Read the exact privacy notice before setup, limit permissions to intended features, and remember that COPPA duties belong to covered operators—not to a caregiver’s checkbox.
Separate the company’s duties from your choices
A connected toy may use an app, microphone, camera, account, location feature, or internet connection. FTC says internet-enabled toys and smart speakers can be online services covered by COPPA. For covered operators, COPPA requires a clear online privacy policy, direct notice to parents, and verifiable parental consent before collecting personal information from children, subject to limited exceptions. Those are duties of the operator; they are not tasks a caregiver can complete by accepting a confusing screen.
The practical caregiver choice is whether the product’s setup makes enough sense to proceed. Read who operates the app or service, what information is collected, whether audio, photos, video, persistent identifiers, or location are involved, why the information is used, whom it is shared with, and how a parent can review or delete it. If the answers are unclear, do not assume a child’s age or a parental password makes the setup privacy-neutral.
Sources: Complying with COPPA: Frequently Asked Questions · 16 CFR Part 312: COPPA - Final Rule Amendments
Pause before the first permission prompt
Set up the toy yourself before handing it over, rather than tapping through prompts while a child waits. Look for an offline mode or a way to use the core play features without creating a child profile. Only grant device permissions that are necessary for the feature you intend to use. If a microphone, camera, contacts, precise location, or photo-library permission seems unrelated to that use, pause and seek the manufacturer’s explanation through its documented support channel.
Editorial suggestion: write down the account email, product serial or model, enabled permissions, and the route to the privacy controls. Review those settings after app updates or when a new caregiver is adding the toy to another device. This record does not ensure compliance and it does not substitute for the company’s notice, consent, security, or data-management obligations. It gives the caregiver a way to revisit choices rather than relying on memory.
Sources: Complying with COPPA: Frequently Asked Questions · FTC Takes Action Against Robot Toy Maker for Allowing Collection of Children’s Data without Parental Consent
Keep the claim modest and current
FTC’s COPPA materials are especially useful because they distinguish collection from a child from every possible device action. For example, its FAQ explains a narrow enforcement-policy situation for voice audio collected only briefly to carry out a search or instruction; that does not mean every microphone-equipped toy is exempt from privacy review. The product’s own features, data flow, and policy matter. Read the notice attached to the exact app and version rather than borrowing reassurance from a different device.
A privacy policy also does not answer whether the toy is worthwhile for your family. For ages 12–36 months, decide separately whether a connected feature adds enough practical value to justify the account and ongoing maintenance. A simple toy can be a valid choice, and declining a setup is not depriving a child of an outcome. This guide makes no claim that a privacy setting makes a connected toy safe, secure, or developmentally beneficial.
Sources: Complying with COPPA: Frequently Asked Questions · 16 CFR Part 312: COPPA - Final Rule Amendments
Sources & limits
Practical setups are editorial suggestions. Research findings apply to the populations and conditions studied; they are not product tests by Toy Almanac.
- Complying with COPPA: Frequently Asked Questions ↗
FTC explanation of COPPA coverage for connected toys and covered operators’ notice, consent, and privacy-policy duties.
Checked 2026-09-19 - 16 CFR Part 312: COPPA - Final Rule Amendments ↗
FTC final-rule amendments page used to establish current COPPA regulatory context.
Source date: 2025-04-22 · Checked 2026-09-19 - FTC Takes Action Against Robot Toy Maker for Allowing Collection of Children’s Data without Parental Consent ↗
FTC enforcement announcement illustrating that operator duties can include third-party collection in a connected-toy app.
Source date: 2025-09-03 · Checked 2026-09-19
