Google offers a competent set of parental controls on Android that keep getting better every passing day. But a safe operating system for kids is only part of the equation. Children also need a great selection of apps that are sure to not show them problematic content or ads. Google offers just that through its teacher-approved Kids section in the Play Store. To make it easier for developers to create towards this set of standards, Google is introducing new policies, expanding the program.

As Google explains in a blog post, the company is expanding its Teacher Approved program to be easier to develop for. To do that, the company is combining the Teacher Approved policies with those from Google Play’s Families Policies. In the future, all apps that meet the latter requirements are supposed to be automatically eligible for screening to become part of the Teacher Approved section.

As Google explains, its experts “rate apps on factors like age-appropriateness, quality of experience, enrichment, and delight.” To make clearer to you why exactly an app joined the Teachers Approved list, the company will also add details on which sections in particular an app excels in. Over the coming weeks, apps that adhere to the family policy rules will also get a new badge in their Play Store listing, showing that they are “Committed to follow the Play Families Policy.”

In the same vein, Google is revising its advertisement policy for kids' apps. There are changes to the so-called Families Self-Certified Ads SDK Program, which apps will have to implement by next year. Specifically, Google requires advertising SDKs to make clear which version of its SDKs are meant for child-safe apps.

The Teacher Approved program was launched in 2020. Apps that pass the program are eligible to become part of the Kids section of the Play Store, which that way has turned into a curated list of quality apps. With the new changes in place, the Kids section might soon grow even bigger, as app developers will have an easier time developing their products towards the combined standards.