I have hun
UPDATE PIMD's App Store Age Rating Update
- Thread starter [ATA]Marceline
- Start date
Mina-KiLIing_You_4_Fun
Well-Known Member
Couple questions regarding all this:Hello folks!
There has been some understandable confusion surrounding PIMDās recent age-rating changes in the app stores. Some players have interpreted the change as PIMD shifting toward a younger audience or inviting minors into its adult social community.
We want to be transparent about why the rating is changing, how our age-gating/restricting system will work, and the protections being put in place.
tl;dr
The most important point is this:
PIMD is not opening its adult social spaces to minors.
As you may have seen, the app-store download age rating for PIMD has changed to 13+. We want to explain the reasons behind these changes and clarify any questions and concerns about what it means for the game.
PIMDās full social experience will remain for players aged 18 and older. Players identified as aged 13-17 will instead receive a heavily restricted, non-social experience where they cannot communicate with other players. As before, players under 13 cannot play.
For players identified as aged 13-17, the following features are disabled:
These players may still be able to upgrade, complete available quests, join clubs and participate in parties, but they will not be able to communicate with other players and other players will not be able to communicate with them.
- Direct messages
- Wall messages
- Viewing or sending messages in public chat
- Viewing or sending messages in club chat
- Friends lists and friend requests
- Trading and gifting
- Custom profile text
- Other direct player-to-player social interaction
Content that is inappropriate for under 18s will also be hidden, censored or skipped. For example, sexier avatars and items will be restricted to use placeholder images, while quests containing social requirements will be unavailable or automatically skipped.
Why is the app-store age rating changing?
App-store age ratings help determine who can find and download an app, but they do not guarantee the real age of every person who downloads an app or creates an account.
Since age reporting was introduced a few weeks ago and PIMD still had a 16+/17+ app-store rating, we found that more than 3% of new PIMD accounts reported being 13-17. This shows that app-store download restrictions alone are not enough; identifying younger players AND limiting their access provides stronger protection for them.
Mature app-store age ratings are also increasingly limiting app availability, discoverability and access to featuring opportunities on the app stores. That makes it harder for the adults we actually want to reach to discover PIMD. To keep campus lively for years to come, PIMD needs to continue welcoming new adult players into the community.
Age ratings, age-assurance systems and youth-access rules are also changing quickly across different platforms and countries. Introducing a durable age-gating framework helps us adapt to future requirements without disrupting access to the game.
Does this mean PIMD will be targeted to teenagers?
No.
We are not changing our marketing to target players aged 13-17, and we are not repositioning PIMD as a teenage social game. PIMDās marketing and product direction will remain focused on its adult social community.
Will everyone be placed into the correct experience automatically?
Not always. The app stores will not provide us with an age signal for every single account that's made.
Where Apple or Google identifies a player as aged 13-17, we can place that account into the restricted experience automatically.
Where no age signal is available, we will continue to rely on:
Players should continue reporting accounts they reasonably believe belong to minors but still have unrestricted social access. Those accounts can then be reviewed and restricted appropriately.
- Age information provided by players
- Account-review processes
- Reports from players who have a strong reason to believe an account belongs to someone underage
Providing false age information or attempting to bypass these restrictions will result in the account being socially restricted or permanently banned. Where possible, we may also restrict the device itself so players cannot simply start a new account and regain social access.
The system isn't perfect (none exists) and won't identify every single underage player or prevent every bypass attempt, but this is a stronger system than relying on an app-store rating alone, and we will continue to improve our systems over time.
How does this affect player privacy?
Privacy laws and platform requirements can require information belonging to younger users to be handled differently.
Knowing an accountās age range allows us to apply the appropriate privacy settings, data-handling rules and gameplay restrictions. We will use age information to provide the correct experience, apply age-appropriate privacy and data-handling rules, protect players and meet our legal and platform obligations.
Will adults and younger players be mixed together?
PIMD will apply different access levels and social restrictions based on age:
Players aged 13-17 may still appear within certain gameplay systems, such as clubs or parties, where required for the game to function. However, they will not be able to communicate or otherwise participate in PIMDās player-to-player social environment.
Players under 13 cannot play and will be removed from the game.
Players aged 13-17 can only access the heavily restricted, non-social experience (see restrictions above).
Players aged 18 and older can access the full social experience.
The goal is to prevent younger players from interacting inside PIMDās adult social spaces and to prevent adult players from unknowingly socializing with minors.
Will the rating be 13+ everywhere?
The exact rating may vary between Apple, Google and different countries or regions because each platform uses its own rating system and regional rules.
