Android developers get age-verification tool from Google
Verification once and for all (apps).
Image by Mojahid Mottakin | Shutterstock
- Google is expanding its Play Age Signals API to Android developers worldwide, with testing underway in Brazil.
- The tool lets parents share a child’s age range through Google Family Link, helping apps tailor age-appropriate content.
- Google says developers can use the signal to choose safety settings that fit their app’s audience and risks.
Key Takeaways by nexos.ai, reviewed by Cybernews staff.
Google has introduced its new Age Signals API, an age-verification tool designed to benefit parents and developers.
Google revealed how its Android developers will handle age-verification processes, announcing the “expansion of the Google Play Age Signals API” to all Play developers around the world.
The tool is now being tested in Brazil, with plans to release it in Australia and Canada by mid-August, and for the rest of the world to receive it sometime this year.
The Play Age Signals API allows parents to verify their own or their kids' age directly with the app, making it a more private verification option.
According to the Android developer blog, the reason behind this expansion is to provide developers “the ability to choose the right protections for the nature of their app.”
When it comes to protection, different apps may require different safety measures. For example, a weather app may need different safety settings than a social media app.
“With this reliable signal, you retain complete agency to tailor your app's content, features, and settings to match your audience,” explained the company.
How does this work for parents?
With the Play Age Signals API, parents will be able to access all age-sharing controls in Google Family Link, an app that lets parents see device location, manage screen time, and approve apps.
When parents choose to share their kid’s age range, Play apps with the Play Age Signals API can receive age signals.
This is when kids can instantly consume “age-appropriate content” without parents having to change settings within every app.
Parents can change these settings or turn them off at any time.
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Can’t escape age verification?
Since last year, when Australia became the first country to implement a social media ban for users under 16, age verification has become a hot topic worldwide.
Many countries expressed their own takes on the social media ban, which also raised the issue of age verification and how it should be handled in the digital space.
While the initial idea behind age verification is to protect kids from harmful and inappropriate content, many also raise concerns about how this solution could create other issues, such as the risk of exposing users’ sensitive data.
Scientists were also arguing that age verification can be easily bypassed by using AI, a VPN, or “borrowing” someone else’s identity.
It’s also not yet clear whether banning underage kids from social media is for the better, as many rely on these platforms to express themselves and interact with like-minded people.
Nevertheless, age-verification features seem to be expanding, with more parents also seeking ways and alternatives to reduce their kids' overall screen time, whether that’s reading the screen time, banning certain apps, or taking away the phones altogether.
