SDK and data flow map
Every SDK, form, API, and server that receives child data, with what it collects and where it goes.
The Problem
A Parent Asked What Your App Collects and Nobody Could Answer
It shows up when a kids' app grows fast, a school asks about student privacy, or an SDK turns out to share device IDs with ad networks.
01 · SDKs
Ad and analytics SDKs collect device IDs from every child.
We inventory every SDK and switch off or replace what collects too much.
02 · Age screen
The age screen defaults to an adult birth year.
A neutral age screen asks for age without nudging the answer.
03 · Consent
Children sign up before any parent is asked.
Parental consent runs before collection, with a separate ask for third parties.
04 · Retention
Child data is kept forever because nobody set a limit.
A written retention schedule runs as automatic deletion jobs.
Your math app for kids took off in classrooms and app stores. Then a parent emailed to ask what data you keep on their child, and nobody could answer. The analytics and ad SDKs collect device IDs from every user. Your age screen defaults to an adult birth year, which the FTC says is not neutral. The amended rule's compliance date passed in April 2026, and an FTC letter could arrive before your next release.
We start by listing every SDK, form, and server that touches a child's data, and what each one collects. Then we rebuild the age screen so it is neutral, add verifiable parental consent with an FTC-approved method, and ask separately before any third party gets data. Retention limits become deletion jobs in your code. Parents get straight answers, and your releases stop carrying hidden data risk.
Every SDK accounted for
Each library, form, and server that touches child data, listed with what it collects.
Neutral age screens
Age collected without defaults or hints, so mixed-audience apps route children correctly.
Consent before collection
Verifiable parental consent with an approved method, plus a separate ask for third-party sharing.
Our COPPA Compliance Process
From SDK Audit to Consent Flows in Five Clear Steps
You approve the data map, see each gap against the amended rule, and review every age screen, consent flow, and SDK change before it ships to users.
We look at your audience, app store listings, and sign-up flow to judge whether COPPA applies and how. You get a written scope and a fixed price. If your service isn't aimed at children and you have no younger users, we'll tell you before we quote.
What's Included
What You Get When Your Product Must Be COPPA Compliant
Each engagement covers the SDK and data map, a checklist against the amended rule, the age screen, consent flows, retention jobs, and the notices your plan includes.
Compare Options
DeveloperLook vs Privacy lawyer vs Consent vendor
A privacy lawyer gives the legal advice you need, and a consent vendor can verify parents at scale. Here is where each one stops short of changing your code.
| Feature | DeveloperLookBest fit | Privacy lawyer | Consent vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| Legal analysis | Plain summary, questions flagged | Yes, binding legal advice | Not included |
| SDK audit | Every SDK tested in your build | Based on what you report | Not included |
| Age screen | Built neutral in your app | Reviewed for wording | Sometimes included |
| Parental consent | Built into your sign-up flow | Advice on methods | Yes, verification at scale |
| Third-party sharing | Separate consent coded in | Policy guidance | Depends on the product |
| Retention | Deletion jobs in your code | Policy drafted | Not included |
| Notices | Drafted for counsel review | Yes, final wording | Templates provided |
| Cost | Fixed price from $750 | Hourly legal rates | Per-verification fees |
DeveloperLook
Privacy lawyer
- Legal analysis
- DeveloperLook: Plain summary, questions flaggedPrivacy lawyer: Yes, binding legal advice
- SDK audit
- DeveloperLook: Every SDK tested in your buildPrivacy lawyer: Based on what you report
- Age screen
- DeveloperLook: Built neutral in your appPrivacy lawyer: Reviewed for wording
- Parental consent
- DeveloperLook: Built into your sign-up flowPrivacy lawyer: Advice on methods
- Third-party sharing
- DeveloperLook: Separate consent coded inPrivacy lawyer: Policy guidance
- Retention
- DeveloperLook: Deletion jobs in your codePrivacy lawyer: Policy drafted
- Notices
- DeveloperLook: Drafted for counsel reviewPrivacy lawyer: Yes, final wording
- Cost
- DeveloperLook: Fixed price from $750Privacy lawyer: Hourly legal rates
Projects We've Built
eLearning Apps and Websites We Have Built
eLearning apps and websites we designed and built. Learning products like these often reach younger users, which is where COPPA starts to apply.
Educo E-Learning App UI/UX Design and Development
- Education
- Dashboard
- Mobile App
Gradely E-Learning Website Design & Development
- Education
- Dashboard
- Membership Platform
Edutech E-Learning Web Design & Development
- Education
- Dashboard
- E-commerce
UniSkill E-Learning App Design & Development
- Education
- Dashboard
- Mobile App
What Our Clients Say
What Clients Say After Launch
Feedback from teams we have built learning apps, platforms, and websites for.
We had a pretty specific idea of what we wanted our website to become, but I wasn’t sure how easily we could explain all of it to a development team. There were quite a few moving parts, and we were working toward a deadline, so I expected a few things to get lost along the way. That never really happened. They understood what we were trying to achieve, kept us updated throughout the process, and got everything ready within the agreed timeline. The final site feels much easier to navigate, works beautifully on mobile, and is noticeably smoother for our customers. It was a huge relief seeing the original idea actually turn into the website we had in mind.
