Google introduces new Play Store rules to make apps more kids friendly

There are many apps in the Play Store, but not all of them are necessarily kids friendly. While many don’t purposely aim to be adults-only, sometimes some apps do provide access to content meant for older audiences. In a bid to make apps on the Play Store more friendly and accessible to children, Google has announced some new rules.

In an update to the Developer Program Policy, Google basically states that if an app is developed for kids, it needs to be appropriate for kids in all regions around the world. Given that there are different rules around the world, this might be quite tricky for developers to implement.

According to Google:

“Your app’s content that is accessible to children must be appropriate for children. If your app contains content that is not globally appropriate, but that content is deemed appropriate for child users in a particular region, the app may be available in that region but will remain unavailable in other regions.”

Google does not state what makes an app inappropriate, but as per the wording in the update, it will depend from region to region. As Android Police notes, an example would be Telegram where in the German Play Store, it’s rated as an 18+ app, while the UK Play Store simply features a parental guidance disclaimer.

Source: Android Police