Checked 2026-10-25

What a child's first visit sets off

Name: We checked 167 free kids' sites for ads and trackers: the results
Creator: Peabody

We opened 167 free kids' learning and game sites the way a child would, on a phone, without an account and without answering any cookie banner, and wrote down everything each page contacted.

75 contacted ad networks
33 contacted data brokers
27 contacted 6 or more ad networks
76 contacted none of either

Why it matters, in plain words: how free kids' websites make money from your child.

The 76 that contacted no ad network and no tracker

On this check. A site can still have other catches (chat with strangers, adult terms); each one's page in the directory says.

Every site, most ad networks first

Site	Ad networks	Data brokers	Third-party sites	Cookies before consent	Ads on screen
Contexto	34	9	130	200+	yes
Sudoku.com	30	9	184	200+	yes
Tasty	30	8	147	200+	yes
Little Bins for Little Hands	30	7	101	126	yes
Red Ted Art	28	7	97	125	yes
Quordle	27	7	155	200+	yes
Babble Dabble Do	27	7	105	135	yes
Coolmath Games	27	7	89	129	yes
Worldle	24	3	90	82	yes
TypingGames.Zone	21	5	67	75	yes
Super Healthy Kids	20	4	64	84	yes
KenKen	18	6	79	93	yes
Mathway	18	4	70	112	yes
Storyberries	18	4	58	67	yes
Monkeytype	17	7	62	80	yes
Flagle	17	3	77	68	yes
TimeGuessr	16	7	61	79	yes
Waffle	15	4	73	63	yes
Globle	10	4	42	51	no
RoomRecess	10	2	32	30	no
Math Playground	8	1	28	23	yes
Sphero BOLT+	7	5	55	53	yes
Exploratorium Science Snacks	7	1	29	42	yes
ZType	7	1	23	32	no
PBS KIDS Summer of Adventure	7	1	22	20	yes
Nature Lab	6	1	45	104	no
ABCya	6	0	29	32	yes
Ozobot Evo	4	0	60	76	yes
Keybr	3	2	20	16	no
Ducksters	3	0	15	7	yes
Seterra (GeoGuessr)	3	0	14	20	yes
CoolMath4Kids	3	0	11	8	yes
DLTK's Crafts for Kids	2	0	14	8	yes
Funbrain	2	0	13	7	yes
Imagine Forest	2	0	12	14	yes
KidzType	2	0	12	11	yes
RumorGuard	2	0	12	13	no
Math-Drills	2	0	11	9	yes
Bedtime Math	2	0	10	6	no
KidzSearch	2	0	10	10	yes
Mr. Nussbaum	2	0	10	8	yes
Hit the Button (Topmarks)	2	0	8	8	yes
Mr Printables	2	0	8	4	yes
PrimaryGames	2	0	8	11	yes
Hooda Math	2	0	7	9	yes
Math Mammoth	2	0	7	8	no
Math is Fun	2	0	6	6	yes
Toy Theater	2	0	6	5	yes
Sheppard Software	2	0	5	8	yes
Educational App Store	1	2	14	9	yes
Microsoft MakeCode (micro:bit, Minecraft and more)	1	1	10	27	no
National Geographic Kids games	1	1	9	15	no
Discovery Education Virtual Field Trips	1	0	21	36	no
Marty the Robot	1	0	20	43	no
Finch Robot 2.0	1	0	16	14	no
iCivics	1	0	16	31	no
Crayola crafts	1	0	15	22	no
Crayola free coloring pages	1	0	15	22	no
KidsGardening	1	0	15	14	no
Next Gen Personal Finance (NGPF)	1	0	15	8	no
StoryWeaver	1	0	14	5	no
The Kids Cook Monday	1	0	13	14	yes
Edison robot	1	0	12	12	no
Illustrative Mathematics (IM Math)	1	0	12	11	no
The Math Learning Center (free math apps)	1	0	12	15	no
Math Learning Center Apps (Math MultiApp)	1	0	11	18	no
Mission US	1	0	11	4	no
Stellarium Web	1	0	9	4	no
Adafruit Learning System	1	0	7	5	no
OpenStax	1	0	7	4	no
Poki	1	0	6	14	no
Adafruit Circuit Playground Express	1	0	5	6	no
Teenage Engineering EP-133 K.O. II	1	0	5	6	no
Arcademics	1	0	4	4	no
Squaredle	1	0	4	15	no
Microsoft Immersive Reader	0	1	15	37	yes
Discover Summer	0	1	14	6	no
Take It Down	0	1	12	20	no
SparkFun Learn	0	0	14	15	no
Dash	0	0	13	16	no
Noodle Loaf	0	0	13	7	no
Fight BAC!	0	0	12	14	no
