Apple’s new age verification tools block app downloads for underage users where required by law

apple, Like many otherswas forced to launch age verification features in response to new requirements for age verifications in many regions, and on Tuesday, The company announced New details about its tools that developers can use to “fulfill their age guarantee obligations under upcoming US and regional laws, including Brazil, Australia, Singapore, Utah, and Louisiana.”

One big update is that users in Australia, Brazil, and Singapore cannot download apps rated 18+ unless their age has been confirmed through “reasonable means,” which the App Store can automatically confirm. Apple notes that developers may still have “separate obligations to independently confirm that their users are adults,” and can use the Apple Age Range API, Introduced last year Allows app developers to request age information about users, to help.

Additionally, Apple is announcing that for new Apple Account users in Utah starting May 6 and in Louisiana starting July 1, “age ranges will be shared with the developer app upon request through the Declared Age Range API.”

There are also “new signals” available to developers through the age range declaration API, “including whether age-related regulatory requirements apply to the user and whether the user is required to share their age range,” Apple says. “The API will also let you know if you need to get a parent or guardian’s permission to get important app updates for a child.”