Get KeyUp

Age checks, state laws and parent approval

Who can sign up, the Google Play age check on Android, parent approval in Family Link, and why some US states can’t get new teen accounts yet.

KeyUp is for people 14 and older. On Android, KeyUp also uses the age check and the parent approval that Google Play collects, where a state law asks for them. In some US states, KeyUp can’t open new accounts for people under 18 for now.

Who can sign up

  1. You must be 14 or older. You give your birth year once, and KeyUp keeps only whether you’re an adult or a teen. People under 18 get a teen account. Only adults can start or own a Space, or buy a plan.
  2. Some US states have age laws for apps. In Texas now, and in other states as their laws start, KeyUp can’t open new accounts or guest passes for people under 18. Sign-up then says KeyUp can’t open new accounts for people under 18 in your state right now.
  3. Guest passes in those states are for people 18 or older. Joining with one asks What year were you born? KeyUp uses the year only for this check and doesn’t keep it. On Android, Google Play’s age check counts too, and then the year isn’t asked.
  4. KeyUp knows the state from your connection when you sign up or join, and doesn’t keep it. Adults are never affected. Teen accounts that already exist are not closed by this check.
  5. This check is the same on Android, in the web app and in the iPhone app.

The Google Play age check

On Android, KeyUp asks Google Play what it already knows about the age on your Google account. Google Play shares an age range, like 16 to 17, never your exact age. KeyUp uses it only for the age rules, and it can only make them stricter.

Phone

  1. It happens while you make your account, before the account exists, and at most once a day after that.
  2. If Google Play shares nothing, sign-up goes on with your birth year as usual.
  3. A range under 18 makes the account a teen account. A range under 13 means KeyUp can’t make or keep the account.
  4. KeyUp keeps only adult or teen and the parent approval status, never the range.

Web app and iPhone

The web app and the iPhone app get no age from a store. They use your birth year and the state check above.

Verify your age in the Play Store

Sometimes Google Play needs to confirm your age before it shares it. Then KeyUp says Google Play needs to confirm your age first. Open the Play Store, finish the age check, then come back.

Phone

  1. Tap Open Play Store and follow Google’s steps. Google does the check, and KeyUp only gets the result.
  2. Come back to KeyUp and tap Try again. KeyUp makes your account once Google Play has confirmed your age.
  3. Already have an account? The same message shows as a banner in You, at most once a day, with Open Play Store. You can close it, and your account keeps working.

Where a state law requires it (Texas now), Google Play asks a parent to approve KeyUp for a teen, and to approve big changes to KeyUp later. Parents do this in Google’s Family Link.

Phone

  1. If a parent approved, the teen account works as usual.
  2. If the approval is still waiting, or a parent declined it, the teen account is paused until a parent approves.
  3. Parents: check Family Link for KeyUp and approve it there. KeyUp never sees your Family Link account.

What a paused teen sees

A paused teen account shows A parent needs to approve the latest KeyUp changes in Google Play. Ask them to check Family Link.

  1. You can still sign in. You can’t talk, send messages or join rooms until a parent approves.
  2. The pause is on the account, so it applies on every device you use. Nothing is deleted.
  3. KeyUp checks with Google Play again when you open it on your Android phone, at most once a day. Once Google Play says a parent approved, the pause ends.

Still stuck? Email [email protected]. Tell us your phone and watch model and what you tried.