Build for Everyone Hackathon

Anyone 18 or over who builds consumer-facing apps or games: founders, engineers, designers, product managers, app developers or game designers – from solo indies to teams at studios and companies you'd recognize. We're looking for people who can build and ship a product in a few hours and want it to work for every age, ideally with features that might change depending on whether the user is a kid, teen or adult.

No. Taking part is free. Breakfast, lunch, snacks, the reception, the workspace, the tools and the swag are all provided. Travel and accommodation is not included.

Teams of two or three work best for a one-day build. Apply as a team if you have one. If you're applying solo, tell us what you'd build and what you're good at, and we'll do our best to place you with others if there’s a good fit, but placement isn’t guaranteed.

Applications closed Monday, October 12. Places were limited, so we reviewed every application and confirmed teams within a few days of the close.

We’re looking for builders with a concrete idea, the ability to reach a working prototype in a day, and a strong point of view on age-adaptive design. Show us how one product can respond intelligently to the person using it: a capability might be available with safeguards for a child, managed by a guardian, progressively opened for a teen, fully controlled by an adult, or unavailable where local rules require it. That could change how people communicate, create, discover, purchase, generate content, share or use AI - while still feeling like one coherent product. 

We also want a strong mix of builders across consumer AI, games, education, marketplaces, fintech and other consumer products.

If you don't get a place, you'll be on the waitlist and first in line for our newest product releases and can also be notified about future hackathon opportunities.

You’ll build with new technology from k-ID, previewed at kickoff.

Behind the simple integration is k-ID’s age-adaptive infrastructure: it can resolve age and jurisdiction, determine product permissions, introduce age assurance or parental consent when needed, and connect guardian-managed controls. You design the experience; k-ID handles the complexity required to determine and maintain the right state for each user.

Bring an idea and a laptop. You can't build before the day: everyone starts from the same place at the same time. You're welcome to arrive with a concept, a design, and a plan for who does what. We'll send a short prep guide to confirmed teams the week before.

One brief: build one product that becomes the right product for whoever is using it. The bar is not a separate ‘kid mode.’ Show how the experience can open, guide or reshape itself as age, location and consent change - what people can discover, create, share, buy, say or control. 

Themes will be broken into: Consumer AI, Games, Education and E-commerce/Marketplaces: any product that people of different ages might genuinely want to use.

Use the language or framework you prefer. Our starter templates and on-site technical support will focus on web and Android. Other platforms are welcome if you bring what you need and can demonstrate a working prototype on the day.

Every team demos to every judge in an open expo round, then five teams present on stage. Judges score against a published rubric: does the app genuinely adapt to the age of the person using it; does it make real use of Google's stack; does it work; would people use it; how far did you reach. Awards will be broken out by themes: Consumer AI, Education, Games, E-Commerce & Marketplace, plus some additional Judges Choice awards from the judges.

Google Cloud and AI credits, plus an expanded user allowance on k-ID to keep building. And you’ll get time with the judges and with Google's product team, and recognition on this page and in the coverage of the day as well as profiles of your team and app in media outreach afterward. There will be trophies, certificates, collectible swag and bragging rights as well.

Yes. Your project is yours, and you can continue developing it after the event. We’ll explain continued access to the event tooling on the day.

Travel and accommodation are self-funded, and we can't sponsor visas. If you're outside the Bay Area, weigh that before applying; but everyone is welcome to apply.