iOS 26 to Improve Child Setup Process 3j52d Will Allow Parents to Share Child's Age Range With Apps

Here are all the new features coming to iOS 26 and the App Store later this year. 423y2v

Written by David Delima | Updated: 13 June 2025 14:16 IST

iOS 26 to Improve Child Setup Process, Will Allow Parents to Share Child's Age Range With Apps

Photo Credit: Apple 5z2r3a

Age range sharing (left) and Communication Limits on iOS 26

Highlights

iOS 26 will bring improved s later this year
The company will let parents share their kid's age range with apps
Apple says Communications Limits will work with third-party apps

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Apple has announced that it will introduce improved s with its iOS 26 update later this year. A couple of days after its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDDC 2025) kicked off, Apple announced that it will improve the process of setting up Child s. The company is also introducing more granular age ratings on the App Store, and parents will be able to share their child's age range with an app so that they only see age-appropriate content. Communication Limits will allow parents to approve s for children, a feature that will also be ed on third party apps.

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The company explains in a newsroom post that it has streamlined the process of setting up a Child for children under 13. A child's can be connected to a parent's Family group, which will automatically turn it onto a Child . This will allow parents to set up appropriate limits on content or screen time for their child's , according to the company.

In order to protect younger s' privacy, parents will be able to provide apps with their child's age range (for example, 12 or Younger). Apps can use the new Declared Range API, which allows apps to automatically surface content that is appropriate for younger audiences. Apple says that the feature doesn't share a child's birthday and exact age range with third party applications.

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The company's post also emphasises that these age ranges will allow younger s to access age-appropriate content, without sharing sensitive information with the App Store. Companies like Apple and Google have been facing pressure to the ages of younger s on their respective app stores in the US. Both companies have pushed back, stating that collecting younger s' information could have privacy concerns.

Apple is also expanding Communication Limits, enabling parents to approve requests from their children when they want to communicate with new phone numbers using the Messages, Phone, FaceTime, and iCloud apps. These requests will also be ed in third-party apps, if developers adopt the PermissionKit framework, according to the iPhone maker.

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While Child s are designed to protect s under 13, Apple says that it will also enforce similar "age-appropriate protections" for s under 17, even if they set up a regular Apple . The company is also adding three new age ratings (18+, 16+, and 13+) on the App Store that allow apps to provide more precise age ratings for their apps. The company says these new ratings will arrive by the end of 2025.

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David Delima

Email David Delima

As a writer on technology with Gadgets 360, David Delima is interested in open-source technology, cybersecurity, consumer privacy, and loves to read and write about how the Internet works. David can be ed via email at [email protected], on Twitter at @DxDavey, and Mastodon at mstdn.social/@delima. More