Apple unveils new age range tool for parents: How it will work

Apple is set to launch a radical upgrade of parental controls to combat children accessing inappropriate content. SEE HOW IT WILL WORK

Apple will introduce new parental controls which include age ranges to ensure more appropriate content for children using their devices.

Apple is set to launch a radical upgrade of parental controls to combat children accessing inappropriate content.

The new parental controls, some of which are now in beta while others will be available later this year, will make it easier for parents to set up child accounts and restrict app content by new age ranges.

But some have already questioned whether they should go further by allowing specific ages, rather than just ranges.

The new ranges include 4+, where no objectionable content is allowed, and 9+, which may include infrequent or mild cartoon or fantasy violence, some profanity or crude humour, or mature, suggestive, or horror-or fear-themed content.

Apple says content for 13+ may include infrequent or mild medical or treatment-focused content, references to alcohol, tobacco, or drug use, sexual content or nudity, realistic violence, or simulated gambling; or frequent or intense contests, profanity or crude humour, horror or fear-themed content, or cartoon or fantasy violence.

In 16+, the app may contain instances of content not suitable for users under 16, including through unrestricted web access, frequent or intense mature or suggestive

content, or medical or treatment-focused content.

Apple is introducing new parental controls which, when enabled, will determine what children see in the App Store later this year.

For 18+, app content may include instances of gambling, frequent or intense simulated gambling, references to alcohol, tobacco, or drug use, sexual content or nudity, or realistic violence.

According to a white paper released by Apple, parents will be able to share information about the age range of their children with app developers, without sharing birthdates or sensitive information.

News has been at the forefront of moves to protect Australian children online through its Let Them Be Kids campaign.

The move comes amid growing concerns among parents about what their children are being exposed to online, including pornography, violent content and bullying on social media.

In December, Australia passed world-first laws requiring “age‐restricted social media platforms to take reasonable steps to prevent Australians under 16 years old from having accounts”.

News Corp’s Let Them Be Kid campaign led to changes to laws to keep children under 16 from having social media accounts to prevent bullying.

It followed highly-lauded ‘Let Them Be Kids’ campaign by New Corp which resulted in more than 50,000 people signing a petition calling for changes after shocking case of teenage suicides resulting from bullying on social media.

Apple says it believes everyone has a role to play in ensuring children’s safety.

“As the serious dangers to kids online continue to grow and evolve, we will keep building thoughtful tools and resources to help parents protect their families, and to help developers better meet their responsibilities,’’ Apple says.

Apple is introducing new parental controls including age limits on applications to ensure they are appropriate for children.

“Later this year, when kids browse apps on the App Store, they also won’t be shown apps with age ratings higher than the ones set by their parents in the places where

we feature apps on our storefront (like on the Today, Games, and Apps tabs, or in our editorial stories and collections),’’ Apple says.

Apple is also introducing a new set-up process for Child Accounts which will allow child-appropriate default settings on the device even before parents have finished fully setting up their child’s settings.

Later this year, Apple will also provide a way for parents to correct the age that is associated with their child’s account, if it was not previously set up properly.

Apple says children themselves will not be able to change age settings.

HOW TO SET UP A CHILD ACCOUNT WITH APPLE

Apple already allows parents to set up child accounts but the process will be improved.

Parents of kids under 13 will be prompted to connect their kid’s account to their family group (if they’re not already connected), and the account will be converted to a Child Account, and parents will be able to use Apple’s parental control options — with Apple’s default age-appropriate settings applied as a backstop.

Under the changes, app developers will be able to use a Declared Age Range API to request information to ensure age-appropriate content is delivered.

Apple says it will ensure the privacy of its users, whether aged 9 or 99.

Apple CEO Tim Cook often speaks on the importance of ensuring users’ privacy.

“The age range will be shared with developers if and only if parents decide to allow this information to be shared, and they can also disable sharing if they change their mind,’’ the white paper says.

Apple says it is committed to striking the right balance between privacy and giving parents the tools they need.

“Some apps may find it appropriate or even legally required to use age verification, which confirms user age with a high level of certainty — often through collecting a user’s

sensitive personal information (like a government-issued ID) — to keep kids away from inappropriate content. But most apps don’t,’’ Apple says.

Apple says its Declared Age Range API is a narrowly tailored, data-minimising, privacy-protecting tool.

“After all, we ask merchants who sell alcohol in a mall to verify a buyer’s age by checking IDs — we don’t ask everyone to turn their date of birth over to the mall if they just want to go to the food court.”

Apple argues against requiring age verification at the app marketplace level, saying it is ‘not date minimisation’.

“While only a fraction of apps on the App Store may require age verification, all users would have to hand over their sensitive personally identifying information to us — regardless of whether they actually want to use one of these limited set of apps.

Children can be exposed to a range of inappropriate material through apps like Facebook and Instagram and TikTok.

“That means giving us data like a driver’s licence, passport, or national identification number … even if we don’t need it.”

Apple warned putting onus requirements on parents, such as providing documentation, was ‘not in the interest of user safety or privacy’.

“Declared Age Range API is a narrowly tailored, data-minimising, privacy-protecting tool to assist app developers who can benefit from it, allowing everyone to play their appropriate part in this ecosystem.

“It gives kids the ability to share their confirmed age range with developers, but only with the approval of their parents.”

Apple says it will also expand the information about apps to not only include whether they contain in-app purchases and privacy practices, but also whether apps contain user-generated content or advertising that may result in age-inappropriate content.

“Developers will also be able to note when their app has its own content controls, like parental controls or requiring proof of age, that let parents limit their kids’ access to content in the app that might exceed its age rating.”

Originally published as Apple unveils new age range tool for parents: How it will work