App Store Age Verification Laws: Texas, California and What App Developers Must Do

App store age verification laws moved from paper to practice in 2026. Texas began enforcement in June after a court lifted an injunction, California's law starts on January 1, 2027, and Utah and Louisiana follow later in 2027. Each one requires apps to read an age signal from Apple or Google and act on it. This guide explains what has happened, what each law asks of app developers, and what to build now, with every date sourced. Updated October 23, 2026.

Where each law stands on October 23, 2026

One law is being enforced today, Texas, and three more have dates in 2027. The rest of this article explains what each one asks of an app developer. The table is the short version, with the source for each line linked at the bottom of the page.

These dates have already moved once. Texas was blocked by a court and then allowed to proceed, and Utah and Louisiana each pushed their start back a year in 2026. We will update this page when the Fifth Circuit decides the Texas appeal or any state changes its date.

What these laws do

App store age laws make the app store, not each app, the place where a user's age is checked, and then require apps to use that answer. The store verifies or collects an age category when an account is created, gets a parent's consent for minors, and passes an age signal to the apps that ask for it. The app must then treat that signal as the user's age and behave accordingly.

The laws differ in how much they ask. Texas, Utah and Louisiana follow a similar model with parental consent for minors' downloads and purchases. California's AB 1043 is lighter: it has operating system providers ask for a birth date or age at device setup and send an age bracket to apps, and it does not add a parental consent requirement of the Utah or Texas kind.

For a Canadian business the key point is that these laws follow the user, not the developer. A Canadian app with customers in Texas has Texas users subject to SB 2420, and Apple and Google have built their systems on that basis. If your users are only in Canada, none of these laws apply to them today.

Texas: the one being enforced now

Texas SB 2420 was due to take effect on January 1, 2026. On December 23, 2025, a federal judge in the Western District of Texas granted a preliminary injunction blocking it, in a case brought by the Computer and Communications Industry Association. Texas appealed. The Fifth Circuit stayed that injunction in late May and early June 2026, which allowed the law to take effect while the appeal is decided, and in July 2026 the Supreme Court declined an emergency request to undo the stay.

Apple responded on June 3, 2026. It told developers that new Apple Accounts in Texas are subject to the law from June 4, 2026, including "age assurance and parent or guardian consent on behalf of minors under the age of 18 for downloads, Apple In-App Purchases, and significant changes associated with an app". Parents can also revoke consent for an app they approved. Google's documentation says its Play Age Signals API "has started returning age signals for eligible users in Texas who created their accounts after May 28, 2026".

The appeal on the merits is still open. CCIA's litigation page lists events up to July 2026 and no decision. We found no Fifth Circuit merits ruling as of October 23, 2026, so the law could still be struck down, narrowed or upheld.

Utah, Louisiana and California: the 2027 dates

California, January 1, 2027. AB 1043 was signed on October 13, 2025 and takes effect January 1, 2027. Under it, developers must request an age signal when an app is downloaded and launched, and treat the signal as the primary indicator of the user's age unless there is clear and convincing information otherwise. The signal reports one of four brackets: under 13, 13 to under 16, 16 to under 18, or at least 18. Receiving it gives the developer actual knowledge of the user's age range. The Attorney General enforces it, with penalties of up to $2,500 per affected child for a negligent violation and up to $7,500 per affected child for an intentional one, according to an analysis by the law firm Kelley Drye.

Utah, May 6, 2027. HB 498, passed in 2026, rewrote Utah's 2025 law. In the enrolled bill, the developer duties now begin with the words "Beginning May 6, 2027". According to a June 2026 analysis by Wiley, HB 498 also removed Attorney General enforcement, leaving a private right of action as the way the law is enforced.

Louisiana, July 1, 2027. HB 977, signed May 15, 2026, moved Louisiana's start date from July 1, 2026 to July 1, 2027. According to Alston and Bird's summary, it also lets developers rely on app store age signals and app store parental consent signals rather than verifying age and consent themselves.

The common thread is that the states are moving toward developers relying on the store's signal. That is good news for app teams, because it means the work is integrating two platform APIs rather than building your own age verification.

What app developers have to do

Across the laws, the developer's side comes down to six things. Not every law asks for all six, but building for the strictest one (Texas) covers most of the others.

The last row is easy to break by accident. Apple and Google both restrict the data. Google's terms say you "may not use the Play Age Signals API for any other purpose including, but not limited to, advertising, marketing, user profiling, or analytics". According to Wiley's analysis, Texas requires the data to be used only for compliance and deleted after use, and Utah bars using it for any commercial purpose other than compliance or safety features. Make sure the age value never reaches your analytics or advertising SDKs.

The Apple and Google tools you will use

Both platforms have shipped the tools. You do not need a third-party age verification service to meet the store-signal model.

Apple notes that "it's the developer's responsibility to determine when there's a significant change to their app". That is a judgement call your team has to make on each release, so write down your rule for it now: for example, adding chat, adding purchases, or adding user-generated content.

Two technical notes. Google's API only works for apps updated by Google Play, and the data can only be used by the app that requested it. Apple's API returns an age range the person or their parent chose to share, not a birth date. Neither store gives you a user's exact age.

Which apps this affects most

Every app distributed through the stores in these states is covered, but the work is heaviest for apps that have something a younger user should be treated differently for.

• Apps with user-generated content or social features: feeds, comments, messaging, profiles. These also have Apple's new social media age rating questions to answer. See our social media app development guide.
• Apps with in-app purchases or subscriptions, because minors' purchases need consent.
• Education, gaming and fitness apps with a younger audience. Our education app and gaming app guides cover the design side.
• Dating, gambling and adult-only apps, which need to exclude minors outright.

A business tool used only by adult employees, distributed through a managed or internal channel, is the least affected. It still helps to make sure your age rating and store listing are accurate.

What about Canada?

This article covers US state laws and Brazil, because those are the ones with dates. We are not aware of a Canadian law in force that requires app stores to pass age signals to developers, and we have not found one with a confirmed date. Canadian privacy law already expects meaningful consent and extra care with children's data, which our terms and conditions guide and privacy policy generator cover.

The practical answer for a Canadian app: if you have or want users in Texas now, or California from January, do the integration. If you are Canada-only, design so that adding it later is a small change, by keeping one place in the code that decides what a user may see based on age.

Compliance checklist with deadlines

• Now: check your store analytics for users in Texas, California, Utah, Louisiana and Brazil.
• Now, if you have Texas users: integrate Apple's Declared Age Range API and Google's Play Age Signals API, the significant change APIs and the revocation notifications.
• Now: answer Apple's updated age rating questionnaire, including the social media questions required since September 2026, and check your Google Play content rating.
• Now: confirm the age value is never sent to analytics, advertising or attribution SDKs, and is not stored longer than needed.
• Before January 1, 2027: make sure the app requests the age signal on download and launch for California users and treats it as the primary age indicator.
• Before each release: decide whether it is a significant change and, if so, report it through the store APIs.
• Before May 6, 2027 and July 1, 2027: recheck Utah and Louisiana requirements, since both could change again.
• Ongoing: check the Texas appeal status. We will update this page when it is decided.

This is engineering guidance, not legal advice. For your specific obligations, ask a lawyer who works on US children's privacy law. For the technical work, the integration usually fits alongside the routine updates in our app store deadlines guide, and if your app is old enough that it does not, our rebuild or update guide helps you decide what to do.