Apple will let parents share their kids’ ages to limit app access
1 min read
Summary
In its “Helping Protect Kids Online” whitepaper, Apple details its upcoming plans for safeguarding young users, which include options for parents to share their children’s age range with app developers and an improved age ratings system for apps in the App Store.
In a statement regarding the changes, Meta spokesperson Jamie Radice said the update was a “positive first step,” but also emphasised the need for further legislation to require app stores to verify a user’s age before allowing them to download apps.
As well as the above, the paper also explains Apple’s aversion to creating a system that requires the company to verify the age of its users, as it does not wish to obtain “sensitive personally identifying information.”
Instead, Apple will implement its new age range feature, which will allow parents to decide whether to share their child’s age range with app developers, but will not collect users’ actual birthdates.
The new age ratings on the App Store will range from Age 4 plus to 18 plus, with developers required to indicate the presence of age-inappropriate content.