Google will be applying an age ratings system to apps submitted to the Android Market, in a response to requests from users.
Developers will have to rate their apps according to four content rating levels, All, Pre-Teen, Teen, and Mature. This roughly corresponds to the age ratings system that’s in place in the iTunes App Store, which rates iPhone apps according to age (4+, 9+, 12+ and 17+).
For example, apps including mild sexual references should be given a Teen rating with racier, more explicit apps having to have a Mature tag. Google has also clearly stated in its guidelines that “Pornography is not allowed in Android Market.”
We sincerely hope that this sees a decrease in the number of ‘Big Booty’ and ‘Skirt Up’ apps that routinely trickle through the ‘Just In’ section of the Market.
Developers will be free to assign whatever rating they choose to their apps, but Google warns that incorrectly rated apps will be re-rated accordingly, with repeat offenders “subject to further action, up to and including account termination.”
According to Eric Chu of the Android Developer Ecosystem, the rollout of ratings for Android apps should start “in a few weeks”.
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