The mobile experience is probably my favourite part of the new site. We had spent a lot of time making sure the desktop version looked right, and the team kept pushing us to think about how everything would actually feel on a phone too. They were right. The navigation is clean, the interactions feel natural, and everything we’ve tested so far works exactly as it should. They also went through the links, forms, integrations, and other details more than once before launch, which I really appreciated. And even after going live, we could still reach out when something came up. The whole process felt friendly, organised, and surprisingly straightforward.
What I appreciate most is that the website is actually easy for us to manage now. We can update content ourselves instead of sending a developer a message every time we need to change something small. They also paid attention to the technical SEO side, which mattered to us because we didn’t want a new website to create problems for the traffic we already had. I’ve probably asked more questions than I should have since launch, but every question has been handled patiently and without any fuss. The team is easy to work with, they explain things clearly, and when we need something changed, they focus on getting it done rather than making the process complicated.
1,250+
Projects shipped
10+
Years of experience
Top 3%
Upwork Top Rated Plus
5 stars
Average review score
Want results like these?
Tell us what you are building. You get a reply within 24 hours on business days, then a written estimate.
Work Culture
Why Kids' Product Teams Trust Us With COPPA Work
Children's data deserves extra care, and so do the families who trust your product. These habits keep collection small and every fix testable.
Engineering beside your counsel
We read the rule closely and flag legal questions for your lawyer. Counsel decides whether you're child-directed, and we build what that decision requires.
Test the real build
We inspect network traffic from your actual app, not just the SDK documentation. Default settings often send more than the vendor's page suggests.
Kids' experience first
Consent steps and age screens should not frustrate children or parents. We design flows that are clear for a parent and simple for a young user.
Collect less, delete sooner
The cheapest data to protect is data you didn't collect. We cut fields and SDKs before building controls around them.
Changes behind tests
Every age screen, consent flow, and SDK change ships with tests. A future release can't quietly switch data sharing back on.
Your code and records
Consent records, retention jobs, and policies live in your systems and repos. We hand back all access at the end with a list of what changed.
Overview
How does COPPA compliance work for apps and websites?
DeveloperLook provides COPPA compliance work for apps and websites that children use. We inventory every SDK and data flow, build a neutral age screen and verifiable parental consent, add separate consent for third-party sharing, and turn retention rules into code. Projects start at $750 and take 1 to 12 weeks, working alongside your privacy counsel.
DEVELOPERLOOK
Project facts · COPPA Compliance for Apps and Websites
- Service
- COPPA compliance work (SDK audit, age screen, parental consent, retention)
- Typical timeline
- 1 to 2 weeks to audit, 3 to 12 weeks to fix
- Platforms
- iOS, Android, React Native, Flutter, and web apps
- Built with
- Charles Proxy, Firebase Authentication, Twilio, PostgreSQL, and Node.js
- Experience
- 10+ years of development experience and 1,250+ shipped projects
- Post-launch support
- 60 days of support after handover
- Communication
- Calls in US, UK, and AU business hours
- Starting price
- From $750 USD, fixed scope after a free product review
Reviewed 23 Oct 2026 by Saimul Islam
Good fit
Kids' app and game studios
Your game is built for children, the ad SDKs collect device IDs by default, and you need to be COPPA compliant before the next store review.
Edtech companies selling to schools
Your learning app signs district contracts that ask for FERPA and COPPA compliance, and you need consent flows that work for each school and class.
Family and toy brands with websites
Your brand site runs contests, videos, and newsletter forms that children use, and nobody has checked what the marketing tags collect.
General apps with young users
Your general-audience app learned from support emails that some users are under 13, which gives you actual knowledge and new duties.
Agencies building for kids' brands
Your agency builds sites and apps for children's brands, and you want a partner to handle the COPPA engineering under your name.
Not a fit
Need legal advice
You need a legal opinion on whether your service is directed to children. A privacy lawyer should answer that, and we build to their decision.
Teen and adult users only
Your users are 13 or older and you have no knowledge of younger ones. Our privacy compliance and consent management page covers adult privacy rules.
Security review only
You only need a security review of your app or site. Our website security audit services page covers that without the COPPA work.
Budget under $750
Your budget is under $750 and your site only shows content, with no forms or tracking. The FTC's COPPA compliance overview and FAQs may be enough.
Not sure we're the right fit?
Book a free call or message us. We'll tell you honestly whether we're the right team.
Pricing
Transparent Starting Prices for COPPA Compliance
These are starting points in USD. Your final price depends on your platforms, SDK count, and sign-up paths, and you get a fixed proposal after a free product review.
For kids' apps and sites that need to know what they collect and where the gaps are.
$750one-time, USD
- Free product and audience review
- SDK and data flow map with traffic tests
- Age screen and sign-up flow review
- Checklist against the amended COPPA Rule
- Gap list ranked by risk and effort
- 60 days of support after handover
Recommended
For products that need the age screen, parental consent, and SDK changes built in code.
