids games app I've found. [1] https://pbskids.org/games/ https://pbskids.org/games/
TaupeRanger 8y ago
This really silly. Literally all Android games I've downloaded that are appropriate for my 3 year old are ad free (or very minimal "out of the way" ads for other stuff from the same company). Khan Academy Kids, the PBS Kids app, the Sago Mini games, etc. These are all fine.
protomyth 8y ago
Question: If we sell an education math app that is a free download but limits the numbers (say 1 to 5) but has an in-app purchase to get the full range, is that acceptable?
- Balgair 8y ago
  > If we sell an education math app that is a free download... (emphasis mine) Wait, I'm confused here. Are you (hypothetically, yes) selling something or giving away just half of it hoping that you can eventually sell the other half?
  - protomyth 8y ago
    Well, seemed a lot more family friendly than Ads. More like giving a taste with the smaller numbers, and seeing if its something that is worth buying.
    - Balgair 8y ago
      Oh, like food samples at Costco. Got it.
      - protomyth 8y ago
        Yeah, that is about right. I just don't like the whole concept of ads with children's education. Also, we are trying for a low distraction feel and ads would really make things difficult for some children who really need to have the distractions at minimal.
- ObsoleteNerd 8y ago
  If buying it then means the transaction between us is over, and I get a fully working app with no ads, no popups asking to buy extra "coins" or anything, and my kid can play that app with no other interruptions or anything I need to be wary of, then yeah that sounds fine. Just sounds like a free trial/demo to me which is fair.

hkmurakami 8y ago

There were so many good ones in the early Mac days. I loved playing Outnumbered as a kid and it probably my helped me on a path to great comfort and memory for numbers decades later.

SmellyGeekBoy 8y ago

> It's almost impossible to find good apps that aren't full of ads, dark UX patterns, in-app purchases, etc etc. Fixed that for you...

icebraining 8y ago
F-Droid has plenty of good apps. It just might lack in specific categories, like educational.

whywhywhywhy 8y ago

> We really do need a new category in both app stores. Software for kids that you buy People don't want to pay though, I understand that you want to pay and I want to pay but you have to realize you and me are absolutely the minority.

VLM 8y ago

We're past the social era of computing and everything now is your "full of ads, dark UX patterns, in-app purchases" Plus notification spam, siloing your data away from you, weird/illegal financialization schemes, and selling your data. That's really all there is out there anymore; its not exclusively a kids gaming app problem.

Can_Not 8y ago
It's also leaking into the non-digital world.

claudiulodro 8y ago

I recommend the PBS Kids Games app. It has a ton of different educational games and no ads. It's available in the app store and on the website[1]. That's just about the best kids games app I've found. [1] https://pbskids.org/games/ https://pbskids.org/games/

TaupeRanger 8y ago

This really silly. Literally all Android games I've downloaded that are appropriate for my 3 year old are ad free (or very minimal "out of the way" ads for other stuff from the same company). Khan Academy Kids, the PBS Kids app, the Sago Mini games, etc. These are all fine.

protomyth 8y ago

Question: If we sell an education math app that is a free download but limits the numbers (say 1 to 5) but has an in-app purchase to get the full range, is that acceptable?

Balgair 8y ago
> If we sell an education math app that is a free download... (emphasis mine) Wait, I'm confused here. Are you (hypothetically, yes) selling something or giving away just half of it hoping that you can eventually sell the other half?
- protomyth 8y ago
  Well, seemed a lot more family friendly than Ads. More like giving a taste with the smaller numbers, and seeing if its something that is worth buying.
  - Balgair 8y ago
    Oh, like food samples at Costco. Got it.
    - protomyth 8y ago
      Yeah, that is about right. I just don't like the whole concept of ads with children's education. Also, we are trying for a low distraction feel and ads would really make things difficult for some children who really need to have the distractions at minimal.
ObsoleteNerd 8y ago
If buying it then means the transaction between us is over, and I get a fully working app with no ads, no popups asking to buy extra "coins" or anything, and my kid can play that app with no other interruptions or anything I need to be wary of, then yeah that sounds fine. Just sounds like a free trial/demo to me which is fair.