Apple sets an 18+ minimum for App Store apps with dating or romantic virtual companions
Apple told developers on November 2, 2026, that the App Store age questionnaire gains new items on November 16, 2026. Apps that enable dating, or offer a virtual companion with sexual or romantic content, get a minimum 18+ rating. Every app must answer by January 12, 2027.
Source
Upcoming: New age rating content descriptors in App Store ConnectApple Newsroom · Original published November 2, 2026
Apple will give a minimum 18+ age rating to App Store apps that enable dating or offer a virtual companion engaging users in sexual or romantic content, the company told developers on November 2, 2026. Developers start declaring this on November 16, 2026, and every app must have the declaration by January 12, 2027. The rule also concerns AI companions, chatbots that act as a friend or partner.
What developers must declare
App Store Connect, Apple's portal for managing apps, adds two content descriptors to its age rating questionnaire. Developers answer them when they submit an update or change the questionnaire.
- Dating and Relationships covers features that connect real people for dating or relationships, and virtual companions that engage a user in sexual or romantic content.
- Shared Location covers sharing a real-world location with another person or group.
What the answers change
An app with Dating and Relationships receives a minimum rating of 18+. Apple says Shared Location may not affect the minimum age in some regions.
Brazil is the exception Apple spells out. Local rules there require A16 for Shared Location and A18 for Dating and Relationships. An app that believes it qualifies for less, such as location sharing built for parents and children, can request an official rating from Brazil's Ministry of Justice and Public Security.
What is still open
Apple's notice names no apps and does not use the term AI. TechCrunch points to Character.AI and Replika as examples of the companion market the definition could touch.
Apple has not said what happens to an app that misses January 12, 2027, and it gives no threshold for how much romantic content requires the declaration.
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