Apple is poised to upgrade its app safety features later this year, rolling out new **age assurance policies** designed to tackle issues regarding online child protection.
### Enhancing Child Safety Initiatives
As per a newly issued [white paper](https://developer.apple.com/support/downloads/Helping-Protect-Kids-Online-2025.pdf), Apple aims to fortify its **Child Account settings**, improve **App Store Age Ranges**, and equip developers with enhanced tools to enforce age restrictions for underage users.
*”Caring for kids—whether they are young children, preteens, or teens—demands continuous attention and effort,”* Apple notes. *”The digital landscape is growing more intricate, with new risks like exposure to unsuitable content and excessive social media usage. For years, Apple has championed specialized Child Accounts, enabling parents to oversee parental controls and ensure a suitable environment for children under 13. These accounts are fundamental to our child safety mechanisms.”*
### Unveiling the Declared Range API
Launching later this year, Apple’s forthcoming **Declared Range API** will empower developers to request an estimated age range for Child Account users, pending parental consent. This functionality will allow applications to customize user experiences and impose access restrictions for age-sensitive content.
When prompted, underage users will receive a **”share age range”** alert, akin to current notifications for App Tracking or Location Services, and they can deactivate this functionality at their discretion. Although developers may still require government-issued identification for their applications, Apple will not enforce ID verification for general App Store entry.
### Apple’s View on Age Verification
Apple’s stance represents a crucial step in the continuing discussion surrounding **age assurance**. Lawmakers and technology firms have suggested various strategies to authenticate the ages of young users on social media and digital platforms. Some, such as Meta, contend that **app marketplaces** should bear the responsibility of preventing minors from accessing age-restricted or dangerous content.
Simultaneously, state legislatures, supported by tech companies, have put forward **age verification regulations**, though their efficiency remains a topic of considerable debate. Some lawmakers have additionally proposed more stringent **digital privacy protections** or outright bans on minors accessing specific online areas. The **Kids Online Safety Act**, proposed in 2023, aims to mandate platforms to implement the most robust privacy settings for users underage and impose a **”duty of care”** on social media corporations.
Conversely, Apple believes that accountability should rest with **app developers** instead of app marketplaces, advocating for minimal data collection. *”Certain apps may need to utilize age verification, which often entails collecting sensitive personal data, such as a government-issued ID, to limit exposure to inappropriate content. However, most apps do not require this. The optimal approach to handling age-restricted content is to focus on the specific applications and websites that feature it,”* Apple clarifies.
### Refining Youth Account Management
Apple’s revisions will also simplify the **Child Account** creation process, making it more convenient for parents to set up safety parameters for mandatory users (children under 13) and optional accounts for minors under 18.
During device setup, parents can choose from **pre-defined safety configurations** based on age ranges or select default child settings. This enables young users to independently set up devices while retaining Apple’s oversight. Parents can later modify or personalize these configurations as necessary.
To support these enhancements, Apple is adjusting its **age range categories** for applications, which will introduce the following limits:
– **4+ years old**
– **9+ years old**
– **13+ years old**
– **16+ years old**
– **18+ years old**
Furthermore, Apple will broaden **content visibility restrictions** for youth accounts. Applications outside the chosen age range will no longer be displayed in the **Today, Games, and Apps** sections, as well as in editorial articles and collections.
These enhancements reinforce Apple’s dedication to **child safety** while maintaining a balance between privacy considerations and developer adaptability.