Singapore regulator finds 65 harmful apps, 24 wrongly rated

Singapore’s Infocomm Media Development Authority said on Saturday that its first app-store online safety assessment found 65 apps with harmful content and 24 with incorrect age ratings among more than 7,000 reviewed.

The Oct. 24 assessment matters because Singapore’s new child-safety regime covers five app stores, and the regulator said the 89 flagged apps showed that harmful or unsuitable content can still pass existing controls.

The review covered Apple App Store, Google Play Store, Huawei AppGallery, Microsoft Store and Samsung Galaxy Store. IMDA said the apps were identified from April to December 2025 and have since been removed or had their age ratings changed.

Of the 65 apps removed for harmful content, IMDA said 59 contained sexual material, four contained violent material and two facilitated vice and organised crime. Among the 24 apps with incorrect ratings, 14 involved sexual material, three involved violent material and seven related to vice and organised crime.

The regulator cited examples including an app that could turn uploaded photos into sexually explicit images, a game with excessive violent content and a gambling app with crypto or real-money payouts. Apps that lacked suitable age ratings included artificial-intelligence chatbots with sexualised prompts and games involving adult sexual experiences, weapons in a school setting, and crime and drug themes.

IMDA said the number of apps identified was small compared with the total available, but still showed gaps in safeguards. It said accurate age ratings reduce children’s access to unsuitable material and help parents judge whether apps are appropriate.

The assessment also examined age assurance methods, using annual online safety reports submitted by the stores, IMDA’s own testing and data. The regulator said methods included age inference using credit-card checks and behavioural signals, age estimation through facial scans, and verification using official documents such as Singpass, Singapore’s national digital identity service.

IMDA said app stores had age assurance measures in place and that these generally could not be easily bypassed. It added, however, that no method is "completely foolproof", because a child could still access age-inappropriate content through a parent’s account.

The regulator said children were largely blocked by default from downloading apps rated 18+ across all five stores. It found some cases on Huawei AppGallery and Microsoft Store where restrictions were missing or could be bypassed through loopholes that let children disable them; most had been rectified after IMDA engaged the stores.

IMDA also said Google Play Store and Samsung Galaxy Store did not inform users who had downloaded an app within six months before its removal. Both stores agreed to improve their notification processes after discussions with the regulator, according to the assessment.

"Should any of the D-ADS (designated app distribution services) fail to satisfy IMDA that it has improved its measures to address the weaknesses, IMDA will not hesitate to explore further options, including potential regulatory action under the Broadcasting Act," IMDA said.

Singapore announced in January 2025 that app stores would have to adopt measures to protect children from inappropriate apps under the Code of Practice for Online Safety for App Distribution Services. The code, issued under the Broadcasting Act, took effect on Mar. 31, 2025.