Age Suitability — On The Spot

18+

On The Spot is rated 18+ on the App Store and for mature audiences on Google Play, and it is made for adults. It is a party game for groups playing together in the same room, passing one phone around. The rating comes from its adult Party shelf; its classic party games are a different story, explained below.

Two shelves, two kinds of night

On The Spot is really two collections in one app, and only one of them is the reason for the 18+.

The Games shelf: classic party games

Charades, Forehead guess, Spy, Imposter word, Word chain and Word bomb are the kind of guessing and word games people have played at parties and family gatherings for decades. Every mode on this shelf is rated Mild. There is nothing sexual, no swearing and no drug references, and none of these games is built around drinking.

To be completely open: a small number of the nearly 2,000 cards on this shelf are written for grown-ups. Around 1.5% mention everyday adult things — a bar, a glass of wine, a hangover, a casino, a first date — and a few Word bomb categories, such as "Hangover cures", are about drinking.

The Party shelf: where the 18+ comes from

The Party shelf is for adult get-togethers: questions, dares and "never have I ever" cards, where whoever loses takes a "punishment" the group agrees on — which at many parties means a drink. Across this shelf you will find:

• Alcohol — frequent references, with games played with drinks in mind, and occasional references to drugs and vaping.
• Sexual themes — questions and dares about dating, relationships and sex, in text only. There are no images of sexual content or nudity.
• Mature themes and mild language — adult situations and a little crude language.

App store ratings cover everything an app can show, including optional and paid content, so the Party shelf sets the rating for the whole app. That is why On The Spot is 18+ as a whole, even though most of what is in it is mild.

What is switched off by default

The most explicit modes, Turning up the heat and Scorched, never appear unless someone turns on the Explicit content switch shown at the top of the app. It starts off on every new install. Starting a game with those modes switched on asks for a second confirmation first. They are also part of the paid upgrade, so they are not available on the free tier at all.

What the app does not have

• No chat, messaging or online play — nobody outside the room can contact a player.
• No sharing of anything players write; custom cards stay on the phone.
• No accounts, no advertising, no analytics and no tracking.
• No gambling with money. Some cards ask the group to "bet" on an outcome, but the only stakes are the game's punishments.
• No location, camera, microphone or contacts access. The only sensor used is motion, to detect tilts in Forehead guess.

Playing responsibly

Every card is a suggestion. Nobody has to drink, do a dare or answer a question, and any player can pass. If your group drinks, drink responsibly and within the law, and never drink and drive. Our Terms of Use say more.

For parents and guardians

On The Spot is not intended for anyone under 18. You can stop it being downloaded on a child's device with the parental controls built into each platform:

• iPhone and iPad — Settings › Screen Time › Content & Privacy Restrictions › App Store, Media, Web & Games › Apps, and choose a rating below 18+.
• Android — Google Family Link, or Play Store › Settings › Family › Parental controls, and set the app rating limit below Mature.

The app collects nothing about the people who use it; see the Privacy Policy.

Contact

Questions or concerns about content: redbeakdev@gmail.com