LEGO Life

iPad, iPhone, Android, Kindle

Teaches: social media, LEGO

CTR Rating: 84%

CTR Review

Instagram meets a LEGO catalog, with this free social media app that makes it easy to share pictures of your projects with the world. But know that there is a marketing agenda driving this app, and that your child will be exposed to LEGO ads that are hard to sort from the real content. How it works: After you download the free app, you must create an account. We found the process extremely "safe" aka COPPA Compliant. For example, you must confirm your account with a valid email address, and each photo you upload is screened before posting to make sure there is no personally identifiable information. It also must be LEGO themed-- don't try submitting a picture of your cat unless it has a LEGO minifigure in it. Chat and comment features are only available through emojis -- direct chatting with real text is prohibited. While there is no third-party advertising, LEGO marketing content and information is pushed to your child. You'll see LEGO news, special events (e.g., Batman is now at WalMart) and so on. The best part about LEGO Life are the real looking photos. It's fun to see how creative children can be. It's worth noting that the interface requires reading a styled font that is hard to read. LEGO reminds you that when you upload a picture or a comment to LEGO Life, it becomes part of the app, so they own and can use your ideas. The bottom line? While it could be easier to use, this app makes it possible for a child to do something comes very naturally to them... showing off -- in this case with LEGOs.