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Determining Your App's Age Group
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Every developer publishing apps on the Meta Horizon Store must identify and select their app's intended age group via a self-certification flow. You will choose from: teens and adults (13+), children ages 10 to 12, or mixed ages (13+ and under 13).
But if you didn't explicitly design your app for a specific age group, determining your app's age group during self-certification can seem challenging. We've provided some examples to help you evaluate your app and more accurately identify the intended age group of your audience.
Each example features a different fictional app and illustrates how a developer might self-certify in a similar scenario. Use this resource as a decision-making tool as you evaluate your app's subject matter, content, tone, design, and more.
This is not legal advice, nor a guaranteed solution to selecting the appropriate age group for your app. It is your responsibility to ensure you follow all applicable Meta Horizon platform and regulatory requirements.
My app is already live on the Store
I'm a new Meta Horizon developer
My app is already live on the Store
Example #1: I didn't build my app for younger users
In this example, Turbo Rush Entertainment created a zombie survival app with no intention that younger gamers would play it. Follow along to see how Turbo Rush determined their app's intended age group for self-certification.
Brainless Behemoths
Transcript
Turbo Rush Entertainment is the creator of Brainless Behemoths, a zombie survival app available on the Meta Horizon Store. Due to elements like minimal blood, crude humor, and suggestive themes… the app received a “T” content rating from the ESRB. That rating is similar to the 12 and up content rating assigned by the IARC.
Because Turbo Rush didn't intend for younger audiences to ever use their app, Brainless Behemoths does not have an age gate and does not collect user age.
But, after reviewing Meta's policies, they need to make sure the app isn't unintentionally child-directed. So even though Brainless Behemoths is designed for a more mature audience, the team reviews the FTC's criteria for determining if an app is considered child-directed under COPPA.
After reviewing the criteria and their app's subject matter, tone, and visual content, the team decides that their app's intended age group is a general audience, teens and adults ages 13 and up.
Finally, Turbo Rush reviews Meta's requirements and determines that since their app is for teens and adults ages 13 and up, they do not need to implement the Get Age Category API.
Example #2: I created my app to be used by a younger audience
Example #3: The ESRB designated my app as “E for Everyone”
I'm a new Meta Horizon developer
Example #1: I'm planning to design an app for children
Sample Development Lifecycle: Building an App for Mixed Ages
Disclaimer: This resource does not guarantee compliance with Meta policies, nor applicable data privacy laws. Review Meta Horizon's Developer Data Use Policy for a comprehensive overview of Meta's requirements.