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Posted by Mindy Brooks - Senior Director, Android Platform

App developers play a vital role in shaping how people of all ages interact with technology. Whether your app content is specifically designed for kids or simply attracts their attention, there is an added responsibility to ensure a safe and trusted experience. Google is here to support you in that work. Today, we're sharing some important reminders and updates on how we empower developers to build high-quality, engaging, and age-appropriate apps across the Android ecosystem.

Help Determine Android User Age with Digital IDs

Understanding a user's age range can be critical for providing minors with safer and more appropriate app experiences, as well as complying with local age-related regulations. Android's new Credential Manager API, now in Beta for Digital IDs, addresses this challenge by helping developers verify a user's age with a digital ID saved to any digital wallet application. Importantly, Android's Credential Manager was built with both safety and privacy at its core - it minimizes data exposure by only sharing information necessary with developers and asks the user for explicit permission to share an age signal. We encourage you to try out the Beta API for yourself and look forward to hearing your feedback.

While digital IDs are still in their early days, we're continuing to work with governments on further adoption to strengthen this solution. Android is also exploring how the API can support a range of age assurance methods, helping developers to safely confirm the age of their users, especially for users that can't or don't want to use a digital ID. Please keep in mind that ID-based solutions are just one tool that developers can use to determine age and the best approach will depend on your app.

Shield Young Users from Inappropriate Content on Google Play

As part of our continued commitment to creating a safe and positive environment for children across the Play Store, we recently launched the Restrict Declared Minors (RDM) setting within the Google Play Console that allows developers to designate their app as inappropriate for minors. When enabled, Google Play users with declared ages below 18 will not be able to download or purchase the app nor will they be able to continue subscriptions or make new purchases if the app is already installed.

Beyond Play's broader kids safety policies, this new setting gives developers an additional tool to proactively prevent minors from accessing content that may be unsuitable for them. It also empowers developers to take a more proactive role in ensuring their apps reach the appropriate audience. As a reminder, this feature is simply one tool of many to keep your apps safe and we are continuing to improve it based on early feedback. Developers remain solely responsible for compliance with relevant laws and regulations. You can learn more about opting in to RDM here.

Develop Teacher Approved Apps and Games on Google Play

Great content for kids can take many forms, whether that's sparking curiosity, helping kids learn, or just plain fun. Google Play's Teacher Approved program highlights high-quality apps that are reviewed and rated by teachers and child development specialists. Our team of teachers and experts across the world review and rate apps on factors like age-appropriateness, quality of experience, enrichment, and delight. For added transparency, we include information in the app listing about why the app was rated highly to help parents determine if the app is right for their child. Apps in the program also must meet strict privacy and security requirements.

Building a teacher-approved app not only helps raise app quality for kids - it can also increase your reach and engagement. All apps in this program are eligible to appear and be featured on Google Play's Kids tab where families go to easily discover quality apps and games. Please visit Google Play Academy for more information about how to design high-quality apps for kids.

Stay Updated With Google Play's Families Policies

Google Play policies provide additional protections for children and families. Our Families policies require that apps and games targeted to children have appropriate content, show ads suitable for children, and meet other requirements including ones related to personally identifiable information. We frequently update and strengthen these policies to ensure that Google Play remains a place where families can find safe and high-quality content for their children. This includes our new Child Safety Standards Policy for social and dating apps that goes into effect in January.

Developers can showcase compliance with Play's Families policies with a special badge on the Google Play Data safety section. This is another great way that you can better help families find apps that meet their needs, while supporting Play's commitment to provide users more transparency and control over their data. To display the badge, please visit the "Security practices" section of your Data Safety form in your Google Play Developer Console.

Additional Resources

Protecting kids online is a responsibility we all share and we hope these reminders are helpful as you prepare for 2025. We're grateful for your partnership in making Android and Google Play fantastic platforms for delightful, high-quality content for kids and families. For more resources:

04 Dec 2024 8:00pm GMT

Posted by Robbie McLachlan, Developer Marketing

In our latest film for #WeArePlay, which celebrates the people behind apps and games, we meet Mesty and Garri - the husband and wife duo who created Tentang Anak. Their app helps parents across Indonesia navigate their parenting journey with confidence: with a focus on child health, growth tracking, and providing accessible expert consultations.

What inspired you to create Tentang Anak?

Mesty: I saw so much misinformation about child health and parenting, especially in Indonesia where there's a huge gap between the number of pediatricians and children. I wanted to provide parents with reliable, accessible information that could help them raise healthy, well-rounded children, allowing them to feel confident and calm in their parenting journey.

Garri: For me, it was about seeing the need for a one-stop solution for parents. Everything was scattered-pregnancy, growth tracking, expert advice-and I realized we could create something that brings it all together in one place. I wanted to build a platform that supported parents, especially in remote areas, with everything they need to raise their kids with confidence.

How does Tentang Anak ensure that the expert advice is both accurate and accessible to parents in remote areas of Indonesia?

