Apple Expands Age Verification API for Global Compliance

Apple announced on February 24 an expansion of its Declared Age Range API, a tool designed to help app developers verify users' age categories without accessing personal details like exact birthdates. The update, now available in beta testing, enforces age restrictions on apps rated for adults 18 and older in Brazil, Australia, and Singapore, while preparing for compliance in the U.S. states of Utah and Louisiana. This move responds to a wave of international and domestic laws aimed at protecting minors from age-inappropriate content and features.

Under the new system, users in Brazil, Australia, and Singapore cannot download 18+ rated apps from the App Store until they confirm their adult status through automated verification methods. Apple stated that these methods, which include signals from official identification or previously linked payment information, will confirm eligibility without manual intervention in many cases. Developers can access age range data via the API only if users or their guardians consent to sharing it. In Brazil, apps featuring loot boxes—randomized in-app purchases likened to gambling—must now carry an 18+ rating, further limiting access for...