Apple yesterday rolled out another tweak for its iOS App Store, adding age rating icons to the top section of each app's information page. While the ratings have long been included in app details at the bottom of the pages, the new icons are much more prominent to help parents quickly assess whether a given app might be age appropriate for their children.

app_store_age_rating
The change comes roughly two weeks after Apple added new "Offers In-App Purchases" labels to relevant App Store listings in another effort to make parents and other customers more aware of potential costs involved with apps.

Top Rated Comments

ArtOfWarfare Avatar
139 months ago
Every science teacher ever is probably going bananas over the lack of units with that number. 9+ What!? Is that how many hours the app runs?

I feel parents may not understand either. Having the words "For Ages" above it would be useful.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
roland.g Avatar
139 months ago
Unfortunately what iOS App store does not do well is make it easy to search for educational games, learning, and creativity apps by age range. So it isn't easy to determine which "Children's" category apps are better for a 3 and 5 year old than for a 8 or 10 year old.

With so many apps available, it's a lot of junk to wade through.

AppShopper is pretty much a useless site and app too, and not just for Kids stuff but their entire search engine and paradigm is flawed for the consumer. It's only useful if you know what you are looking for, in which case I wouldn't need their site.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Klae17 Avatar
139 months ago
OUR CHILDREN NEED PROTECTION!! They need iBubbleSuits.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
charlituna Avatar
139 months ago
I think Apple's age ratings are really messed up. I have played some really gruesome games that were only rated 9+, while some 12+ apps have apparently no inappropriate content at all. And google chrome is rated 17+ just because there is 17+ stuff on the internet. :rolleyes:

The developers pick the rating that's why it's so messed up.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Weegee1 Avatar
139 months ago
And that's the underlying issue of trying to cater to all that kind of "weird"/"mistaken" stuff--going for the lowest common denominator doesn't really result in all that much good for the majority (whether most realize it or not).
Wait, isn't a very low lowest common denominator a good thing? The stupid people would be those who are big prime numbers.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iOS 17

iOS 17.2 Will Add These 12 New Features to Your iPhone

Friday December 1, 2023 12:19 pm PST by
iOS 17.2 has been in beta testing for over a month, and it should be released to all users in a few more weeks. The software update includes many new features and changes for iPhones, including the dozen that we have highlighted below. iOS 17.2 is expected to be released to the public in mid-December. To learn about even more features coming in the update, check out our full list. Journal ...
anker new xmas 1

Anker's Cyber Week Sale Enters Final Days With Up to 60% Off Sitewide

Friday December 1, 2023 12:05 pm PST by
Anker's Black Friday/Cyber Week event is entering its final days this weekend, and it's still offering up to 60 percent off sitewide. There are also a few "mystery boxes" that can include hundreds of dollars in savings, if you're willing to risk not knowing what you're buying ahead of time. All of these sales will end on December 3. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Anker. When you...
General Apps Messages

Green Bubbles on iPhone to Gain These 7 New Features Next Year

Thursday November 30, 2023 9:00 am PST by
Earlier this month, Apple announced that it will finally support RCS in the Messages app on the iPhone starting later next year. This change will result in several improvements to the messaging experience between iPhones and Android devices. RCS will become the new default standard for messaging between iPhones and Android devices, but these conversations will still have green bubbles like...
top stories 2dec2023

Top Stories: iOS 17.1.2 Released, NameDrop Misinformation, and More

Saturday December 2, 2023 6:00 am PST by
Apple employees are back to work following a Thanksgiving break, and that means this week saw a number of new operating system updates for both public release and beta testing. This week also saw some misinformation about Apple's new NameDrop feature making the rounds, while Apple and Goldman Sachs appear to be on the verge of a break-up in their Apple Card and savings account partnership,...
instagram messenger

Instagram and Facebook Messenger Chats to Disconnect This Month

Tuesday December 5, 2023 1:57 am PST by
Meta has revealed plans to end Instagram users' ability to chat with Facebook accounts later this month, rolling back a feature that it introduced over three years ago. In September 2020, Meta (then Facebook) announced it was merging its Facebook Messenger service with Instagram direct messaging, allowing Instagram users to chat with Facebook users and vice versa using the same platform....
iphone 5g mmwave

Apple's Work on 6G Connectivity Already Expanding

Monday December 4, 2023 7:00 am PST by
Apple's work on implementing 6G cellular connectivity on its devices appears to be ramping up, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. In the latest edition of his "Power On" newsletter, Gurman explained that Apple is increasingly turning its attention to 6G, even amid its widely reported difficulties developing a custom 5G cellular modem. In 2021, the first highly specific Apple job...