What you need to know
- Google is rolling out age verification to the Play Store, requiring users to prove they are 18 and over.
- Users can verify their age using an ID, selfie, credit card, or third-party service.
- Some users are concerned about data privacy and report lockout after verification.
Google has recently used AI to ask users to verify their age on several of its services, and the company has now reportedly started rolling out the age verification tool for the Google Play Store, requiring users to prove they are 18 or older.
Just a few months after the launch of YouTube asking users to verify their age, it seems Google is currently implementing the same for the Play Store. As spotted by Artem Russakovskii on XGoogle has started rolling out age verification controls for the Play Store.
It appears that the rollout is just beginning and continues to expand to users. It’s unclear where the controls will be applied first, but it appears this feature will be coming to the United States soon. You can manually check your age using a link provided without waiting for Google to ask you. However, not all verification methods are available in all regions.
You may soon need to prove you’re 18 on the Play Store
As for why Google is implementing these controls, it’s largely to comply with regulations recently passed in several US states, including Texas, Utah and Louisiana, which require app stores to verify users’ ages before allowing them to download age-sensitive apps. Similar regulations are also expected to take effect in Texas and California.
Although this measure aims to protect minors from inappropriate content, many users on Reddit and It has also been reported that some users excluded from Google search for failing the verification check, raising new privacy concerns.
