App Store age rating update: why AI companion apps are going 18+

The App Store age rating update adds two new questions to the form every developer fills in before an app goes live. Apple calls these “content descriptors”, and they land in App Store Connect, the dashboard developers use to manage their apps, on November 16, 2026.

The two questions ask, in plain terms:

• Dating and Relationships: does the app help real people find romantic partners, or offer a virtual companion that engages users in romantic or sexual chat? A yes means an 18+ rating at minimum.
• Shared Location: does the app let you show your real-world position to someone else or to a group? This gets declared too, though Apple says it may not change the minimum rating in some regions.

Apple’s stated reason is accuracy. The company says the new descriptors are meant to make ratings reflect what an app really does and to keep them in line with local regulations. In other words, governments are asking harder questions about kids online, and Apple wants the store’s labels to hold up.

The interesting part is the wording. Apple’s definition does not stop at apps that connect two humans. It explicitly covers a virtual companion that draws a user into romantic or sexual content, which pulls in the fast-growing category of AI chatbots built to act as a girlfriend, boyfriend or partner.

Until now, an AI chat app could be rated on its general content. A companion app with a cartoon avatar might not have looked like an adult product on its store page at all. Under the new rule, if romance or sex is part of what the bot does, the app is adults only, no matter whether the person on the other end is a human or a language model.

Apple already warned developers about this gap last year. When it rebuilt the rating system in July 2025, it told them to consider how AI assistants and chatbot features affect how often sensitive content shows up, and to rate their apps with that in mind. The new descriptor turns that advice into a direct yes-or-no question.

The App Store has had more age bands for just over a year. The July 2025 overhaul added 13+, 16+ and 18+ to the older 4+ and 9+ ratings, and introduced required questions on in-app controls, capabilities, medical or wellness topics and violent themes. Apple re-rated every app on the store automatically, and developers had until January 31, 2026 to answer the new questions.

Ratings also vary by country. Apple assigns a rating per country or region, and some places have their own systems on top. That is why the latest change comes with a specific note about one country.

The Brazil exception

In Brazil, local rules go further. Apps with location sharing need an A16 rating there, and dating or relationship apps need A18. Apple says a developer who thinks an app deserves a lower rating in Brazil, such as a family locator built for parents and children, can ask the country’s Ministry of Justice and Public Security for an official rating. Once that’s verified, it shows on the Brazilian store.

Nothing similar is listed for the US, UK or Canada. For readers in those countries, the practical change is the 18+ floor for dating and romantic AI apps, plus a clearer label for location sharing.

For families, this is the part that counts. Screen Time lets a parent block apps above a chosen rating, and Ask to Buy makes a child request approval before downloading. Apple says Ask to Buy is on by default for children under 13. A dating or AI companion app that is now correctly marked 18+ will be caught by those limits instead of slipping through as a general chat app.

A few practical steps are worth taking now:

1. Check your child’s rating limit. In Settings, open Family, pick your child, then go to Apps & Websites and look at the App Store restrictions. If the app rating cap is set to 18+ or allows all apps, the new labels won’t stop anything.
2. Turn on purchase approval. In the same Restrictions area, switch on the approval requirement so new downloads come to you first.
3. Look at what’s already installed. Ratings will shift as developers answer the new questions, so an app that was fine last month may be relabeled. Blocking an app in Screen Time hides it without deleting your child’s data.
4. Talk about location sharing. The new Shared Location label will make it easier to spot which apps broadcast where your child is, so you can decide which ones you’re comfortable with.

One caveat: ratings rely on developers answering honestly. Apple reviews apps, but a label is only as good as the answers behind it, so the rating is a first filter, not a guarantee.

If you make apps, there are two dates to remember. From November 16, 2026, you’ll see the new questions in the age rating section of App Store Connect, and you’ll have to answer them whenever you submit an update or edit your rating answers. By January 12, 2027, every app on the store needs both declarations done, whether or not it has been updated.

Apps that answer yes on dating or romantic companions get 18+ automatically. Location sharing is declared but treated more lightly outside Brazil. If your app is a social network, a messaging app with a live map, or a fitness app that lets friends see your run, it’s worth checking whether that counts as sharing location with another person or group. The safest approach is to answer early rather than wait for a rejected update in January.