Apple is making some major changes to its App Store policies to comply with a new law in Texas that requires stricter age verification for all users. The new law, which takes effect in January 2026, will force anyone under 18 to join a “Family Sharing” group and get parental consent for every app download and in-app purchase.
To help developers deal with these new rules, Apple is rolling out new tools that will let them easily check a user’s age category. The company is also creating a way for developers to ask for a new round of parental consent if their app has changed significantly.
Apple has never been a fan of these kinds of laws. Back in May, CEO Tim Cook even asked the Texas governor to veto the bill. The company is worried that the law will harm user privacy by forcing people to hand over “sensitive, personally identifiable information just to download any app,” even for something as simple as checking the weather.
Texas isn’t the only state passing these laws. Similar rules are set to take effect in Utah and Louisiana next year, and Apple says it will extend the same new protections to users in those states as well.
Google has also announced it will be making similar changes to its Play Store. In a blog post, a Google executive criticized companies like Meta, accusing them of pushing for these laws to “offload their own responsibilities to keep kids safe to app stores.”
