{"id":718336,"date":"2026-07-30T02:47:09","date_gmt":"2026-07-30T02:47:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/718336\/"},"modified":"2026-07-30T02:47:09","modified_gmt":"2026-07-30T02:47:09","slug":"googles-privacy-preserving-age-verification-system-is-coming-to-the-play-store","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/718336\/","title":{"rendered":"Google’s “privacy-preserving” age verification system is coming to the Play Store"},"content":{"rendered":"

Governments around the world are suddenly very keen on online age verification requirements. In some places, this takes the form of ID requirements to access adult content, but several US states have also focused on app stores. With these laws now going into effect, Google has announced<\/a> an expansion of its beta Play Age Signals API, which it claims will allow developers to confirm user ages without impinging on privacy.<\/p>\n

Google\u2019s system doesn\u2019t require an ID or selfie verification\u2014it\u2019s connected to the company\u2019s existing Family Link app. The idea is that parents will set age ranges for their kids\u2019 managed accounts. For example, you might set a range like 16\u201317, allowing apps to tailor experiences and content for teenagers.<\/p>\n

Google notes that the ranges are dynamic and may change as young users get older. So a kid who\u2019s 13 may be in the same app content bracket for a few years before hitting the next level. Parents have the option to set and share these ranges if they want that additional level of control over what their children can access in Google Play. However, it\u2019s not mandatory for child accounts\u2014it\u2019s fully opt-in and can be turned off at any time.<\/p>\n

Google began testing the Play Age Signals API late last year<\/a> as it became apparent that multiple states were going to put the onus of age verification on app stores. The Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA), which lobbies on behalf of tech firms, has opposed these laws. However, the US Supreme Court recently paused a lower court injunction<\/a>, allowing the Texas law to take effect. Louisiana and Utah also have similar laws going into effect.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Governments around the world are suddenly very keen on online age verification requirements. In some places, this takes…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":458157,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[59,86,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-718336","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-technology","tag-gb","tag-technology","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/718336","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=718336"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/718336\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/458157"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=718336"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=718336"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=718336"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}