age assurance Archives

AppWizard

September 8, 2026

Connecticut attorney general calls Kik messenger app a ‘predator’s paradise’

Connecticut's Attorney General, William Tong, is investigating MediaLab.AI Inc.'s messaging app, Kik, due to concerns about inadequate age assurance practices and content moderation. Child safety advocates have criticized Kik as a “predator’s paradise.” Tong described Kik as a platform with significant issues related to sexual abuse, exploitation, and bullying, lacking meaningful age verification and protections for users. The app has over one-third of American teens using it, down from 40 percent in 2016. MediaLab has only partially responded to inquiries about privacy and safety. Tong's office has issued a civil investigative demand for information on MediaLab’s data processing, content moderation, and age assurance practices to assess compliance with the Connecticut Data Privacy Act and the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act.

Winsage

September 4, 2026

Windows 11 will start telling apps your age, but Microsoft says it won’t share your birthday

Microsoft is integrating age verification directly into Windows 11, allowing applications to access users' age ranges (e.g., 13-15 or 18+) without disclosing their actual birthdays. This is facilitated through new system-level APIs, specifically the GetUserAgeRangeAsync function, which returns one of five defined age ranges: Under 10 (0-9), 10-12 (10-12), 13-15 (13-15), 16-17 (16-17), and 18+ (18 and above). Another API, GetAgeVerificationStatusAsync, indicates whether the age was independently verified with statuses like Verified, Unverified, OptedOut, TemporarilyUnavailable, or NotApplicable. Microsoft validates the identity of the calling app to ensure security, limiting access to these age signals. This initiative aligns with regulatory demands for enhanced child safety measures in regions like the UK, EU, and U.S., where states are moving toward operating-system-level mandates for age verification.

AppWizard

July 29, 2026

Google brings its age-assurance technology to Android developers worldwide

Google will globally roll out its Play Signal API by the end of 2026 to enhance age assurance for younger users. The API will first be introduced in Australia and Canada by mid-August, followed by a rollout to all markets by the end of the year. This technology allows Android developers to identify younger users without accessing sensitive personal information, enabling parents to share their child's age range directly with apps. Age details will be managed through Google's Family Link parental controls dashboard, and parents must opt in to share this information. The feature is part of broader safety tools on Google Play, which include options for developers to limit children's app discovery and parental controls for managing screen time and content filters.