If you’ve kept up with news on the Play Store, you’ll remember back in March that Google announced that there would be age based ratings for each application that can be downloaded. Google had a survey that began on May 5th for every new and existing app that developers needed to go through for rating their application(s). The survey was done so unrated apps would not show as “unlisted” for those browsing for a new application or applications.
This was released yesterday for only the web version of the Play Store, so hopefully in the next Android Play Store update, they’ll be there for everyone to see. For the United States and Canada, our ratings are decided by the ESRB, which goes as follows:
E – Content is generally suitable for all ages. May contain minimal cartoon, fantasy or mild violence and/or infrequent use of mild language.
E10+ – Content is generally suitable for ages 10 and up. May contain more cartoon, fantasy or mild violence, mild language and/or minimal suggestive themes.
T – Content is generally suitable for ages 13 and up. May contain violence, suggestive themes, crude humor, minimal blood, simulated gambling and/or infrequent use of strong language.
M – Content is generally suitable for ages 17 and up. May contain intense violence, blood and gore, sexual content and/or strong language.
AO – Content suitable only for adults ages 18 and up. May include prolonged scenes of intense violence, graphic sexual content and/or gambling with real currency.
With Google coming out with this rating system for the Play Store, it’ll help parents or guardians know which games or apps are appropriate for their kids to download. Personally, I know that my sister-in-law will appreciate it as her son just received his first smartphone (finally). He has an Android tablet and downloads games, but her seeing a rating might change her mind from letting the application be downloaded.
Are you happy with Google adding in age based ratings in the Play Store? Let us know in the comments below, or on Google +, Facebook, or Twitter.
[button link=”https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/188189″ icon=”fa-external-link” side=”left” target=”blank” color=”285b5e” textcolor=”ffffff”]Source: Google[/button]Last Updated on November 27, 2018.
