Platformized childhood How app stores construct children’s software audiences through platform governance and industry lore

This article examines how app stores construct children’s software audiences through platform governance strategies and industry practices. Drawing on platform studies, critical childhood studies, and the concept of audience commodity, we use the critical walkthrough method and textual analysis to investigate the material choices of Google Play and Apple App Store. Our comparative analysis of their children-focused stores and developer submission platforms highlights tensions between the data-driven construction of children audiences and regulatory requirements to protect children’s privacy. We argue that children’s audiences are shaped by the discursive practices of app marketplaces, governance strategies specific to children’s apps, and industry lore about children’s audiences. Together, these strategies create what we term “platformized childhood.”