TED-Ed	0	0	12	14	no
Learn.Genetics	0	0	11	6	no
MIT OpenCourseWare	0	0	11	6	no
KidLit TV	0	0	10	5	yes
Open Middle	0	0	10	4	yes
Pl@ntNet	0	0	10	6	no
AI Literacy Lessons for Grades K-12	0	0	9	7	no
San Diego Zoo Wildlife Explorers	0	0	9	2	no
Worksheetfun	0	0	9	3	no
BBC micro:bit	0	0	8	0	yes
Blob Opera	0	0	8	5	no
Code Club	0	0	8	1	no
Freerice	0	0	8	3	no
Say What You See	0	0	8	5	no
Bloom Library	0	0	7	3	no
Highlights Kids	0	0	7	9	no
micro:bit CreateAI	0	0	7	2	no
Raspberry Pi Projects and Experience CS	0	0	7	1	no
Sesame Street (games and apps)	0	0	7	5	no
AI Duet	0	0	6	4	no
Book Dash	0	0	6	2	yes
NASA's Eyes	0	0	6	7	no
PBS LearningMedia	0	0	6	9	no
PhET Interactive Simulations	0	0	6	3	no
Teachable Machine	0	0	6	3	no
The Odin Project	0	0	6	2	no
Be Internet Awesome: Interland	0	0	5	2	no
Cboard	0	0	5	2	no
Chrome Music Lab	0	0	5	2	no
futurecoder	0	0	5	0	no
Google Arts & Culture	0	0	5	5	no
Google Lens homework help	0	0	5	2	no
Google Machine Learning Crash Course	0	0	5	8	no
NASA Space Place	0	0	5	11	no
Story Time From Space	0	0	5	5	no
TeachEngineering	0	0	5	2	no
Which Face Is Real?	0	0	5	3	no
Zooniverse	0	0	5	4	no
AI Unplugged	0	0	4	3	no
Animated Drawings	0	0	4	0	no
AutoDraw	0	0	4	2	no
DREME Family Math	0	0	4	2	no
Google Learn Your Way	0	0	4	3	no
NASA Learning Resources	0	0	4	6	no
NRICH	0	0	4	0	no
Quick, Draw!	0	0	4	4	no
Snap!	0	0	4	2	no
TypingClub	0	0	4	6	no
FarmFood 360	0	0	3	2	no
fast.ai Practical Deep Learning	0	0	3	0	no
Goblin Tools	0	0	3	1	no
Krazydad	0	0	3	0	no
LEGO Education Computer Science & AI	0	0	3	1	no
Math Antics	0	0	3	4	no
Oak National Academy	0	0	3	9	no
PBS KIDS Games (app and site)	0	0	3	3	no
Read Along by Google	0	0	3	0	yes
Unite for Literacy	0	0	3	4	no
WorksheetWorks	0	0	3	2	no
Desmos (and Amplify Classroom)	0	0	2	0	yes
Godot Engine	0	0	2	0	no
International Children's Digital Library	0	0	2	0	no
LibriVox	0	0	2	0	no
oPhysics	0	0	2	0	no
Polypad (and Mathigon courses)	0	0	2	2	no
RAISE Playground	0	0	2	0	no
SolveMe Puzzles	0	0	2	2	no
Storyline Online	0	0	2	7	no
Anki	0	0	1	0	no
Estimation 180	0	0	1	1	no
Google Earth	0	0	1	1	no
LEGO.com for kids	0	0	1	9	no
Lichess	0	0	1	1	no
Microsoft MakeCode Arcade	0	0	1	2	no
Wolfram\|Alpha	0	0	1	4	no
Yoti age checks and Digital ID app	0	0	1	3	no
AmblesideOnline	0	0	0	0	no
Bitsy	0	0	0	0	no
Blockly Games	0	0	0	0	no
Kiddle	0	0	0	0	no
Libby	0	0	0	0	no
Project Gutenberg	0	0	0	0	no
Starfall	0	0	0	2	no
Storynory	0	0	0	1	no
Toporopa	0	0	0	0	no

How we checked, and what it does not show

A headless Chrome browser with an iPhone-sized window and a fresh profile for every site opened the page we list for it, clicked nothing (so no cookie banner was accepted or refused), waited about 15 seconds and scrolled once. It recorded every outside site the page contacted, matched them against known ad networks, tracking services and data brokers, and counted cookies and ad frames. The script is in Peabody's code (scripts/resources/browser-check.mjs) and anyone can run the same check.

What it does not show: one visit, from the United States, to one page (sometimes a parents' page rather than the games); no playing, searching or signing in. A network being contacted shows what a page sets off, not what is done with the data. Five sites blocked automated browsers and are left out. We will run it again every month.