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UK AADC · UK-AADC-STD-10

UK AADC Standard 10 - Geolocation

Disable geolocation by default; show active-tracking indicator; hide location from public

HIGHRequirementDesign defaultsBinding regulationIn forceApplies from 2 September 2021

Where this comes from

Provision: Standard 10 - Geolocation

Instrument: UK Age Appropriate Design Code

Citation: Information Commissioner's Office, Age Appropriate Design: a code of practice for online services, Standard 10

Text version: ICO Age Appropriate Design Code (statutory code under Data Protection Act 2018 s 123), issued 2 Sept 2020

Read the official text ↗

Who it applies to

It applies when all of these are true:

  • Service is likely to be accessed by children under 18
  • Data categories collected includes Location / Address

…unless:

  • Geolocation may be enabled by default where it is essential to the core service function and serves the child's best interests. (ICO AADC Standard 10)
  • Parental tracking features may share location with verified parents/guardians only. (Child safety features)

Scope in the source's own terms

  • Service has geolocation features accessible to children
  • Service collects or uses location data
  • Service operates under GDPR (EU scope; block moved from UK-GDPR authorship)

What engineering work it implies

Sample acceptance criteria Landfall generates for this obligation:

  • Default profile visibility: private (not public)
  • Default data sharing: off (opt-in, not opt-out)
  • Default location tracking: off
  • Default contact discoverability: off
  • User can change any default via settings

Evidence an auditor expects

  • Technical controlTechnical audit

    Geolocation default-off configuration

    Technical evidence showing location tracking disabled by default for child users

  • User-interface evidenceUser testing

    Active tracking indicator

    Screenshots showing visible indicator when location tracking is active

  • Technical controlTechnical audit

    Location visibility restrictions

    Configuration showing child location data is not visible to other users by default

Questions people ask

Does UK AADC Standard 10 - Geolocation apply to my service?
It applies when Service is likely to be accessed by children under 18; Data categories collected includes Location / Address. It does not apply where Geolocation may be enabled by default where it is essential to the core service function and serves the child's best interests. (ICO AADC Standard 10).
From when does this apply?
UK AADC Standard 10 - Geolocation applies from 2 September 2021. Its current status is: in force.
What evidence does an auditor expect?
Geolocation default-off configuration; Active tracking indicator; Location visibility restrictions.

Find out whether this one lands on you

Landfall's pre-scan answers the applicability question above for your product in minutes, then turns every obligation that applies into traceable engineering tickets with a citation chain your auditors can follow.

Run the pre-scanAll UK AADC obligations

Not legal advice. Landfall maps regulatory obligations to engineering work for planning purposes. Its verdicts are not legal advice and create no attorney-client relationship — verify with qualified counsel before relying on them.

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