Sunday, August 18, 2013

Apple details guidelines for new Kids section in iOS 7 App Store

Apple details guidelines for new Kids section in iOS 7 App Store

Apple details guidelines for new Kids section in iOS 7 App Store

Back in June at WWDC, Apple announced it'd be adding a dedicated Kids section to the App Store in iOS 7 and now the company is informing developers how the child-friendly category will work.

The Kids section will allow parents to select age appropriate games, entertainment and educational tools for children aimed 11 and under.

According to emails sent to the developer community, those apps can be separated into specific age ranges; 5 and under, 6-8 and 9-11.

Apps will continue to appear in the main listings, but the Kids section will be ring-fenced off in the App Store. Meanwhile, the K ids sub-category in the Games section will disappear.

Think of the children

The company is also introducing new guidelines for children aged 13 and under. Advertisers will not be able to target young app users based on their behaviour within the app, while the ads that are served must be appropriate for kids.

The new guidelines also mandate that, for apps aimed at pre-teens, a "parental gate" be put in place to prevent unsupervised in-app purchases or links outside of the app.

Apple has come under scrutiny in recent months following reports of children racking up massive bills on their parents' iTunes accounts which have usually resulted in Apple refunding the amount.

The company is also under investigation from the UK Office of Fair Trading. The regulator is worried that parents are coming under pressure from kids to purchase add on's for 'free' games.


    






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