Google will expand controversial age checks on Android globally by the end of the year
Google has announced that age checks on Android devices will be expanded worldwide by the end of 2026, impacting how developers and users interact with apps on the platform. Following this move, the Play Age Signals API will become available to all Google Play developers globally, extending functionality beyond its current rollout in Brazil and upcoming launches in Australia and Canada by mid-August.
The Play Age Signals API lets parents share their child’s age range with apps to support personalized and age-appropriate experiences. Adults also have the option to share their own age in supported apps. The API delivers these details directly to developers, enabling them to tailor app content for different audiences.
For app creators, Google is introducing flexibility in implementing these safety features. Developers will be able to select protections suited to their app type, rather than adhering to one-size-fits-all rules. For example, requirements for a weather app will differ from those for entertainment content.
While these features are introduced, parents can manage age-sharing for all Google Play apps using the API from a single location in Google Family Link, without needing to individually configure settings per app. If parents opt in, children automatically receive age-appropriate content, and the settings can be changed or disabled at any time.
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Related news
External links
- Delivering safer, age-appropriate experiences on Google PlayGoogle • Official source
- Google brings its age-assurance technology to Android developers worldwideTechCrunch
- Google Play Is Expanding Age Confirmation Tools For App DevelopersEngadget
- Google's "privacy-preserving" age verification system is coming to the Play StoreArs Technica
- Google Play Age Signals lets apps deliver age-appropriate contentAndroid Authority
- Google Play Rolls Out Age Signals Worldwide: Get Tailored Per-App Safety ShieldsAndroid Headlines
Comments
While I appreciate the sentiment of protecting the younger generation from dangerous content, the enforcement of age verification results in corporations taking more personally identifiable information. This itself is high risk. There is no clear governance from the regulations on how the data should be processed, maintained, and retained to coincide with it - only the risk of falling into data protection regulations that vary from region to region. In the age of security scandals, if that data leaks or is stolen, imagine the increased attempts at identity theft or that info being used for nefarious purposes and you have no protections. This is what scares the crap outta me.
There is 3 states in the age API: "Shared" (user gives its age estimate because the laws require it), "Verification required" (users needs to log on Google Play to validate its age depending of the laws in the exact part of the world is located at this exact time), and "Not shared" (when no laws are requiring users to specifying their age, like outside Brazil and some US states actually).
Google doesn't implement any feature to guess user age, and doesn't force any developer to use this API, but advise them to do it when the app is published where laws mandate it (like in Texas), since only app creators would get fined.
It's just the strict minimum to conform to still evolving laws about age verification, for the parts of the world it could apply. So don't blame Google and al to obey laws but lawmakers that still don't care if it would really make children safer.
Everything is becoming a dystopia at breakneck speed because of AI techbros