Google today announced that it’s got two new ways to help users identify age-appropriate apps and protect them from harmful content.
First up, Google is launching an age-based rating system for Google Play apps and games. Developers can now take a content questionnaire for their apps and, once completed, they’ll be given a rating for their app. These will be official ratings from the International Age Rating Coalition (IARC) and its region-specific bodies, like the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) and Pan-European Game Information (PEGI). The process is free, and Google promises that it’ll be quick.
Google also announced that a few months back, it started reviewing apps before they’re published on Google Play. That review process includes a team of humans that’ll identify apps that violate Google’s developer policies. Google promises that it will still work to get apps to market within hours of their submission, and that since it began its new review process, there’s been no noticeable change in an app’s time to market.
Finally, Google says that it’s improving the way that it handles app publishing status. The changes will make it easier for developers to understand why their apps are suspended or rejected and give them easy ways to fix any issues.
These changes will make it easy to identify if an app is appropriate for you or a child, especially in regions that have their own ratings body. The decision to review apps before submission and have humans identify violations sounds smart, too, since humans are equipped to understand any intricate details of issues that may arise.
What do you think of Google’s new app rating and reviews efforts?