We expect PIMD to receive a 13+ minimum download rating in most regions. Some platforms or regions may assign a higher rating. Regardless of the rating displayed by an app store, PIMDās full player-to-player social experience will remain restricted to adults.
Are the recent chat and username moderation changes part of this?
No.
The recent moderation of sexual usernames, sexual conduct and public chat is separate from the restricted experience for players aged 13-17.
Those issues were already affecting the experience for new adult players. Overtly sexual usernames, conversations and behaviour have been a recurring source of negative feedback through Discord, app-store reviews and other player feedback channels.
We have also had consistent problems during app-store reviews when reviewers could immediately see extensive public sexual content, potentially delaying or blocking scheduled game updates.
These moderation changes are about making PIMD safer, more welcoming and more sustainable for adult players, while maintaining a predictable relationship with Apple and Google. They are not being introduced because players aged 13-17 will have access to the restricted experience.
Will the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy be updated?
Yes.
We are working on updated Terms of Use and Privacy Policy documents that will account for these changes and several other updates.
The final wording is still being developed and will require legal review, but the updated documents will explain:
We will provide an update when all is ready.
- The different age-based experiences
- How age information may be obtained and used
- The privacy protections applied to younger players
- The restrictions applying to each account type
- The consequences of providing false age information or bypassing restrictions
In Closing
We understand that changes involving age access can raise serious concerns, and we want to be clear about where we stand. PIMD will remain an adult-focused social game, and protecting that community remains a priority.
These changes are designed to better identify younger players, limit what they can access, and prevent them from participating in PIMDās adult social spaces. We will continue reviewing how these protections work in practice and make adjustments where needed.
Thank you to everyone who has raised thoughtful questions and concerns. We hope this provides clearer context around what is changing and, just as importantly, what is not.
1. If discoverability for adults was the goal, what evidence suggests lowering the rating will primarily attract adults instead of more teenagers?
2. If 3% of new accounts were already 13-17 under the higher rating, why not simply enforce the existing age requirement instead of lowering the rating?
3. Doesnāt making the game discoverable to 13-17-year-olds inherently increase kid exposure, even if you arenāt āmarketingā to them?
4. Could lowering the age rating unintentionally signal to parents that the game is generally for teenagers?
5. Why should adult players believe their experience wonāt continue changing because of platform policies?
6. If sexual content was already causing App Store review issues, doesnāt lowering the age rating increase scrutiny rather than reduce it?
if you could take your time to read and answer back that would be greatly appreciated.
This game is what, 15 years old? The player base has and always should be adults. Kids lie and we all know it, because a lot of us probably did it to play "adult games" when we were younger. Making these changes feels wildly inappropriate and predatory. At this point your entire player base is going to be frustrated with these insane decisions.
iJaspy_LuvsMyLabroFurrKid
Well-Known Member
Questions & apologies if this was glazed over and I missed it... I've had coffee and focusing isn't a strong point atm 
So here goes...
ā¢These invisible to adult youngins, will they be able to join cat/dog/misc clubs? If/when they join a club for parties, how will that reflect club member counts? Will admins get any notifications if they join? If a club requires gifting, how does that play out?
ā¢OR would it be more like starter club/upgraded starter club until they age-in, where they can get a feel for the different party styles while incognito?
ā¢Is there a way y'all can show us a sample of what they would see vs what adults see?
Thank you in advance!
So here goes...ā¢These invisible to adult youngins, will they be able to join cat/dog/misc clubs? If/when they join a club for parties, how will that reflect club member counts? Will admins get any notifications if they join? If a club requires gifting, how does that play out?
ā¢OR would it be more like starter club/upgraded starter club until they age-in, where they can get a feel for the different party styles while incognito?
ā¢Is there a way y'all can show us a sample of what they would see vs what adults see?
Thank you in advance!
Questions & apologies if this was glazed over and I missed it... I've had coffee and focusing isn't a strong point atm
ā¢These invisible to adult youngins, will they be able to join cat/dog/misc clubs? If/when they join a club for parties, how will that reflect club member counts? Will admins get any notifications if they join? If a club requires gifting, how does that play out?
ā¢OR would it be more like starter club/upgraded starter club until they age-in, where they can get a feel for the different party styles while incognito?
ā¢Is there a way y'all can show us a sample of what they would see vs what adults see?
Thank you in advance!
They couldn't join an EC club realistically because they can't talk to anyone to ask to drop SD/OD or gift bentos to join. They have zero ability to add anyone, see club walls or chat in any capacity.
They could join another club but they'd have to just scroll through the full list of a club and still can't talk or read anything.