Mesty: We make sure to partner with a team of highly qualified pediatricians, psychologists, and child development experts to ensure our advice is accurate and up-to-date.

Garri: Exactly, staying current with the latest research and best practices is crucial. Misinformation can have a huge impact, especially when it comes to child health. Parents often turn to social media or unverified sources for answers, which can lead to confusion or even harm. By partnering with qualified experts and constantly updating our content, we make sure that parents get accurate, reliable, and timely advice. This is especially important in remote areas where access to healthcare professionals can be limited.

How has Google Play supported Tentang Anak?

Garri: Google Play has provided us with the tools and support to optimize our app's performance and engagement. From using Google's analytics and A/B testing to improve the user experience, to the seamless distribution through the Play Store, Google has been a key partner in scaling Tentang Anak and making sure parents across Indonesia can access the app.

What is next for Tentang Anak?

Mesty: We're focused on expanding our reach across Indonesia, ensuring that more parents, especially in remote areas, have access to the support and resources they need. We're also enhancing our app with more interactive features to keep parents engaged and informed.

Garri: At the same time, we're expanding our offerings with products for children, including children's books, vitamins, and skincare. Our goal is to make Tentang Anak the go-to platform and brand for all things parenting in Indonesia, and we're excited to see how we can grow and help even more families.

Discover more global #WeArePlay stories and share your favorites.

04 Dec 2024 2:00pm GMT

Posted by Dom Elliott - Group Product Manager, Google Play

At Google Play, we're committed to providing a safe and secure environment for your business to thrive. That's why we continually invest in reinforcing user trust, protecting your business, and safeguarding the ecosystem. This includes actively combating bad actors who try to deceive users or spread malware, and giving you tools to combat abuse.

Our tools like the Play Integrity API helps protect your business from revenue loss and enhance user safety. You can use the Play Integrity API to detect suspicious activity and decide how to respond to abuse, such as fraud, bots, cheating, or data theft. In fact, apps that use Play Integrity features have seen 80% less unauthorized usage on average compared to other apps. Today, we're sharing how we're enhancing the Play Integrity API for everyone.

Play integrity verdicts are becoming faster, less spoofable, and more privacy-friendly

Starting today, we're changing the technology that powers the Play Integrity API on all devices running Android 13 (API level 33) and above to make it faster, more reliable, and more private for users. Developers already using Play Integrity API can opt-in to start using the new verdicts today; all API integrations will automatically transition to the new verdicts in May 2025. The improved verdicts will require, and make greater use of, hardware-backed security signals using Android Platform Key Attestation, making it significantly harder and more costly for attackers to bypass. We'll also be adjusting verdicts when we detect security threats across Android SDK versions, such as when there is evidence of excessive activity or key compromise, without requiring any developer work. And now, Play Integrity API will have the same level of reliability and support across all Android form factors.

The transition to the new verdicts will reduce the device signals that need to be collected and evaluated on Google servers by ~90% and our testing indicates verdict latency can improve by up to ~80%.

You can now check whether a device has a recent security update

Play Integrity API offers enhanced security signals, like the optional "meets-strong-integrity" and "meets-basic-integrity" responses in the device recognition verdict, to help you decide how much you trust the environment your app is running in. Now, we're updating the "meets-strong-integrity" response to require a security update within the last year on devices running Android 13 and above. This update gives apps with higher security needs, like banking and finance apps, governments, and enterprise apps, more ways to tailor their level of protection for sensitive features, like transferring money. When the strong label isn't available for the user, we recommend that you have a fallback option. Learn more about our recommended API practices.

We're also making it easier for you to adjust your app's behavior based on the user's Android SDK version with a new device attributes field. For example, your app could respond differently to the legacy "meets-strong-integrity" definition on devices running Android 12 and lower than to the enhanced definition on devices running Android 13 and higher. The FAQ includes some example code for using the new device attributes field.

We're standardizing all optional verdict signals so it's consistent for you to use

We're simplifying and standardizing all verdict content across apps, games, SDKs, and more, so that what you see will be more consistent and predictable. For apps installed by Google Play, you can get enhanced verdicts with optional signals such as the improved "meets-strong-integrity" device verdict and the recently launched app access risk verdict (which helps you detect and and respond to apps that can capture the screen or control the device, so you can protect your users from scams or malicious activity). For apps installed out of Google Play and all other API requests, you'll receive a verdict with information about the device, account license, and app, but without the extra security signals.

Developers can start using the improved verdicts today and they'll go live for all integrations in May 2025

Starting today, all new integrations will automatically receive the improved verdicts. Developers who already use the Play Integrity API can opt-in to the new verdicts now, or wait until it automatically updates for them in May 2025. For more information, see the Play Integrity API documentation. With these ongoing enhancements, the Play Integrity API is becoming an even more essential tool for safeguarding your apps and users.

03 Dec 2024 5:00pm GMT