By Dina Alexander, MS
When your fellow child advocates fight for safeguarding children online, victories can be hard to find — changes in policy, new regulatory pressure, etc. But last week’s release of Google’s Play Age Signals and Apple’s Declared Age Range is a HUGE milestone. It shows that what the Digital Childhood Alliance has long advocated — that app stores can and should enforce age verification and parental consent — is not only possible but already happening!
For years, parents and child advocates have asked the same question:
If Apple and Google can track every purchase, location, and login—why can’t they help parents protect kids from harmful apps?
Last week, the answer finally came.
Both Apple and Google announced new systems designed to comply with the App Store Accountability Act(ASAA), now law in Utah, Texas, and Louisiana. Their new tools will verify users’ ages, require parental consent before minors can download or purchase apps, and share limited, privacy-preserving age data with developers.
What this really means: parents will finally have actual control. Right now, kids can sign away their rights to massive tech companies and jump into digital spaces designed for adults without their parents knowing or fully understanding the technology. That’s about to change.
Here’s what Apple and Google’s “Age Signals” mean, why it matters, and how this change shows that protecting kids online doesn’t have to be a technical burden.
Finally, Apple and Google are moving to meet new state-level laws that go into effect in January 2026 (starting with Texas) that will require app stores to verify ages and get parental consent for children’s app installs. Google Play Age Signals and Apple’s Declared Age Range are central:
- It returns real-time age signals to apps — e.g., whether the user is in the ranges 0–12, 13–15, 16–17, or 18+.
- It will classify users as VERIFIED (age confirmed via ID, credit card, or facial estimation), SUPERVISED (a child account under parental management), or SUPERVISED_APPROVAL_PENDING / DENIED for changes requiring parental re-approval.
- Apps can notify Apple or Google when “significant changes” are made (e.g. a new app install request), and Apple and Google can help mediate or revoke approvals later
- The API* only returns age data in jurisdictions where and when Google is required by law to provide it (e.g., Texas starting Jan 1, 2026) — meaning the machinery is inert until laws demand it.
In short, Apple and Google are not starting from scratch when laws like the App Store Accountability Act (ASAA) take effect. They already have, or are very close to having, the necessary infrastructure in place.
This didn’t happen overnight.
The Digital Childhood Alliance has worked for years and done impressive and vital work to bring this about. Under the direction and leadership of their founder, Melissa McKay, they have made huge strides in the online safety world that many of us smaller organizations have only dreamed about.
It’s proof of what child advocates have said all along: smart, privacy-protecting, and safety-conscious design is not nearly as complicated as tech companies pretend it is!
Why This Is a HUGE Win for the Digital Childhood Alliance
It proves things can actually work. Google releasing this API ahead of regulations sends a powerful message: we don’t need to keep debating whether age verification is some impossible pipe dream or whether app stores can handle compliance. Here’s the proof that it’s doable, it scales, and it’s already being built.
It eliminates the excuses. When platforms tell us “we don’t know if we can do this technically” or “it’s too expensive,” we now have clear evidence that’s just not true. Google and Apple are demonstrating that these systems can be integrated without major headaches.
It creates momentum for everyone else. When tech giants like Google and Apple take the lead on something like this, it raises expectations across the board. It also makes things easier for states beyond Texas that are considering similar laws—they can point to Apple’s Age Declaration and Google’s API as proof that app store accountability actually works.
Getting these standards adopted nationwide would be incredibly beneficial for kids, and hopefully, we’ll see other countries follow suit, too.
It puts kids first. What I love about this is the shift, which shows that safety and parental control can become fundamental principles that app stores build around—not just features they tack on as an afterthought.
Apple and Google Already Had Pieces of the Puzzle — They Just Needed the Legal Push
These tech giants didn’t suddenly invent age verification out of nowhere this year. A lot of the pieces were already there—some in development, some already built. The new laws didn’t create the technology; they just pushed companies to pull everything together, standardize it, and actually turn it on in specific states.
So this isn’t about a brand-new invention. It’s about taking components that already existed and finally flipping the switch—under legal pressure—to make them work together as one system.
However, this moment is more than just a technical nicety — it’s a complete paradigm shift! Apple and Google’s Age Signals show that the Digital Childhood Alliance’s vision — that app stores can act, not only as financial gatekeepers, but as gatekeepers to protect children — is not just a hope or dream. It’s easily done, and it’s already underway!
But It’s Not Over Yet!
We’ll need to stay on top of things—making sure these tools are actually easy for people to use, that privacy is genuinely protected, and that platforms actually follow through on enforcement instead of just going through the motions. We also need to make sure that app ratings, descriptions, and how apps are labeled aren’t just slapped on later, but are treated as core parts of how the whole system works. Right now, these protections only apply in three states.
Every other child in America is still unprotected.
Families in Utah, Texas, and Louisiana will soon benefit from a safer app system—but kids in the remaining 47 states will continue facing a digital Wild West, where adult apps, manipulative design, and exploitative content remain a single touch away.
If we want this change nationwide, we need every state to act! Will you invite your legislators to support the Digital Childhood Alliance? Please, reach out to your state and federal representatives today!
* An API, or Application Programming Interface, is a set of rules and protocols that allows different software applications to communicate and interact with each other
Citations:
Declared age range. Apple Developer Documentation. (2025, October 8). https://developer.apple.com/documentation/declaredagerange/
Nellis, S. (2025, February 27). Apple launches “age assurance” tech as US states mull social media laws | reuters. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/technology/apple-launches-age-assurance-tech-us-states-mull-social-media-laws-2025-02-27/
Play age signals api (beta) overview : Android developers. Android Developers. (2025, October 8). https://developer.android.com/google/play/age-signals/overview?utm_source=chatgpt.com