Examples of what they see:
I suppose them being able to still see IGNs also explains why IGNs need to be super clean as well. Not that they need to be any more clean that chat does, but I'm surprised they can still see IGNs and it isn't just like "Someone has left the club" or something.They couldn't join an EC club realistically because they can't talk to anyone to ask to drop SD/OD or gift bentos to join. They have zero ability to add anyone, see club walls or chat in any capacity.
They could join another club but they'd have to just scroll through the full list of a club and still can't talk or read anything.
Examples of what they see:
I honestly thought it was also because IGNs were getting out of control. Not all, but some were uh....yeah.
Parts of these might seem overcorrected, but it's a very new change, so things may still be adjusted both ways.
Definitely agree with the overcorrection part, but there is always a chance of ATA loosening the rules a little bit in the future as things change. I do highly agree that things were getting out of control, and while I do understand the new silencing policy has some players afraid to talk in chat, it is definitely super nice to be able to socialize in Campus and not see many of the graphic, explicit requests that were plaguing Pub.
Exactly why I said why not try to perfect the system?? We all knew the problem exists. So if you donāt have a proposed solution please refrain.
I mean, you didn't have a proposed solution either beyond telling them to perfect it. How can they perfect the system without having a starting point, so they can see where the issues lie when in action?
Snu-KiLIing_You_4_Fun
Well-Known Member
We have been looking into this from the beginning and amazed at all the lies and back pedaling thatās been done by devs prior to this final release.
You say that you're not opening up PIMD to 12yo's and keeping it purely a 18+ game, which is confusing me because thatās literally what youāre doing. Kids will be target advertised, they will land in a game thatās literally boring and has little to no functionsā¦ so what do you expect them to do? They will get around the age restrictions, get into the full game and spend $` just the way you want.
The next argument is "but they are in the game already prior". Yes they are and we all try to get them banned and report them when we find them, yet tbh very little is done, just like when we report Peadophiles in game, ATA doesn't do anything.
The reason we get minimal kids in here is because its hard for them to find the app to begin because its 18+, its not target advertised to them. Now that the age restrictions have changed, so will the target advertising. ATA says "We are not changing their marketing strategy" but that marketing strategy includes targeted advertising to all available age groups on app stores as well as targeted ads in other apps. Read between the lines, not changing their marketing is very different to making sure 12yo's wonāt be targeted for advertising. So as you can see, many more kids 12+ will now be having this app advertised directly to them.
If ATA was really worried about children then they would have built a secondary server to hold the under-age kids completely away from the adult area, with a simple graduation into the adult area when they turn 18yo. But no, they will be putting them in here and enticing them with the 18+ content, UG's and avis to promotes spending, which is what this is all about.
Don't let them fool you, their parent company Embracer last year posted a 57% decrease in revenue in the mobile app sector and their share price has dropped 10Ć from when ATA was brought out in 2020, so the pressure is on them to increase revenue dramatically.
But the way they are trying to increase said revenue is onboarding 12-18yo kids and grabbing their money now, which I feel is absolutely shameful.
The most laughable part of this whole debacle is ATA saying they need to lower the age restrictions to target the adults that they want to onboard. Targeting kids will not bring more adults, it will simply bring more kids and that 3% they talk about will increase substantially now that advertising is directed at their age groups. Also itās 12+ on majority of platforms that we have found so far not even the 13+ they are reporting.
You say that you're not opening up PIMD to 12yo's and keeping it purely a 18+ game, which is confusing me because thatās literally what youāre doing. Kids will be target advertised, they will land in a game thatās literally boring and has little to no functionsā¦ so what do you expect them to do? They will get around the age restrictions, get into the full game and spend $` just the way you want.
The next argument is "but they are in the game already prior". Yes they are and we all try to get them banned and report them when we find them, yet tbh very little is done, just like when we report Peadophiles in game, ATA doesn't do anything.
The reason we get minimal kids in here is because its hard for them to find the app to begin because its 18+, its not target advertised to them. Now that the age restrictions have changed, so will the target advertising. ATA says "We are not changing their marketing strategy" but that marketing strategy includes targeted advertising to all available age groups on app stores as well as targeted ads in other apps. Read between the lines, not changing their marketing is very different to making sure 12yo's wonāt be targeted for advertising. So as you can see, many more kids 12+ will now be having this app advertised directly to them.
If ATA was really worried about children then they would have built a secondary server to hold the under-age kids completely away from the adult area, with a simple graduation into the adult area when they turn 18yo. But no, they will be putting them in here and enticing them with the 18+ content, UG's and avis to promotes spending, which is what this is all about.
