Declared Age Range: How to support age verification on iOS < 26?

App Store Distribution & Marketing General
skitudeiosdevelopers OP
Created 2w
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Hello, we get in touch as we need some guidance from Apple regarding age verification for minors in our app.

Our app supports iOS 17 and above.

The Declared Age Range API is available only starting on iOS 26, but we must comply with legal requirements (e.g., Texas SB 2420) and ensure that minor users cannot access certain sections of the app, regardless of the version of the operating system.

Our question:

What is the correct and Apple-approved approach for handling age verification and restricting access for minor users on iOS versions prior to 26, given that the Declared Age Range API is not available on those systems?

We want to ensure that our implementation aligns with the regulations, the App Store Review Guidelines and platform expectations.

Answered by DTS Engineer in 869730022

Hi @skitudeiosdevelopers,

You wrote:

[...] What is the correct and Apple-approved approach for handling age verification and restricting access for minor users on iOS versions prior to 26, given that the Declared Age Range API is not available on those systems?

To enable all the technologies and access all the signals Apple has made available to comply with regional age assurance requirements, starting with Texas, you must build your app against, you must build your app against iOS 26.2 and iPadOS 26.2 SDKs with Xcode 26.2 (17C52).

View the latest Xcode versions and SDKs here.

Existing adult accounts and child accounts for kids and teens will not be affected. To learn more, see Next steps for apps distributed in Texas.

Cheers,

Paris X Pinkney |  WWDR | DTS Engineer

Replies  2
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edorphy OP
1w

This is not legal advice, nor a statement from Apple. I will share what I'm going to do in my apps and recommend to others.

How I interpret 121.056 (B) (1) is basically, use the signals when they're available. If they're not available, you can't use them. You can't do the impossible.

So if you have an app update that supports iOS 26, implement it there, and < 26 you simply can't. As a developer, it is impossible to use the age signals provided by the App Store if they don't exist. If you're not comfortable with this approach, file feedback asking for support on devices < 26. Hypothetically, if Apple were to add support to, say iOS 18, it would still be something like iOS 18.8.x or higher. I am closely following the OS Usage page and waiting for an update to show the adoption of 26. https://developer.apple.com/support/app-store/

For my specific usage, I'm moving my apps to 26+ for my updates. However, I have apps that include watch extensions, and an Apple Vision Pro target. This presents its own challenges.

I posted quite extensively about the framework being unavailable on several Apple platforms. You can read more about those gaps here: https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/808139

4
DTS Engineer OP
Apple
18h
Recommended

Hi @skitudeiosdevelopers,

You wrote:

[...] What is the correct and Apple-approved approach for handling age verification and restricting access for minor users on iOS versions prior to 26, given that the Declared Age Range API is not available on those systems?

To enable all the technologies and access all the signals Apple has made available to comply with regional age assurance requirements, starting with Texas, you must build your app against, you must build your app against iOS 26.2 and iPadOS 26.2 SDKs with Xcode 26.2 (17C52).

View the latest Xcode versions and SDKs here.

Existing adult accounts and child accounts for kids and teens will not be affected. To learn more, see Next steps for apps distributed in Texas.

Cheers,

Paris X Pinkney |  WWDR | DTS Engineer

1
Declared Age Range: How to support age verification on iOS &lt; 26?
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