Apple requires 18+ ratings for dating apps and AI companions

What did Apple announce?

Apple is changing how age ratings work in the App Store. In a post on its Developer News blog dated November 2, 2026, the company said App Store Connect will include two new content descriptors starting November 16: Shared Location and Dating and Relationships.

"Dating and Relationships" is defined as features that enable dating or relationship connections between real people, a virtual companion that engages a user in sexual or romantic content, or both. Apps that include it receive a minimum age rating of 18+.

The Shared Location descriptor covers sharing a real-world location with another person or group. Unlike Dating and Relationships, Apple said apps that include Shared Location may not have an impact on their minimum age rating in some regions.

Why is Apple making this change?

Apple framed the move as part of a broader push to protect minors, following the global rollout of its age assurance technology and additional parental controls and child safety features.

TechCrunch reported the new rules make it more difficult for minors to use online dating apps or AI companions that engage in “sexual or romantic content.” The practical effect is that any app offering dating or romantic relationship features must carry an 18+ rating, aligning the store rating with the nature of the content.

How will AI companion apps be affected?

The rule matters most for AI companion apps, where such functionality is sometimes one of many features. Character.AI, Replika, and other apps let people create AI friends, lovers, and other fantasy characters, often attracting younger users.

TechCrunch noted that xAI last year launched 3D animated AI companions that allowed users to unlock NSFW capabilities, and that top AI companion apps had been downloaded 220 million times globally across the Apple App Store and Google Play as of last summer. Under the new descriptor, apps that include a virtual companion engaging users in sexual or romantic content are treated like dating apps: minimum 18+.

What do developers have to do?

When completing the age rating questionnaire in App Store Connect, developers must declare whether their app includes Shared Location, Dating and Relationships, or both. The declarations are required when submitting an app update or making changes to the questionnaire, and every app must have them completed by January 12, 2027.

The requirement applies broadly: even apps that already have an 18+ rating or that do not plan age-related changes will need to answer the new questions by that deadline.

What is the Brazil-specific rule?

In Brazil, local regulations require an A16 rating for Shared Location and an A18 rating for Dating and Relationships. Apple said developers can request an official rating directly from Brazil's Ministry of Justice and Public Security (MJSP) if they believe their app qualifies for a lower rating; the example Apple gives is location sharing designed specifically for parents and children. Once verified, the official rating displays on the App Store in Brazil.

What happens next?

The descriptors begin appearing in App Store Connect on November 16, 2026. Developers who ship updates before then can still be asked to complete the new questionnaire, and the final deadline for every app to declare is January 12, 2027.

For the AI companion category, the change sets a clear floor: any virtual companion that engages users in sexual or romantic content operates under the same 18+ minimum as a dating app, which could push parts of that market toward age-gating, opt-in content models, or clearer separation between companion features.

How does the age rating questionnaire work?

App Store age ratings are produced from a questionnaire developers fill out in App Store Connect. The two new descriptors add questions about features that were previously assessed only indirectly.

The Shared Location question asks whether the app shares a real-world location with another person or group. The Dating and Relationships question asks whether the app enables dating or relationship connections between real people, with a virtual companion that engages the user in sexual or romantic content, or with both.

Apple said the declarations are required when submitting an app update or making changes to the age rating questionnaire, and that all apps must have the declarations completed by January 12, 2027.

Why does this matter beyond the App Store?

The rating change is a storefront rule, but it moves how a fast-growing category is classified. AI companion apps have expanded from chatbots to 3D animated characters, and Apple's definition pulls any virtual companion that engages users in sexual or romantic content into the same 18+ bucket as dating apps.

That creates a clear compliance line for developers: either keep companion features free of sexual or romantic content, or operate behind an 18+ rating with the age-gating and platform policies that come with it.

It also follows other moves Apple has made on child safety, including its age assurance technology and additional parental controls, which TechCrunch said were rolled out alongside these new rules.