Microsoft launches Age API, following OS-level declared age range model

Whether because of its age, its product focus or its relatively anemic branding, Microsoft has not caught much public scrutiny in debates over age assurance. Apple and Google, which make phones, run their operating systems and manage their app stores, have presented as bigger targets.

In what could be seen as a proactive move on the company’s part, it has announced a restructuring of child safety and account privacy features on Windows 11, which includes moving age assurance directly into the operating system via the Windows Age API.

The API follows the model established by Apple and replicated by Google, which uses a declared age range provided at the time of device registration to tailor app content according to age bands or brackets. Per Windows’ developer blog, “these APIs are designed for apps that need to comply with child safety regulations without requiring the app to collect, store, or process date of birth or other personally identifiable information.”

“Apps use these signals to adapt content, features, or access controls based on a user’s age and verified status – without needing to implement their own age verification system.”

In Microsoft’s case, the age bands are under 10, 10-12, 13-15, 16-17 and 18 or older.

Declared age means app store model is a parental consent issue

This model, in which an operating system sends age signals to apps, is the preferred option for sites that have had age assurance restrictions imposed on them, notably social media platforms and adult content sites. In the UK, Pornhub – the flagship adult streaming site of parent company Aylo – is available only to Apple users, specifically because they can choose device-based verification.

However, there is increasingly a push to see the device-level model not as a standalone solution, but part of a larger age assurance compliance stack. The Age Verification Providers Association (AVPA) has argued that the declared age range model should be legally classified and governed as a parental control framework, not an age assurance framework.

The AVPA is part of a working group developing a new international standard to establish a framework for the design, specification, evaluation and deployment of online parental consent systems.

Article Topics

age verification  |  Declared Age Range  |  Microsoft  |  OS-level age verification