Don't let them fool you, their parent company Embracer last year posted a 57% decrease in revenue in the mobile app sector and their share price has dropped 10Ć from when ATA was brought out in 2020, so the pressure is on them to increase revenue dramatically.
But the way they are trying to increase said revenue is onboarding 12-18yo kids and grabbing their money now, which I feel is absolutely shameful.
The most laughable part of this whole debacle is ATA saying they need to lower the age restrictions to target the adults that they want to onboard. Targeting kids will not bring more adults, it will simply bring more kids and that 3% they talk about will increase substantially now that advertising is directed at their age groups. Also itās 12+ on majority of platforms that we have found so far not even the 13+ they are reporting.
Snu-KiLIing_You_4_Fun
Well-Known Member
Snu-KiLIing_You_4_Fun
Well-Known Member
Another thing we discovered while looking into this is that on the sale of ATA they were paid an initial price, some in cash and some in shares of their now parent company. After the initial payment ATA has a 10yr schedule of supplementary payments when they reach certain goals/Milestones. We cant see what they all are but it surely would have goals for revenue and download targets.
Now remember those shares that were part of the sale? Embracers share price since the sale has plummeted 10Ć lower, so that `$11m they were given in shares is worth roughly $1m today. You can see even more of an incentive for them to reach these secondary supplementary goals. Thatās fine itās just business.
Now remember those shares that were part of the sale? Embracers share price since the sale has plummeted 10Ć lower, so that `$11m they were given in shares is worth roughly $1m today. You can see even more of an incentive for them to reach these secondary supplementary goals. Thatās fine itās just business.
They couldn't join an EC club realistically because they can't talk to anyone to ask to drop SD/OD or gift bentos to join. They have zero ability to add anyone, see club walls or chat in any capacity.
They could join another club but they'd have to just scroll through the full list of a club and still can't talk or read anything.
Examples of what they see:
I know Iāve already mentioned this and I sound like a broken record but this is beyond frustrating when Iām seeing the same thing but Iām an adult when is this going to change? Especially if this happened to me it could happen to others and to make matters worse no one has been responding back to my help ticket this morning smh (ata do better this is unacceptable)š«©
ShortMomma
Member
Okay I have a great idea that you Ata can do. Ask for a license for age verification. If they can't show one then put them as 13-17. If they can and of age 18+ . Because no one under 15 has one yet and if they are 15-17 they'd have a learners permit. Or at least American people. Idk about passports showing. But just to find some verification.
Hi. As some others have already mentioned youāll have to send in a ticket in order to get age issue changed or adjust it yourself on via the App Store.
Mods have zero ability to access player accounts or make adjustments to what you can see.
Yes. I can confirm the only thing blocked from buying in the shop is PvP items that cost in game cash. Weird that you can still spend ECS on the smoothies and the āfite barā which is also PvP items
skyyward-ace
Well-Known Member
First of all, thank you for addressing this! While I actually prefer a non-sexualized game, I'll admit I too was a bit concerned seeing the rating change on the App store.Hello folks!
There has been some understandable confusion surrounding PIMDās recent age-rating changes in the app stores. Some players have interpreted the change as PIMD shifting toward a younger audience or inviting minors into its adult social community.
We want to be transparent about why the rating is changing, how our age-gating/restricting system will work, and the protections being put in place.
tl;dr
The most important point is this:
PIMD is not opening its adult social spaces to minors.
As you may have seen, the app-store download age rating for PIMD has changed to 13+. We want to explain the reasons behind these changes and clarify any questions and concerns about what it means for the game.
PIMDās full social experience will remain for players aged 18 and older. Players identified as aged 13-17 will instead receive a heavily restricted, non-social experience where they cannot communicate with other players. As before, players under 13 cannot play.
For players identified as aged 13-17, the following features are disabled:
These players may still be able to upgrade, complete available quests, join clubs and participate in parties, but they will not be able to communicate with other players and other players will not be able to communicate with them.
- Direct messages
- Wall messages
- Viewing or sending messages in public chat
- Viewing or sending messages in club chat
- Friends lists and friend requests
- Trading and gifting
- Custom profile text
- Other direct player-to-player social interaction
Content that is inappropriate for under 18s will also be hidden, censored or skipped. For example, sexier avatars and items will be restricted to use placeholder images, while quests containing social requirements will be unavailable or automatically skipped.
Why is the app-store age rating changing?
App-store age ratings help determine who can find and download an app, but they do not guarantee the real age of every person who downloads an app or creates an account.
Since age reporting was introduced a few weeks ago and PIMD still had a 16+/17+ app-store rating, we found that more than 3% of new PIMD accounts reported being 13-17. This shows that app-store download restrictions alone are not enough; identifying younger players AND limiting their access provides stronger protection for them.
