Apple has updated its collection of age insurance tools related to the App Store.
Apple’s App Store age verification system has been updated to ensure compliance in places like Louisiana, Utah, Australia, Brazil and Singapore.
In response to increasingly strict age-restriction laws, such as Utah’s App Store Liability Act, Apple has updated its requirements for apps distributed in specific countries. iOS apps made available to users in Australia, Brazil, Singapore, Louisiana, and Utah will have to follow the modified App Store age requirements.
Specifically, users in Australia, Brazil, and Singapore will be blocked from downloading 18+ rated apps unless users are verified as adults using “reasonable methods.” The App Store can automatically confirm whether a user is an adult or not, and the change is effective as of Tuesday, February 24.
However, in an update posted on the iPhone maker’s website, Apple notes that “developers may have separate obligations to independently verify that their users are adults.” The company explains that its Declared Age Range API can help with this task by offering developers a “useful signal” about the age of an App Store user.
Developers offering apps to users in Brazil can also use the Declared Age Range API to get the user’s age range. However, this is only possible if the user (or their parent or guardian, if applicable) agrees to share the requested age category.
Also unique to Brazil is the automatic classification of the app as 18+ if it contains loot boxes. Developers can determine whether their app contains loot boxes as part of the age rating questionnaire.
For users with new Apple accounts in Utah and Louisiana starting May 1 and July 1, Apple rolled out a more limited change. Apple explains that for users in these states, age ranges will be shared with a developer’s app if requested through the Declared Age Range API.
In addition, the iPhone maker says its new assortment of tools will help developers comply with regulations in Louisiana and Utah. The Declared Age Range API will let developers know when users of their apps are required to share their age range.
The API will also notify developers of the need to obtain parent or guardian permission for major app updates, when applicable.
Using the Significant Update Action, currently in beta, developers can provide significant update notifications to adults in Utah and Louisiana.
Apple has previously complied with regulatory requirements originating in Utah. For example, the iPhone maker is already restricting age-inappropriate sites for small accounts in Utah to ensure compliance with a law passed by the state in 2021.
Apple is apparently not the only company forced to announce or implement new age verification measures in 2026. Discord, for example, released a new age verification feature, although it is not required for all users of the social media platform.