Mandatory API Signals: Google Play’s January 1 Deadline
Dec 18, 2025
Izabela Pawlik
Starting January 1, any developer using this API, regardless of their location, is contractually prohibited from using age signals for advertising, marketing, or user profiling. By standardizing these rules worldwide, Google is establishing a unified safety infrastructure that prevents "data leakage" and ensures compliance with global standards like the EU’s Digital Services Act.
Financial Services & Age Signal: Summary of All Changes
Policy Section | Current Policy | Updated Policy (Effective Jan 1 / Jan 28, 2026) |
API & Data Signals | No mandatory API for age verification or safety signals. | Mandatory: Apps must use the Play Age Signals API to adapt experiences for verified/supervised users. |
Data Usage Rule | General user data safety declarations. | Global Ban: API data must only be used for the core app experience; usage for ads or profiling is strictly prohibited. |
Regional Requirements | Compliance with local laws via general disclosures. | Introduces a granular Help Center guide with country-specific licensing (e.g., BaFin in Germany, FINTRAC in Canada). |
Live API Responses | Beta / Testing hooks only. | Texas (Jan 1) becomes the first region where the API returns live production data for verified users. |
Financial Declarations | Required only for apps with financial features. | Mandatory for all apps, even non-financial ones, before any further updates can be submitted. |
The "Strict Purpose" Global Rule
Starting January 1, Google is enforcing a "zero-tolerance" policy regarding the use of age-related data. Even if your app doesn't have a single user in Texas, if you call the Age Signals API, you must adhere to these global constraints:
Siloed Usage: You may only use the age signal within the specific app that received it.
The Advertising Ban: Using Age Signals API data for targeted ads, marketing, or "probabilistic" user modeling is a bannable offense.
No Third-Party Sharing: You cannot share a user’s age bracket with other apps in your suite or third-party analytics partners.
Regional "Hard" Deadlines
Google has clarified that while the privacy policy is global, the "Live" data rollout is staggered based on local legislation:
January 1, 2026: Texas (Live responses begin for verified/supervised accounts).
May 7, 2026: Utah (Live responses begin).
July 1, 2026: Louisiana (Live responses begin).
January 28, 2026: Full global enforcement of the updated Financial Services policy.
Which Apps Are Affected?
There is a common misconception that these updates only target banks or crypto wallets. In reality, every single developer on Google Play is impacted by the following administrative and technical changes:
The Mandatory Declaration (All Apps)
You cannot update any app – even a simple utility or game – until you complete the Financial Features Declaration in the Play Console. If your app has no financial features, you must still legally certify that by selecting "None."
The "Strict Purpose" Global Rule (API Users)
If your app uses the Age Signals API, Google’s new global privacy mandate applies to you. You are prohibited from using age signals for targeted ads or sharing them with third-party analytics, no matter where your users are located.
Feature Gating (Social/UGC Apps)
Any app with social features, chat, or user-generated content (UGC) is strongly encouraged to integrate the API to meet shifting global safety standards.
What Developers Should Do Now
Integrate SDK v0.0.2: You must use library version 0.0.2 or higher of the Play Age Signals API to receive live responses starting January 1.
Audit Your Ad Tech: Ensure your marketing and analytics SDKs do not have access to the variables where you store the Age Signals API response.
Submit the "Financial Features" Declaration: This is now a prerequisite for all app updates. Even if your app has no financial features, you must declare "None" to unlock your update pipeline.
