In a bid to adhere to global standards concerning online safety and the digital protection of minors, Microsoft is in the process of developing a system-wide "Age Verification Application Programming Interface" (Age API) tailored for Windows 11. This innovative interface, which taps into the foundational infrastructure of the system, sets up a standardized, software-spanning, and uniform method for verifying user age. It aims to assist third-party developers, gaming platforms, and online services in accurately pinpointing the age brackets of their users. On September 8, 2026, Microsoft formally unveiled the Windows Age API for Windows 11. This API provides five broad age categories (under 10, 10-12, 13-15, 16-17, 18 and above) and five verification statuses (verified, unverified, user opted out, temporarily unavailable, not applicable) through Microsoft accounts, all without divulging users' exact birth dates. The system neatly classifies users into five distinct age groups and categorizes verification statuses into five types. To utilize this API, three prerequisites must be fulfilled: operating on Windows 11, having a logged-in Microsoft account, and the application being registered on Microsoft's digital security platform. The API encompasses three fundamental interfaces and is slated for availability with the official launch of Windows 11 26H2. Age verification has already been activated on the front end of the Microsoft Store in Singapore, Brazil, and Australia. Microsoft has affirmed its commitment to implementing an age verification system within Windows 11, with the free version of Teams being one of the initial applications to be impacted. Additionally, Microsoft has openly shared the technical specifics of the Windows Age API.