Blog · By Ludovic, dad and maker of Piyoo · November 3, 2026

Kids apps without ads: how to find the ones that really are

You hand over the tablet for ten quiet minutes, and thirty seconds later your kid is watching a loud ad for a casino style game, or worse, tapping straight into the App Store. If that sounds familiar, you are not alone. Here is how to find kids apps that are really ad free, without spending your evening reading privacy policies.

Why ads in kids apps are such a problem

Adults scroll past ads. A three year old does not. Small children often cannot tell an ad from the game itself, so they tap it. That one tap can open the App Store, a web page, or a video that has nothing to do with their age.

Before building Piyoo, I read through about 21,000 public reviews of kids coloring and drawing apps, focusing on the 1 to 3 star ones. Around one in nine negative reviews was about ads. The same stories kept coming back:

• An ad after almost every action, so the child spends more time waiting than playing.
• Ads that send the child to the store or the browser.
• Ads clearly made for adults showing up in an app rated for little kids, including violent games.
• Parents who paid to remove ads, then saw ads for the developer's other apps anyway.

The American Academy of Pediatrics has raised the same concern in its policy statement on young children and media, pointing out that a lot of apps marketed as educational are built around commercial content and distractions rather than learning (AAP, Media and Young Minds).

What "no ads" can actually mean

"No ads" on a store listing can hide very different realities. Here is how to read it.

No ads at all

No third party ads and no promotion of other apps, in the free part and the paid part. This is what most parents mean, and it is the rarest.

No ads after you pay

The free version shows ads, and a purchase or subscription removes them. That can be fair, but check whether the "remove ads" purchase is permanent and whether it covers cross promotion too.

No third party ads, but house ads

Some developers do not sell ad space but show banners for their own apps. It is less risky, yet a child can still end up on the store page.

Apps in the Kids category

On the App Store, apps in the Kids category must follow stricter rules: no third party advertising or analytics in most cases, and links out of the app or purchase screens must sit behind a parental gate (App Store Review Guidelines, Kids category). That category is a good first filter. It is not a guarantee of quality, but it does raise the floor.

A 5 minute checklist before you download

You can do all of this from the store page, before your child ever sees the app.

1. Look at the "In-App Purchases" line. If you see a long list with weekly plans, coin packs and "remove ads", expect the free version to push hard.
2. Scroll to "App Privacy". Apple shows a privacy label on every listing. "Data Not Collected" is the best case. "Data Used to Track You" in a toddler app is a red flag.
3. Sort reviews by most recent and search for "ads". Old reviews may describe an app that changed. Recent 1 and 2 star reviews tell you what it is like today.
4. Check the age rating and category. An app listed in Kids with an age band (5 and under, 6 to 8) has accepted the stricter rules described above.
5. Try it yourself first, in airplane mode. Many ad networks need a connection. If the app works fully offline, you will see what your kid sees without surprise pop ups, and you will know it works in the car.

Privacy matters here too. In the US, apps aimed at children under 13 are covered by COPPA, the federal rule that limits what personal information can be collected from kids without parental consent (FTC, COPPA Rule). An app that needs no account and collects nothing is the simplest way to stay on the safe side.

iPhone and iPad settings that help

Even with a good app, a few device settings add a safety net:

• Ask to Buy through Family Sharing, so purchases need your approval (Apple, Family Sharing).
• Screen Time content restrictions to block in-app purchases or app installs altogether.
• Guided Access (in Accessibility settings) to lock the iPad inside one app. It is the most underrated toddler tool on iOS.
• Airplane mode for apps that work offline. No connection, no surprise content.

Ad free does not mean free: fair pricing

Developers have to earn a living, and an app with zero ads and zero cost usually has a catch somewhere, or a nonprofit behind it. That is fine. What parents complain about most is not paying, it is feeling tricked. In those same reviews, the top complaint by far was pricing that felt misleading: "free" on the store and a paywall at launch, trials that turned into charges, or content that locked again after an update.

A fair ad free app usually does a few things:

• Tells you the price model clearly on the store page.
• Gives you real free content, not a 30 second demo.
• Puts every purchase screen behind a parental gate.
• Offers a one-time purchase option, not only a subscription.
• Restores purchases easily on a new device.

Where Piyoo fits

I am a dad and an indie developer in France, and I built Piyoo because I wanted this checklist to be easy to pass. Piyoo is a coloring app for ages 3 to 8: your child colors a creature by tapping zones (no going outside the lines, nothing to read), the egg hatches, and the creature comes alive in exactly the colors they picked. It breathes, blinks, reacts to touch and says your child's first name.

There are no ads, no trackers and no account. It works offline and nothing leaves the device. Three drawings are free forever. After that, worlds like dinosaurs, unicorns or cars are one-time packs at $3.99, with no subscription. It is one option among others, and the checklist above works for any app you are considering.

Want an ad free coloring app to test with the checklist above? Piyoo has 3 free drawings, no account needed.

iPhone and iPad. Android coming soon.

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