Apple to Require Age Verification for New Texas App Store Accounts Starting June 4

Apple will require users creating new App Store accounts in Texas to verify they are over 18 beginning Thursday, June 4. Verification can be completed with a credit card or government ID, and Apple may also use account age and stored payment information for automatic checks.

Users under 18 must join a Family Sharing group, where a parent or guardian provides consent for downloads and purchases. Developers are required to deliver age-appropriate experiences for younger users and may use Apple's Declared Age Range API to determine age ranges.

Background on the Texas Law A federal judge blocked the App Store Accountability Act last December, but an appeals court has now permitted the measure to proceed while litigation continues. The law requires app store operators to implement age verification for new accounts.

Apple has implemented similar age checks in Utah, Louisiana, Brazil, Australia, Singapore, and the United Kingdom. Google must make comparable changes to the Play Store and is also rolling out age-checking tools for developers. A federal version of the App Store Accountability Act remains under consideration in Congress and could extend age verification requirements nationwide if enacted.