Apple will rate dating apps and romantic AI companion apps 18+ on the App Store

Apple is adding two new questions to the App Store age rating questionnaire, and one of them reaches AI companion apps. In a developer news post dated 2 November, Apple says that starting 16 November 2026, App Store Connect will include new content descriptors “to help ensure your app’s age ratings accurately reflect its features and are in accordance with local regulations.”

The two new descriptors

Developers will have to declare whether their app includes:

• Dating and Relationships: “Features that enable dating or relationship connections between real people and/or a virtual companion that engages a user in sexual or romantic content.”
• Shared Location: “Sharing of real-world location with another person or group.”

The consequence is in one sentence: “Apps that include Dating and Relationships receive a minimum age rating of 18+.” The definition covers both dating between people and a virtual companion with sexual or romantic content, so a companion app with a romantic mode lands in the same 18+ bucket as a dating app. For Shared Location, Apple says the descriptor “may not have an impact” on the minimum age rating in some regions.

Dates and what developers must do

• From 16 November 2026: the new descriptors appear in App Store Connect. Apple says “You must provide these declarations when submitting an app update or making changes to your age rating questionnaire.”
• By 12 January 2027: “All apps must have these declarations completed.”

In Brazil, Apple says local rules require an A18 rating for Dating and Relationships and A16 for Shared Location. Developers who think their app qualifies for a lower Brazilian rating, for example location sharing built for parents and children, can request an official rating from Brazil’s Ministry of Justice and Public Security, which then displays on the Brazilian App Store.

Apple’s post does not use the words “AI companion”. TechCrunch points to AI companion apps such as Character.AI and Replika as the ones the rule could affect. Apple does not say how it will treat general-purpose chatbot apps where romantic roleplay is one feature among many.

Why this matters

If your app has a companion persona that engages users in romantic or sexual content, Apple’s wording asks you to declare it and accept an 18+ rating, so decide now whether that feature ships in the App Store build or not. A store rating is a different tool from the operator-side age checks in New York’s new law, which bars unsafe companion features for minors unless the operator checks age, so do not assume meeting one covers the other. It is Apple’s second AI-adjacent App Store change in three weeks, after its 16 October rules on AI nudify and bait-and-switch apps.