Here’s how Apple locks iPhones to comply with Texas age verification law

Starting next year, Texas will require companies like Apple and Google to verify the age of people who use their app stores, and Apple explained today how it will comply. Starting January 1, 2026, anyone trying to create a new Apple account must confirm if they are over 18, and any user under 18 must join a Family Sharing group. Parents and guardians will also need to provide consent for users under 18 to download apps or make in-app purchases.

Developers will also need to make changes to comply with the law. Apple already offers a stated age rating API that developers can implement to ask users their general age, and the API “will be updated in the coming months to provide the required age categories for new account users in Texas,” Apple says. Apple will also release new APIs “later this year” that “will allow developers, when they determine that a significant change is being made to their app, to invoke a system experience to allow the user to request that parental consent be obtained again.”

Utah and Louisiana have passed similar laws, and Apple says “similar requirements will take effect later next year” in those states. Google also shared guidance on how it will support Google Play developers before age verification laws come into effect.

Apple has pushed back on app store age verification laws, with CEO Tim Cook calling Texas Governor Greg Abbott to try to get changes to Texas bill SB2420. “While we share the goal of strengthening children’s online safety, we are concerned that SB2420 could impact user privacy by requiring the collection of sensitive, personally identifiable information to download any app, even if a user simply wants to check the weather or sports scores,” Apple says in today’s notice.