Windows 11 will start sharing your age group with apps

Microsoft is moving age verification into Windows itself, allowing apps to check whether a user falls into a particular age group without asking for their exact date of birth, according to Windows Latest, citing company documentation.

Today, apps and games that need to restrict adult content, block purchases or comply with child-safety laws generally have to handle age checks themselves. That can mean asking for a birth date or payment details, sending users through a third-party identity service, or simply relying on an “I am 18+” checkbox that provides no real verification.

Windows 11 will instead expose that information through system APIs. GetUserAgeRangeAsync will return one of five age brackets — under 10, 10–12, 13–15, 16–17, or 18 and older — without revealing a user’s birthday. A separate method, GetAgeVerificationStatusAsync, will tell apps whether the age has been independently verified, returning one of five states: Verified, Unverified, OptedOut, TemporarilyUnavailable, or NotApplicable.

The change comes as governments tighten rules around online age checks. In the UK, Ofcom requires age-assurance systems to be technically accurate and reliable, while the EU is developing a “mini wallet” that can confirm whether someone is an adult without exposing additional personal data. US states are moving in the same direction, with California’s Digital Age Assurance Act due to take effect on January 1, 2027. Google Play and Apple already provide similar age signals to developers.

The APIs are already included in Windows 11 version 24H2, but they have not yet been switched on. For now, they return an unknown age range and an unavailable verification status, leaving developers to rely on their existing systems. Microsoft plans to enable the feature later in 2026.