Mature app-store age ratings are also increasingly limiting app availability, discoverability and access to featuring opportunities on the app stores. That makes it harder for the adults we actually want to reach to discover PIMD. To keep campus lively for years to come, PIMD needs to continue welcoming new adult players into the community.
Age ratings, age-assurance systems and youth-access rules are also changing quickly across different platforms and countries. Introducing a durable age-gating framework helps us adapt to future requirements without disrupting access to the game.
Does this mean PIMD will be targeted to teenagers?
No.
We are not changing our marketing to target players aged 13-17, and we are not repositioning PIMD as a teenage social game. PIMDās marketing and product direction will remain focused on its adult social community.
Will everyone be placed into the correct experience automatically?
Not always. The app stores will not provide us with an age signal for every single account that's made.
Where Apple or Google identifies a player as aged 13-17, we can place that account into the restricted experience automatically.
Where no age signal is available, we will continue to rely on:
Players should continue reporting accounts they reasonably believe belong to minors but still have unrestricted social access. Those accounts can then be reviewed and restricted appropriately.
- Age information provided by players
- Account-review processes
- Reports from players who have a strong reason to believe an account belongs to someone underage
Providing false age information or attempting to bypass these restrictions will result in the account being socially restricted or permanently banned. Where possible, we may also restrict the device itself so players cannot simply start a new account and regain social access.
The system isn't perfect (none exists) and won't identify every single underage player or prevent every bypass attempt, but this is a stronger system than relying on an app-store rating alone, and we will continue to improve our systems over time.
How does this affect player privacy?
Privacy laws and platform requirements can require information belonging to younger users to be handled differently.
Knowing an accountās age range allows us to apply the appropriate privacy settings, data-handling rules and gameplay restrictions. We will use age information to provide the correct experience, apply age-appropriate privacy and data-handling rules, protect players and meet our legal and platform obligations.
Will adults and younger players be mixed together?
PIMD will apply different access levels and social restrictions based on age:
Players aged 13-17 may still appear within certain gameplay systems, such as clubs or parties, where required for the game to function. However, they will not be able to communicate or otherwise participate in PIMDās player-to-player social environment.
The goal is to prevent younger players from interacting inside PIMDās adult social spaces and to prevent adult players from unknowingly socializing with minors.
Will the rating be 13+ everywhere?
The exact rating may vary between Apple, Google and different countries or regions because each platform uses its own rating system and regional rules.
We expect PIMD to receive a 13+ minimum download rating in most regions. Some platforms or regions may assign a higher rating. Regardless of the rating displayed by an app store, PIMDās full player-to-player social experience will remain restricted to adults.
Are the recent chat and username moderation changes part of this?
No.
The recent moderation of sexual usernames, sexual conduct and public chat is separate from the restricted experience for players aged 13-17.
Those issues were already affecting the experience for new adult players. Overtly sexual usernames, conversations and behaviour have been a recurring source of negative feedback through Discord, app-store reviews and other player feedback channels.
We have also had consistent problems during app-store reviews when reviewers could immediately see extensive public sexual content, potentially delaying or blocking scheduled game updates.
These moderation changes are about making PIMD safer, more welcoming and more sustainable for adult players, while maintaining a predictable relationship with Apple and Google. They are not being introduced because players aged 13-17 will have access to the restricted experience.
Will the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy be updated?
Yes.
We are working on updated Terms of Use and Privacy Policy documents that will account for these changes and several other updates.
The final wording is still being developed and will require legal review, but the updated documents will explain:
We will provide an update when all is ready.
- The different age-based experiences
- How age information may be obtained and used
- The privacy protections applied to younger players
- The restrictions applying to each account type
- The consequences of providing false age information or bypassing restrictions
In Closing
We understand that changes involving age access can raise serious concerns, and we want to be clear about where we stand. PIMD will remain an adult-focused social game, and protecting that community remains a priority.
These changes are designed to better identify younger players, limit what they can access, and prevent them from participating in PIMDās adult social spaces. We will continue reviewing how these protections work in practice and make adjustments where needed.
Thank you to everyone who has raised thoughtful questions and concerns. We hope this provides clearer context around what is changing and, just as importantly, what is not.
That said, I have a question ā it might have already been asked and if that's the case, sorry for asking again; I just don't have the energy right now to read all comments already posted. So, my question: if minors don't have access to any social part, including not being able to write and read club chats, but they can join clubs and take part in parties... does that mean they'll be excluded from EC clubs? Otherwise how will they be able to like claim drops or say what they want to join with and such?