When dealing with apps on the Play Store, you may sometimes run into situations where an app targets a certain age group, but it ends up displaying inappropriate ads to users. Google realizes that, and today the company announced policy updates for the Play Store to help keep children safe.
Starting today, Google will be asking developers to be more considerate about children when submitting apps to the platform. A new section in the Google Play Console will ask developers to specify which age groups the app is aimed at, and, if it is aimed at children, additional questions will have to be answered before submitting the app.
Apps geared towards children will need to meet policy requirements in regards to how user data and personal information is collected, and they"ll also only be able to run ads from networks that have been certified to comply with Google"s policies for families. Additionally, for apps that aren"t aimed at children, developers will need to make sure that the apps" marketing doesn"t cater to them, and Google will double-check if that"s the case and request adjustments if needed.
All of these changes will be enforced starting today for new app submissions. By September 1, every existing app on the Play Store will need to have filled out the age target form on the Google Play Console and be compliant with the new policies.