Evaluation of the Perception of Brazilians about Smart Toys and Children's Privacy

The concept of children's toys has undergone many changes over the years, evolving from simple physical products to toys that add elements of the digital world using software and hardware components. This evolution has raised concerns about potential child privacy issues regarding the use of smart toys. A smart toy consists of a physical component connected to a computer system with online services to enhance the functionality of a traditional toy. This type of toy is still not widely known in Brazil and hence the opinion of Brazilian consumers regarding the acceptance of this technology when it is widespread in this country is not known yet. This paper aims to present the results of an evaluation about the perception of potential Brazilian consumers about issues involving children's privacy with the use of smart toys and whether this technology would be accepted when available in the Brazilian toy market. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 14 participants producing data that were analyzed through the content analysis technique. The results showed concern on the part of parents when their children are connected to the internet. Moreover, parental control in smart toys would be well accepted by these potential consumers.