Open Radar

 
Per App Store rules, any app with unrestricted web browsing functionality is required to have a 17+ rating on the App Store, despite the fact that most iPhone users under 17 have web access on their device through Safari.

iOS has a great "Restrictions" feature that allows parents to restrict access to certain apps, including Safari. Third-party apps should be able to determine whether or not Safari was blocked, and block unrestricted web access inside the third-party app if Safari itself is unavailable.

This would allow a consistent experience for users (unrestricted access is either allowed on the system, or not) and prevent the scary warnings when downloading apps that use the web from the App Store.

Steps to Reproduce:
1. Try to download a web browser from the App Store
2. Note that the App Store shows a scary warning about how the app is only appropriate for users 17+ and over - even if Safari itself is available, with unrestricted web access

Expected Results:
There should be a way for apps to comply with iOS restrictions by determining (via an API) that Safari has been restricted and therefore the app should also restrict web access. This way, on devices where Safari is not restricted, web access will be available in other apps as well.

The API could resemble the accessibility APIs, like:
UIKIT_EXTERN BOOL UIRestrictionsIsWebAccessRestricted();


Actual Results:
No such API is available, and developers that include web functionality in their apps are required to list them as 17+ on the App Store, even if they are actually appropriate for younger ages.