Google is expanding its answer to Apple’s age-assurance tools with Wednesday’s news that it will bring its Play Signal API to users worldwide by the end of 2026. The technology, already available in Brazil, allows Android developers to identify their apps’ younger users in order to provide safer, age-appropriate experiences.
The expansion will initially bring the API to Australia and Canada by mid-August, before rolling out globally to all markets by year-end.
Its arrival comes as lawmakers and regulators in global markets are increasingly pressuring app stores to provide better protections for minors. Apple, for instance, launched its age-verification tools globally this February to comply with the growing number of age-verification laws.
Like Apple, Google’s technology allows developers to obtain a user’s age range without needing to access their personal information, like date of birth. Instead, it enables parents to share their child’s age range directly with apps. It also lets adults share their age when prompted by app developers as well, allowing for customized experiences.
Parents won’t have to manage sharing this information on an app-by-app basis, either. To make it easier, Google centralizes this sharing by putting the controls for sharing directly inside its parental controls dashboard, Family Link. Once input, any developer that chooses to incorporate age-range information can access this signal to customize their apps accordingly.
Google notes, however, that the age ranges are not shared by default — parents will have to opt in by initially entering that information.
The feature joins other safety tools on Google Play, including those that let developers restrict a child’s ability to discover their apps. Parents, meanwhile, can continue to use Google Play’s Family Link app to manage their child’s screen-time limits, approve app downloads, or set PIN-based content filters for specific apps.
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