When a parent hands a phone to a teenager, they're handing over a gateway to 40-plus apps a week — most of them unvetted. A new survey suggests Canadians are ready for a structural fix: 83% of parents support requiring app stores to verify age before any download happens.
The poll, commissioned by Meta through Counsel Public Affairs, captures something deeper than a single statistic. It reflects a widespread frustration with the current system, where parents can lock down their own apps but have almost no visibility into what their kid installs next. "Parents need clear, efficient ways to oversee the many apps their children use, not just Meta's," the research notes. They expect the same standard of protection across the board.
How It Would Actually Work
The mechanics are straightforward. When a teen creates an app store account in Canada, they'd declare their age. Anyone under 18 would need their account linked to a verified parent or guardian, who'd approve or reject each download. The app store wouldn't share personal details — just a simple age signal — allowing apps to automatically apply age-appropriate safety settings.
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The survey found 90% of respondents believe parents should ultimately decide what's appropriate for their children. That consensus extends to what those safety settings should do: 82% want apps managing contact with strangers, 84% want content filtering, and 71% want time-spent controls built in.
What's Already Changing
Meta has been testing these ideas through Teen Accounts, which launched last year. The default setup is private, limits who can message teens, and applies automatic protections. Most teens have stuck with the defaults rather than loosening them — a small signal that stricter-by-default actually works.
The company recently announced updates to Instagram Teen Accounts guided by PG-13 movie ratings. Teens will see content similar to what that rating allows, and they can't opt out without parental permission. A new "Limited Content" setting offers even stricter filtering.
Parental controls are expanding to AI interactions too. Parents can now see how their teen chats with AI characters, turn off one-on-one conversations, block specific AIs, and understand what topics are being discussed. The AI characters themselves are designed to decline age-inappropriate conversations about self-harm, suicide, or eating disorders.
These changes are rolling out in Canada starting in early 2024, beginning with Instagram. The broader question — whether app stores will adopt age verification industry-wide — remains open. But the Canadian data suggests the appetite for it is there.
