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Windows 11 Will Tell Apps Whether You’re a Child, Teen, or Adult
Windows Age APIs. Behind this name are new APIs that Microsoft wants to integrate into Windows 11 to indicate your age to apps, all based on information from your Microsoft account. Here’s what we know.
On its Windows Experience blog, Microsoft published a new article mentioning new APIs called Windows Age APIs. So what are they for?
Today, every app or game that needs to filter content or comply with regulations for minors has to implement its own mechanisms. For example, this can take the form of a "I am over 18" checkbox or simply entering a birth date. Microsoft wants to make life easier for everyone with these new APIs for Windows: the operating system itself will provide an age signal, calculated from the information in the signed-in Microsoft account.
"Apps receive only the age-related signal needed for the experience, not sensitive personal data such as the full date of birth," Microsoft explains. If Microsoft is doing this, it is no coincidence. Regulatory pressure is significant, including in France with the law aimed at limiting access to social networks for under-15s. But the strongest signal would come directly from the United States. According to TechRepublic, a California law will require operating system vendors to provide an age signal to developers starting January 1, 2027.
The Redmond company is not the only one offering this kind of mechanism. Google and Apple already do. In fact, Apple has offered the Declared Age Range framework since iOS 26 and macOS 26, which returns an age range declared by the user or their parents. Google, meanwhile, is rolling out the Play Age Signals API, already enabled in Brazil since March 2026 and planned for the rest of the world by the end of 2026.
Two APIs, five age ranges, and a verification status
These APIs rely on Microsoft Age Verification (MAV), a centralized platform that stores a verified age status in each Microsoft account. "Verify once, use everywhere," Microsoft sums up. According to Microsoft Learn documentation, these API calls would not return the user’s exact age, but rather a range. Here is how it would work:
- GetUserAgeRangeAsync. Returns one of five possible age ranges: under 10, 10-12, 13-15, 16-17, and 18 and older. Technically, the app receives an object with a lower and upper bound, with the 18+ range open-ended at the top. If Windows cannot answer, the value is null, and the app must fall back to its own mechanism.
- GetAgeVerificationStatusAsync. Indicates whether the age was independently verified, simply declared, or whether the user refused verification.
The article published by the Redmond company also mentions a third method: CheckAgeStatusAsync. Its purpose is simply to categorize the user as a child, minor, or adult, adapting to each country’s rules.
What is interesting is that Microsoft’s documentation mentions the prerequisites. Beyond being on Windows 11, it specifies that user consent is required to access account information, granted in Windows privacy settings. Without this approval, the API call fails with an error indicating access is denied.
Finally, regarding the rollout of this change. For now, age verification is available only on Microsoft stores in Singapore, Brazil, and Australia. It will be rolled out gradually and then adopted by certain apps. Microsoft also says that parental controls will be more prominently highlighted during Windows initial setup in certain countries, including France.
