Families Policy

The use of technology as a tool for enriching families' lives continues to grow, and parents are looking for safe, high-quality content to share with their children. You may be designing your apps specifically for children or your app may just attract their attention. Weva wants to help you make sure your app is safe for all users, including families.

The word "children" can mean different things in different locales and in different contexts. It is important that you consult with your legal counsel to help determine what obligations and/or age-based restrictions may apply to your app. You know best how your app works so we are relying on you to help us make sure apps on Weva are safe for families.

Weva App Store Requirements

Target Audience and Content

When you apply to the Weva App Store you must indicate the target audience for your app, prior to publishing, by selecting from the list of age groups provided. Regardless of what you identify in the Weva App Store, if you choose to include imagery and terminology in your app that could be considered targeting children, this may impact Weva's assessment of your declared target audience. Weva reserves the right to conduct its own review of the app information that you provide to determine whether the target audience that you disclose is accurate.

You should only select more than one age group for your app's target audience if you have designed your app for and ensured that your app is appropriate for users within the selected age group(s). For example, apps designed for babies, toddlers, and preschool children should only have the age group "Ages 5 & Under" selected as the age group target for those apps. If your app is designed for a specific level of school, choose the age group that best represents that school level. You should only select age groups that include both adults and children if you truly have designed your app for all ages.

Updates to Target Audience and Content Section

You are required to designate your target audience in your application for the Weva App Store. This information will be reflected in the Weva App Store. However, any changes you make in your app in Weva App Store may be reviewed for policy compliance even before any app update is submitted.

We strongly recommend that you let your existing users know if you change the target age group for your app or start using ads or in-app purchases, either by using the "What's New" section of your app's store listing page or through in-app notifications.

Misrepresentation in Weva App Store

Misrepresentation of any information about your app in the Weva App Store, including in the Target Audience and Content section, may result in removal or suspension of your app, so it is important to provide accurate information.

Families Policy Requirements

If one of the target audiences for your app is children, you must comply with the following requirements. Failure to satisfy these requirements may result in app removal or suspension.

1. App content: Your app's content that is accessible to children must be appropriate for children. If your app contains content that is not globally appropriate, but that content is deemed appropriate for child users in a particular region, the app may be available in that region but will remain unavailable in other regions.
2. App functionality: Your app must not merely provide a webview of a website or have a primary purpose of driving affiliate traffic to a website without permission from the website owner or administrator.
3. The Weva App Store answers: You must accurately answer the questions in the the Weva App Store regarding your app and update those answers to accurately reflect any changes to your app. This includes but is not limited to, providing accurate responses about your app in the Target Audience and Content section and IARC Content Rating Questionnaire.
4. Data practices: You must disclose the collection of any personal and sensitive information from children in your app, including through APIs and SDKs called or used in your app. Sensitive information from children includes, but is not limited to, authentication information, microphone and camera sensor data, device data, device ID, and ad usage data. You must also ensure that your app follows the data practices below:
   • Apps that solely target children must not transmit Device ID, Android advertising identifier (AAID), SIM Serial, Build Serial, BSSID, MAC, SSID, IMEI, and/or IMSI.
   • Apps that target both children and older audiences must not transmit AAID, SIM Serial, Build Serial, BSSID, MAC, SSID, IMEI, and/or IMSI from children or users of unknown age.
   • Device phone number must not be requested from any Telephony Manager system
   • Apps that solely target children may not request location permission, or collect, use, and transmit precise location.
5. APIs and SDKs: You must ensure that your app properly implements any APIs and SDKs.
   • Apps that solely target children must not contain any APIs or SDKs that are not approved for use in primarily child-directed services.
     • For example, an API Service using OAuth technology for authentication and authorization whose terms of service states that it is not approved for use in child-directed services.
   • Apps that target both children and older audiences must not implement APIs or SDKs that are not approved for use in child-directed services unless they are used behind a neutral age screen or implemented in a way that does not result in the collection of data from children. Apps that target both children and older audiences must not require users to access app content through an API or SDK that is not approved for use in child-directed services.
6. Augmented Reality (AR): If your app uses Augmented Reality, you must include a safety warning immediately upon launch of the AR section. The warning should contain the following:
   • An appropriate message about the importance of parental supervision.
   • A reminder to be aware of physical hazards in the real world (for example, be aware of your surroundings).
   • Your app must not require the usage of a device that is advised not to be used by children (for example, Daydream, Oculus).
7. Social Apps & Features: If your apps allows users to share or exchange information, you must accurately disclose these features in the content rating questionnaire on the Weva App Store.
   • Social Apps: A social app is an app where the main focus is to enable users to share freeform content or communicate with large groups of people. All social apps that include children in their target audience must provide an in-app reminder to be safe online and to be aware of the real world risk of online interaction before allowing child users to exchange freeform media or information. You must also require adult action before allowing child users to exchange personal information.
   • Social Features: A social feature is any additional app functionality that enables users to share freeform content or communicate with large groups of people. Any app that includes children in their target audience and has social features, must provide an in-app reminder to be safe online and to be aware of the real world risk of online interaction before allowing child users to exchange freeform media or information. You must also provide a method for adults to manage social features for child users, including, but not limited to, enabling/disabling the social feature or selecting different levels of functionality. Finally, you must require adult action before enabling features that allow children to exchange personal information.
   • Adult action means a mechanism to verify that the user is not a child and does not encourage children to falsify their age to gain access to areas of your app that are designed for adults (that is, an adult PIN, password, birthdate, email verification, photo ID, credit card, or SSN).
   • Social apps where the main focus of the app is to chat with people they do not know must not target children. Examples include: chat roulette style apps, dating apps, kids-focused open chat rooms, etc.
8. Legal compliance: You must ensure that your app, including any APIs or SDKs that your app calls or uses, is compliant with the U.S. Children's Online Privacy and Protection Act (COPPA), E.U. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and any other applicable laws or regulations.

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