Apple is revamping its parental control frameworks, enabling apps to better ascertain the age of users without exposing personal information like birthdates. This initiative arises from Apple’s white paper titled “Helping Protect Kids Online,” which outlines various enhancements for family and parental control systems across Apple devices.
Among the key improvements are streamlined processes for parents to create accounts for their children, enhanced control over the data children share, updated age rating categories for apps, and a new tool that allows age range sharing within apps. The white paper highlights Apple’s commitment to privacy, allowing parents to decide whether to share their child’s age range with developers while ensuring that this option is reversible. Importantly, the system will not disclose children’s actual birthdates.
This initiative appears to respond to global legislative pressures, including Australian laws that restrict app access based on age. Apple acknowledges that certain applications may be required to verify ages, reinforcing the notion that age verification should be flexible, focusing on children instead of mandating that all users provide their birth details.
The analogy presented in the document compares age verification for alcohol purchases, where confirmation of age is needed without requiring the buyer to disclose their date of birth unnecessarily. The new measures grant parents the authority to determine if their child can share their age range with an app. Declining to share this information might prohibit the child from accessing age-sensitive applications.
Should consent be granted, applications—such as social media platforms—can employ the “Declared Age Range API,” allowing them to ask users questions like “Are you over 16?” without collecting personal data upon verification of the child’s response. Furthermore, Apple plans to adjust its App Store age ratings from the current 12+ and 17+ to 13+ and 16+, respectively, reflecting ongoing discussions around social media and youth safety.
While these enhancements will be rolled out this year, they’ll be most effective when families utilise Apple’s family and parental control tools; improper association of child and parent accounts may render the features ineffective. Overall, the changes demonstrate Apple’s proactive approach to safeguarding children’s online experiences while respecting user privacy.