AgeSafety

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Beta API Notice

The underlying platform APIs are currently in beta and may change before January 1, 2026. During the beta period, Play Age Signals may return API_NOT_AVAILABLE or throw exceptions on some devices. Always handle these cases gracefully and provide conservative fallbacks for age-gated flows.

AgeSafety exposes system-provided age signals and supervision state so you can determine whether a user is a minor, whether their account is supervised (Family Link / Screen Time), and whether parental approval is required for significant app changes or feature enablement.

The plugin intentionally passes through platform signals (it does not collect or send identifiable data itself). Use the plugin to gate UI, require parental confirmation, or disable features for underage users.

Why use AgeSafety?

• Compliance made simple: Meet platform requirements for age-appropriate content
• User safety first: Protect minors with proper age verification
• Parental controls: Respect existing family supervision settings
• Unified approach: One API works across both Android and iOS platforms

Before you start

Prerequisites

• A Median.co app with JavaScript Bridge enabled
• Target SDK support for Play Age Signals (Android) and Declared Age Range (iOS)
• Understanding of your app's age-restricted content and features

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Developer Demo

Test your implementation using our developer demo page at https://median.dev/age-safety

When to use this plugin

AgeSafety is essential for apps that need to:

Key concepts

The following terms will help you implement AgeSafety effectively:

Age bounds

Platforms return age ranges (like 13–17) rather than exact ages. Both bounds are inclusive, meaning a user with bounds 13–17 could be 13, 17, or anywhere in between.

Verification strength

• Strong verification: High-confidence signals from payment verification or government ID checks
• Weak verification: Self-declared ages or other lower-confidence methods

Account supervision

• Supervised account: The user's device or account is under parental supervision (Family Link on Android, Screen Time on iOS)
• Supervisor approval required: The platform indicates that significant app changes need parent/guardian approval

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Note

The plugin only surfaces signals; it doesn't collect or transmit personal information.

Privacy and security

• The plugin surfaces system-provided signals only. It does not log or transmit personally-identifying information.
• Follow platform rules: do not use Play Age Signals for advertising purposes (per Play's terms).

TypeScript types

enum VerificationMethod { PAYMENT, GOVERNMENT_ID, SELF_DECLARED, OTHER, NONE, UNKNOWN }

interface AgeSignalsOptions { ageGates?: number[] }

interface AgeSignalsResponse {
        ageLowerBound?: number;
        ageUpperBound?: number;
        strongVerification: boolean;
        verificationMethod?: VerificationMethod; // iOS Only
        supervisedAccount: boolean;
        supervisorApprovalRequired: boolean;
}

interface AgeRequirementResponse extends AgeSignalsResponse { allowed: boolean }

Quick start

Get up and running with AgeSafety in three steps:

1. Get age signals

const resp = await median.ageSafety.getAgeSignals({ ageGates: [13, 17, 21] });

2. Check the minimum age requirement

const resp = await median.ageSafety.requireMinimumAge(requiredAge);
if (resp.allowed) {
  // show content
} else {
  // show age-gated message
}

3. Handle errors

try {
  // Age check logic here
} catch (err) {
  console.error('Age safety check failed', err);
}

Implementation guide

Core methods

getAgeSignals

Retrieve age and supervision signals from the platform.

// Using promises
const resp = await median.ageSafety.getAgeSignals({ ageGates: [13, 17, 21] });
console.log('Age signals:', resp);

// Using callback methods
median.ageSafety.getAgeSignals({ ageGates: [13, 17] }, function (resp) {
        console.log('Age signals callback:', resp);
}, function (err) {
        console.error('AgeSafety error (callback)', err);
});

Return value (resolved Promise/success callback) is an AgeSignalsResponse.

requireMinimumAge

A convenience helper that checks whether the user meets a numeric minimum age.

async function checkMinimumAge(requiredAge) {
    // Async/await style
  try {
    const resp = await median.ageSafety.requireMinimumAge(requiredAge);
    if (resp.allowed) {
      // show content
    } else {
      // show age-gated message
    }
  } catch (err) {
    console.error('Age safety check failed', err);
  }
}

checkMinimumAge(13);

// Callback style
median.ageSafety.requireMinimumAge(18, function (resp) {
  console.log('requireMinimumAge', resp.allowed);
}, function (err) {
  console.error(err);
});

AgeRequirementResponse.allowed is computed as ageLowerBound >= requiredAge when age bounds are available. If bounds are missing, allowed may be false, and an app-level conservative policy should apply.

Code example

Gate a purchase flow

This example demonstrates how to verify a user's age before allowing a purchase, handle supervised accounts that require parental approval, and fall back when age signals are unavailable.

async function attemptPurchase() {
        try {
                const resp = await Median.ageSafety.getAgeSignals({ ageGates: [18] });
                if (resp.ageLowerBound >= 18) {
                        // proceed with purchase
                } else if (resp.supervisorApprovalRequired) {
                        // show parent approval flow
                } else {
                        // block purchase and show message
                }
        } catch (err) {
                // fallback: conservative block or soft-check
                console.error('Age check failed', err);
        }
}

Error handling

Error codes

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Important

When signals return UNKNOWN, ageLowerBound/ageUpperBound may be omitted. Design your UI to apply a conservative default (e.g., block age-restricted content) when verification is not available.