Google Family Star features makes it easy to find kid-friendly apps

We’ve know for a while now that Google was planning to make some big changes to the way parents and kids discover family friendly apps on Google Play. During the Google I/O 2015 keynote, we saw this change to fruition with the announcement of the new “Family Star” program.

Family Star is a new rating that applies not just to games, but video, general apps, books and more. Google Star makes it easy to find kid-friendly content and is even broken down into three general age groups: 5 year olds ad younger, 6 to 8 year old, and 9 to 12 year olds. In addition to creating categories for easy discoverability, Google is also bringing 3rd-party ESRB ratings to all apps and will make sure to clarify if apps have in-app purchases. Google is also expanding the IAP controls and making a more powerful password system to better protect kids from accessing content they shouldn’t.

For those wondering about the content that Google will let into the Google Star program, they have a pretty strict approval process lined up, one which Google has mentioned before and should go a long way in ensuring quality apps are the only ones that make it in.

In line with making it easier to find kid-friendly content, Google is also letting parents and kids search for content based on characters, franchises and companies like Nickelodeon, Mattel, Sesame Street, and characters like Dora, Star Wars characters, and the list goes on. So when exactly will the new changes to Google Play roll out? While we don’t have an exact date, Google says that most of these changes should be rolling out in the next few weeks.