$2,900one-time, USD
- Everything in COPPA Audit
- Neutral age screen built into sign-up
- Verifiable parental consent with one approved method
- Separate consent for third-party disclosure
- Ad and analytics SDKs reconfigured or replaced
- Written retention policy and draft notices
For apps and platforms that need parent tools, deletion jobs, and school consent flows.
$6,200one-time, USD
- Everything in Consent and SDK Fixes
- Parent dashboard to review, delete, and revoke
- Automatic deletion jobs per retention schedule
- Written information security program
- School consent flow for classroom use
- Second consent method, such as text plus
For Agencies
White-Label COPPA Engineering for Agencies and Studios
You own the client relationship. We supply the SDK audits, age screens, and parental consent flows under your brand. Your kids' brand clients get COPPA engineering without you building a privacy team.
How the partnership works
White label: your client only ever sees your brand
- Your client
- You, the agency
- DeveloperLook
Share the client brief
Send the client's apps, audience, SDK list, and any app store or FTC deadline.
- Client needs
- You share the details
- Details received
We scope and price
You get a written scope, the access we need, and a fixed price per client.
- Scope and plan
- Proposal to resell
- Your quoteYOUR LOGO
Audit, build, hand off
We audit, build the fixes, and hand over code and notes in your format.
- Done by our team
- Your brand on it
- Handed to your clientDone
Partner with DeveloperLookDelivered under your brand
Stay client-facing
You present the fixes while we work in the client's codebase.
Code, not just reports
Age screens and consent flows shipped as pull requests your team reviews.
Web and mobile
Coverage for websites, iOS, Android, and cross-platform apps alike.
Repeatable per client
The same checklist and flows reused for every kids' brand you serve.
The Right Technology for Your Project
Technology Stack
We work in the mobile, web, and backend stacks kids' products run on, and test real network traffic to see what each SDK sends.
React Native
Flutter- Swift
- Kotlin
Next.js
- Charles Proxy
- mitmproxy
- Android Studio
- Xcode
Firebase Authentication- Auth0
Twilio
Stripe
PostgreSQL
Node.js
AWS
Google Cloud
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Straight answers on cost, timing, what COPPA requires, who it covers, and how to comply before or after launch.
Saimul IslamFounder & CEO, DeveloperLookStill have questions?
Send a message or book a call with the team.
Our COPPA compliance work starts at $750 for an audit of your SDKs, data flows, and consent gaps. Building the neutral age screen, parental consent, and SDK fixes moves you to $2,900, and a full build with a parent dashboard and deletion jobs starts at $6,200. Legal review by your privacy counsel and consent vendor fees are separate.
COPPA compliance for an existing app takes 1 to 2 weeks to audit and 3 to 12 weeks to fix. Swapping ad SDKs and rebuilding sign-up are the slow parts, especially across iOS, Android, and web. App store review adds a few days to each mobile release, so we plan releases early.
COPPA compliance means following the FTC's Children's Online Privacy Protection Rule when your service collects personal information from children under 13. That covers notices, verifiable parental consent, parent access and deletion rights, data security, and retention limits. It applies to child-directed services and to general services that know a user is under 13.
COPPA requires a clear privacy notice, verifiable parental consent before collecting a child's personal information, and parent rights to review and delete it. Since the 2025 amendments, operators also need separate consent before disclosing data to third parties, a written retention policy, and a written information security program. Persistent identifiers count as personal information too.
The COPPA regulations are the FTC's Children's Online Privacy Protection Rule, 16 CFR Part 312, issued under the 1998 COPPA statute. The FTC amended the rule in 2025, with most new duties enforceable from April 22, 2026. Violations can bring civil penalties of up to $53,088 each under the FTC's 2025 inflation adjustment.
COPPA works by making operators get a parent's verifiable consent before collecting personal information from a child under 13. The FTC and state attorneys general enforce it, and FTC-approved Safe Harbor programs review their members' practices. Narrow exceptions, such as support for internal operations, still can't be used for targeted ads or profiles.
No, COPPA protects children under 13, so a 13-year-old is outside the rule. Teen data may still fall under state privacy laws, app store policies, or your own commitments. Mixed-audience services need a neutral age screen to tell children and teens apart without nudging the answer.
Generally no, because most nonprofits fall outside the FTC Act, so COPPA usually doesn't cover them. A nonprofit that operates for the profit of its commercial members can be covered, though. The FTC encourages every nonprofit serving children to follow COPPA anyway, and doing so protects the families you serve.
Comply with COPPA in an existing app by auditing what it collects today, then fixing gaps in order of risk. Turn off or replace SDKs that collect identifiers for ads, add a neutral age screen, and move sign-up behind verifiable parental consent. Then set retention limits and delete old child data you no longer need.
COPPA compliance is easier to build before launch than to retrofit later. Your data model, SDKs, and sign-up flow can follow the rule from day one. Collect only what each feature needs, pick a consent method early, and write the retention and security programs before real children use the product.
Saimul IslamFounder & CEO, DeveloperLookStill have questions?
Send a message or book a call with the team.
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