New Apple features let parents control kids' app access without sharing birthdates

Apple

Apple will now give more control to parents to keep a tab on what their kids do online while keeping their privacy intact. The company is making it easier to set up child accounts, control what children can see on the App Store, and share age details with apps without revealing personal information.

With the upcoming iOS 18.4 update, setting up a child account will be more straightforward. Instead of entering a birthdate, parents can simply choose an age range—Child (12 or younger), Teen (13 to 17), or Adult (18 or older). Based on this, Apple will automatically apply the right safety settings. If parents don’t complete the setup immediately, the device will still have child-friendly defaults in place.

Later this year, Apple will also introduce a way for parents to share their child's age range with apps. This means developers can provide age-appropriate content without needing to know a child’s exact birthdate. Apple believes this is a better way to handle age restrictions than collecting personal data from every user, as some companies have suggested. The company compares it to how liquor stores check IDs instead of malls requiring every visitor to prove their age.

The App Store is also being updated to make browsing safer for kids. Soon, children won’t even see apps that exceed their parent-set age limit. Developers will also have to be clearer about whether their apps include ads or content created by users, which could be unsuitable for younger audiences.

With these changes, Apple aims to give parents more control while keeping kids safe online without collecting unnecessary personal data.