Apple announced a new “age assurance” feature on Thursday, allowing parents to share a child’s age range with app developers without revealing sensitive information like birthdays or government IDs. This move comes amid growing pressure from U.S. lawmakers, as states like Utah and South Carolina debate laws requiring app store operators, such as Apple and Google, to verify users’ ages.
The tech industry remains divided on who should be responsible for age verification — app stores or individual apps. Meta has long supported legislation mandating app stores to check ages when children download apps.
Apple, however, opposes collecting sensitive data for age verification. “While only a fraction of apps may require age checks, all users would have to share personal information with us — even if they never use these apps,” Apple explained in a whitepaper.
Instead, Apple’s “age assurance” will let parents set up a child’s account by declaring an age range, which can then be shared with app developers. Parents will have full control, including the option to disable age-range sharing.
“This safeguards privacy by keeping parents in charge of their kids’ data and limiting what third parties can access,” Apple stated.
Meta responded positively but noted the approach still relies on children sharing their age range with developers. “Parents want the final say on their teens’ apps, which is why we support laws requiring app stores to verify a child’s age and obtain parental consent before downloads,” said Meta spokeswoman Stephanie Otway.
Apple emphasized that its current parental controls already require consent for children to download apps, reinforcing its commitment to privacy and user security.
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