Introducing Age Group Self-Certification & Get Age Category API for All Developers

Last month, we announced that parent-managed Meta accounts will soon be available on Meta Quest 2 and 3. We can't wait to give families access to your age-appropriate apps and games on the Meta Quest Platform. In order to foster safe, positive experiences for young people ages 10, 11 and 12, we’re introducing mandatory age group self-certification requirements for all apps on the Meta Quest Store and App Lab. These requirements go into effect January 2024 and may require you to implement the Get Age Category API launching with Platform SDK v56.

While you have some time to meet the upcoming requirements, we want to give you the guidance and resources you need to navigate these changes smoothly and understand what’s required of you. Dive in below for more details, including links to resources to support your organization.

The Age Group Self-Certification Policy requires you to identify the intended age group for each app they distribute on the Meta Quest Store and App Lab. You’ll be able to choose between three age groups:

All developers will be required to self-certify their apps’ age group, but the timeline of your requirements and the impact of these changes may vary depending on your distribution channel. And as a reminder, as stated in our Content Guidelines and other App Policies, apps that are intended solely for people under 10 years old are not allowed on the Meta Quest Platform.

Here are the key dates to keep in mind:

We’ll communicate specific dates to you leading up to the launch of the age group self-certification flow. New apps will be able to access the flow when submitting a build and via the Developer Dashboard, while all apps released on our platform prior to the launch of the Age Group Self-Certification Policy will be able to access the flow via the Tasks page on the Developer Dashboard or when completing Data Use Checkup.

It’s important to note that you’ll complete the age group self-certification flow after parent-managed Meta accounts have launched. When choosing your age group, you should consider your app’s audience and how it might evolve over time. When choosing your app’s age group, we recommend that you review the FTC guidelines and consider your app’s subject matter, including visual content, character choices, music, and more. You can also update your app’s age group at a later time if your audience changes. For guidance on determining your app’s age group and for age group-specific guidelines, check out our documentation.

You may need to take additional action based on your age group selection in order to comply with applicable youth protection laws and our Age Group Self-Certification Policy. Use the table below to quickly understand what next steps you need to take based on your age group selection.

Please note that apps for mixed ages must implement the Get Age Category API within 30 days of age group self-certification or else risk future app updates being blocked. If the API isn't implemented within 60 days of certification, your app may be removed from the Meta Quest Store and App Lab, and you may lose access to some Platform SDK features.

Additionally, apps primarily intended for children ages 10 – 12 will not be able to use some Meta Platform SDK features. For more information on the these features, see Child user restrictions for the Platform SDK (Unity | Unreal | Native). Additional APIs released or updated in the future may also be prohibited. User data from these apps may not be shared with Meta.

For more information, please visit our guidance on Age Group Self-Certification.

We’re launching the Get Age Category API with Platform SDK v56 as an easy-to-integrate solution to help you comply with the additional requirements for apps for mixed ages. The API provides you with a user’s age category (10-12, 13-17, 18+), so that you can help ensure that your users have access to age-appropriate content and experiences in your app and treat the data of users under 13 appropriately. We'll validate the implementation of the API by monitoring your API analytics, but we will not conduct any additional review of your implementation.

The Get Age Category API can help create and maintain a safe ecosystem and help people enjoy age-appropriate experiences on Meta Quest.

We can’t wait to welcome a brand-new audience to the Meta Quest ecosystem, and we look forward to partnering with the Meta Quest developer community to cultivate a safe and age-appropriate experience for children ages 10+.

Starting with Platform SDK v56, all developers can start evaluating and testing the Get Age Category API. The Age Group Self-Certification Policy will go into effect for Meta Quest Store apps in January 2024 and App Lab apps in March 2024, at which time you’ll be able to self-certify your app’s age group. Self-certifications will be due in March 2024 for Meta Quest Store apps and May 2024 for App Lab apps. Apps for Mixed Ages (under 13 and 13+) are required to implement the Get Age Category API within 30 days of certification or choose to not implement the Platform SDK.

Be sure to refer back to this section as more resources become available.